1. UVa-Wise Planner Book
Hannah McNew
Joy Mitchell
Shay Mullins
Allie Robinson

2. Table of Contents
Table of Contents Page Numbers
Introduction 3
Brand History 4
Mission 5
Primary Research & Secondary Research 6-7
Target Audience 8
Competitive Analysis 10
Objectives 13
The Big Idea 16
Billboards 17
Guerilla Advertising 18
Ambient Advertising 19
Social Media 20
Events & Public Relations 22
Budget/Graph/Media Schedule 23
Appendix 24

3. Introduction
This project has been completed by
Communication Majors of The
University of Virginia’s College at
Wise in order to gain knowledge of
the IMC planning process while
finding ways to promote the college
itself.
From left to right:
Allie Robinson
Angela Mullins
Hannah McNew
Joy Mitchell

4. Brand History
The University of Virginia’s College at Wise was
formerly Clinch Valley College of the University of
Virginia. Clinch Valley College operated as a junior
college throughout the late 50’s and 60’s. In 1999,
the Virginia Assembly renamed the school “The
University of Virginia’s College at Wise.”

5. Mission
Proud of our Appalachian heritage, we continue to
honor our commitment of service to Southwest VA, the
nation, and the world…Above all, The University of
Virginia’s College at Wise is a diverse community of
people who believe that information can be
transformed into knowledge and that teaching and
learning create a foundation for wisdom.

6. Primary Research
•Methods
Fifteen first-year students (eight local
and seven from Central, Eastern, and
Northern VA) participated in a focus
group
•Results
When asking students why they chose
UVA-Wise they answered close to
home, close knit community, cheaper
than other schools, and sports
opportunities.

7. Secondary Research
• Methods
130 participants completed an online survey
• Results
72.4 % of participants reported location and price as their main
reason for attending UVa-Wise.
Most current students at UVa-Wise do not feel as if
the college advertises itself well.

8. Primary Target Audience
The Primary target audience
for this campaign are male and
female residents of Virginia,
Eastern Kentucky, and Eastern
Tennessee between the ages
16 and 25.
•These individuals were
chosen because at age 16,
people begin looking into
which college to attend.
•At ages 17-18, people are
getting accepted into college
and beginning their Freshman
year.
•Ages 19-25 are when students
complete Associate’s degrees
and transfer to 4-year
colleges.

9. Secondary Target Audience
The Secondary target audience for this campaign
are parents with young adults age 16 to 25 that
reside in the state of Virginia, Eastern Kentucky,
and East Tennessee.
•This demographic was chosen in order to gain
the attention of individuals with college-aged
kids during the time the children are choosing a
college.
•The parents are typically the ones who are
financially invested in the college that their child
attends.

10. Competitive Analysis
UVa-Wise has a little over 6,000 likes on Facebook and a
little over one thousand followers on Instagram. ETSU has
over 17 thousand likes on their Facebook, but only just
short of 3,000 on their Instagram page. Emory & Henry has
around 6,500 likes on Facebook and only 761 followers on
Instagram.
When looking at commercials for all three colleges, UVa-
Wise is perceived as portraying friendship, history, working
together, school pride, diversity, and athletics. ETSU is
perceived as portraying entertainment, diversity, closeness,
fun, different opportunities, and involvement. Emory &
Henry is perceived as much more serious and information
based. It also focuses on the landscape and showing the
campus scenery.

11. Brand UVa-Wise ETSU Emory and Henry
Brand
Positioning/
Mission
UVa-Wise is committed to
enriching the lives of
others. They are guided
by citizenship and
altruism. They also have a
strong commitment to
Southwest Virginia. Their
motto is “leading the
region, serving the
world.”
ETSU makes liberal
education the number one
priority, training their
students to influence the
world. They preserve the
heritage of Appalachia. They
provide students a total
college experience.
Emory & Henry believes in the
union of faith and learning, with an
emphasis on the Methodist faith.
Their foundation is liberal arts, and
they challenge their students to
think critically. Their motto is
“Increase in Excellence.”
Corporate
Social
Responsibility
Day of Service, Student
Ambassadors, Venue
opportunities
Protecting the environment,
leading the community,
Student Involvement
Appalachian Center for Civic Life,
Community Sparkplugs, Degree
Programs, National Leaders in
Service Learning, Service
Scholarships
Logo Design &
Meaning
Excellence of learning
ETSU logo is a
representation of both our
history and our vision for the
future. It is a graphic identity
that is representative of our
deeply rooted traditions and
our longstanding
commitment to excellence.
Emory & Henry University and
school-level logos are integrated
with various Emory entities to
create an identity system for this
diverse academic community.
Target
Audience
College-age/ individuals
interested in a college
education
College-age/ individuals
interested in a college
education or graduate
program
College-age/ individuals interested
in a college education
Place Southwest Virginia East Tennessee Southwest Virginia
Price $9,220.00 per year $14,633.50 per year $30,700 per year
Product
University/ Upper Level
Education
University/ Upper Level
Education
University/ Upper Level Education
History
The dream began with
two buildings on the
county’s poor farm and
109 full-time students in
1954. The dream now
lives on with 15 major
structures serving 1,900
students and boasting
7,500 alumni.
In 1911, East Tennessee
State Normal School opened
with, 29 students registered
on the first day. Now in
2015, over 14,500
undergraduate, graduate
and professional students.
The cornerstone for Emory &
Henry was laid in 1836, and the
first students were enrolled in
1838 .Emory & Henry is now the
oldest institution of higher learning
in Southwest Virginia. Currently,
they enroll approximately 1,000
students, almost equally divided
between men and women.
Promotion/
Social Media
Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Google Plus,
LinkedIn, Pinterest,
YouTube
Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, YouTube,
SmugMug
Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram,LinkedIn, Pinterest,
YouTube, Flickr

12. SWOT Analysis
STRENGTHS
• Cheaper price for
education
• Smaller class sizes
• Personal relationships
with professors
• Location in beautiful
Appalachian mountains
WEAKNESSES
• Smaller school
• Lack of resources
• Lack of opportunities
• Lack of diversity
OPPORTUNITIES
• Use social media to reach
out to a younger audience
• Liberal arts education can
be used to draw more
students
THREATS
• Competing universities in
the area (ETSU, E&H)
• Bigger universities

13. Objectives
Marketing Objective:
Based on the results of our focus group, UVa-
Wise is not normally people’s first-choice
college. This may be due to lack of awareness
and opportunity. With upcoming marketing
strategies, our goal would be to increase
enrollment by 10% in the 2016-2017 academic
year. We would do this by reaching out to the
community as well as other areas in Virginia.
These areas would include Northern, Eastern,
Central, and Southern Virginia.

14. Advertising Objectives
1. Increase brand awareness by 25% in the
2016-2017 academic year. This could be
done by improving commercials, flyers, and
sponsoring a large event in major cities
across Virginia.
2. Change people’s perceptions of UVa-Wise
in recognizing that UVa-Wise is not the
University of Virginia.

15. Media Objectives
1. To increase social media likes (Facebook)
and follows (Twitter & Instagram) by 50% in
the 2016-2017 year.
2. We also want to increase conversation
about UVa-Wise by creating hashtags
related to UVa-Wise and future events.
3. We would focus on Facebook as our main
social media platform because it is the
most popular social media platform and
link other social media platforms (Twitter,
Instagram, and YouTube) to the Facebook
page.

16. The Big Idea
“I AM WISE”
The idea behind the “I AM WISE” campaign is to inform
the target audience that in choosing Uva-Wise, students
become what makes them Wise.
Highlighting Uva-Wise’s key benefits, (choosing a liberal
arts education, an affordable education, a friendly
atmosphere, and a beautiful location), the campaign will
increase brand awareness and express that Uva-Wise is
not only a division of UVA, but it has its own unique
brand personality.

17. Billboards
Are you Wise?
Join our family today!
#IAmWise
#IAmWise

18. Guerilla Advertising
Walking Billboard

19. Ambient Advertising
Cavalier logo on our personal vehicles.

20. Social Media
The #IAMWISE social media
campaign will encourage current
students to share why they are
‘wise’ to give potential students
access to personal information as to
why they should choose UVa-Wise
as their future school.
This hashtag will require an
additional hashtag that will
allow individuals who are not
currently enrolled to join in
the social media campaign.
They will use #MyHome in
order to connect with current
students of UVa-Wise while
posting their own versions of
“home”.

21. Social Media
•#TransformWisely
The #TransformWisely social media campaign will
encourage potential students and current
students to share their high school to college
transformations.

22. Events and Public Relations
Bristol Race
Our event will be held at the Bristol Race.
We will have a tent with the college logo
along with a table with information about
UVa-Wise.

23. Budget, Graphs, and Media Schedule
Budget $50,000.00

24. Appendix