Enrollment Campaign for the Human Sexuality Graduate Program at Widener University

Proposal

Widener University's Graduate program in Human Sexuality offers our group a unique and

promising opportunity for our Senior Capstone project. The director of the program, Dr. Don Dyson,

feels that the program needs more exposure to increase enrollment. The program currently finds 150

students enrolled in masters and doctoral classes. Most of the student body was drawn from

professionals outside the Widener community, from as many as ten different countries. This tells us

that the program had a great reputation, it just needs more exposure. The Human Sexuality program

was started at University of Pennsylvania, but moved exclusively to Widener University in 1999.

Widener provides graduate students the opportunity to obtain joint degrees with the sociology and

psychology departments. The Widener program offers three tracts of study within this program,

including clinical (for training counselors) and educational (teachers and community leaders).

The opportunity to work with Dr. Dyson was unique for two reasons. First and foremost, the

program is the only nationally accredited program of its kind. Only two other schools offer the same

degrees in the country, and they are not only geographically far from Widener, (California and Florida)

but are only regionally accredited. The second unique reason was the program currently had extremely

few promotional materials. The Human Sexuality program has class information to mail out at

potential students requests and some information on Widener's website that was fairly hidden and

nondescript. They relied heavily on yearly conferences where they had display tables, thrown by

professional organizations such as SSSS, SIECUS, AASECT and SSTAR. These are organizations we

could target as potential target markets. Therefore, we had the opportunity to create a promotional

campaign virtually "from scratch".

Human Sexuality Graduate Program 1/37

Preliminary campaign ideas are a multi-media display to take to these national conferences, full

color brochures, a public relations special event and improvements to the website, plus articles

prepared for the department and sent to various news outlets.

Each member of this group had different strengths that will add to this project. Paris will focus

on creative design choices and the analysis of statistical research. Theresa's strengths lie in promotions

and event planning. Scott had much of his focus on the writing we use for this campaign, including a

feature article "pull-out" for Widener Magazine.

Overall, this project had enormous potential for our Capstone project. Dr. Dyson was helpful

and easy to talk to, and we are looking forward to beginning this project.


Prospectus

>Brief History
The Human Sexuality Graduate Program originated at The University of Pennsylvania but permanently

moved to Widener University in 1999. The Program offers students three (3) tracks of study they can

pursue:

1) The Clinical track, which provides training for people who will pursue "hands-on" careers in

therapy as counselors

2) The Educational track, which caters to people furthering their careers in teaching

and community outreach programs

3) The Research track which prepares statisticians and researchers for advancement

in their field.

The Human Sexuality Graduate Doctoral Program at Widener University was in a unique

position. In comparison to the general population of graduate programs, the program that Widener

University has is the only accredited Human Sexuality graduate program in the country. However, few

people know of its existence. The program attracts people worldwide who are interested in garnering an

accredited doctorate degree in Human Sexuality. Despite this, the number of currently enrolled students

hovers around 150. Even students who attend Widener University have no idea what resources are

available within the Widener community. This was the biggest and most glaring challenge (out of two

main challenges) faced by the Human Sexuality community at Widener.

The first challenge was to remedy the minimal exposure and the second was the lack of

promotional materials. The only materials available about this graduate program are the class


descriptions, which are sent out to prospective students after they contact Widener. There was

information about the program on Widener's website, but it was purely about enrollment and classes.

There was nothing descriptive or enticing about the page, and it was hidden amongst the pages of

Graduate Admissions.

The Human Sexuality Graduate Program at Widener makes annual appearances at conferences

held by organizations in the field. Examples of these groups include The Society for the Scientific

Study of Sexuality (Quad-S), the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States

(SIECUS), the American Association of Sexuality Educators Counselors and Therapists (AASECT)

and the Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR). The only materials Dr. Dyson had to reach

people at these events was the course descriptions. These are too bland to attract potential students in

any setting. As we have learned in campaigns classes, information alone does not move product.

Therefore, our group must create materials and events to create awareness and

increase enrollment in this graduate program. It was an unparalleled opportunity for our Capstone

group to create an original Integrated Marketing Promotion project.

>Planning
We have already investigated the available materials, which include class descriptions and

enrollment requirements, and the Widener web page that the program had.

The areas we have to research to determine what steps to take next include the following:

- enrollment management

- human sexuality graduate programs

- decision making process

- graduate enrollment (both demographics and appeals)

- effectiveness of multimedia in presentations


- raising the profiles of unknown organizations

- effectiveness of printed materials (magazine articles)

>Production
Our IMC campaign did include multi-media displays, full-color brochures, news articles, logos,

brand awareness outreach, and special events. The main task was to establish an identity for the

Program that people will come to recognize in the future. Creating brand awareness will pave the way

to increasing enrollment.

Our first objective was to create a logo unique to the program, within the confines of Widener's

regulations. It was used on all promotional materials for the program, helping to create brand

awareness. Also important to our goals was seeing the materials that the program currently uses at

national conventions. Since these conventions are not close to home, the multimedia display was have

to be user-friendly and easy to pack for travel. We also would like to use promotional give away items

such as pens and stickers, to further ensure spreading the brand we are creating.

Dr. Dyson mentioned that his program had sponsored award dinners at past conventions. Our

group gathered pictures and information about these dinners to begin a press folder. Creating this press

kit began to establish the program's history, and give the department something to send to any

newspaper, organization or prospective applicant interested in the program.

Though our main goal was awareness, we are not trying to attract students on campus, a

small table during Graduate Day would help spread knowledge of the Program throughout Widener's

community. This added to the value of the brand we are creating. A student can just glance over at the

table for a mere ~7 seconds and walk away; it was still enough to evoke recognition of the brand. A

student can pass by the table at least twice if they are set up in the UC Lobby (going in and out of

lunch). Those 14 seconds of exposure to a single student could spark an interest. While our focus was


not on undergrads that are currently attending Widener, encouraging word-of-mouth and creating

consumer advocates assisted us in achieving our overall goal.

Our primary target audience was the student who was looking for graduate programs in Human

Sexuality but not finding one that fits his or her schedule and/or provides an education that is

worthwhile. A simple brochure targeted to reach this audience was effective because there was nothing

available right now to lure potential applicants. Since this program draws students from many other

countries, we used pictures of the Widener campus that are aesthetically pleasing to give future

students an idea of what this area looks like. Someone interested in the program from Arizona might be

swayed to get more information about Widener if they saw brochure of our campus in the fall. With

the rise in use of PDF files, our basic brochure can be stored as a PDF file, allowing anyone in the

world to view it without changing fonts or losing colors or design choices. The Internet is a great asset

that allows us to send a message with a high yield/low cost ratio.

Another method we focused on is a magazine 'pull out'. This had the same layout and design

choices as the brochure, to keep the brand we are creating consistent. It was along the lines of an

advertisement. It was not be a text heavy pull out, but instead contain high-resolution pictures. It was

be attention getting, to help create name recognition for this brand.

>Distribution
We plan to have our multimedia presentation distributed at the biannual conferences Dr. Dyson

attends to promote the program. Also, our updates to the web page was be incorporated into the

program's current web page. The magazine article we wrote was published in the Widener Dome

Newspaper. Brochures and posters was be placed in the psychology and sociology departments here at

Widener, since the human sexuality program offers joint degrees with these departments. Knowledge

of this program around Widener will help with name recognition and spreading the brand we are


creating. These posters and brochures, was also distributed at Graduate Programs Day and some

community health events we want to see the program involved with.

>Evaluation
We propose that after one year of implementing our IMC Campaign, the Human Sexuality

program will enjoy:

- enrollment increased by 5%

- recognition in the Widener community


Literature Review

The Human Sexuality Graduate Program at Widener University was unique in that it

was the only program of its kind in the entire country, yet there were only 150 students

currently enrolled in the program. The goal of our project was to raise the awareness of the

program and thereby increase enrollment in the program.

In order to raise the awareness of the program within the Widener community and

increase enrollment of the Human Sexuality Graduate Program, we had to create a campaign

that involves the creation of multimedia displays, brochures, news articles, logos, brand

awareness outreach, and special events.

The following lists the various ways that we marketed and advertised the program. We

studied what others have already done, and found the best way to effectively market the

program so that more students enroll. There were seven key areas that we have researched

that was used in our campaign: enrollment management, human sexuality graduate

programs, the decision making process, graduate enrollment, effectiveness of multimedia in

presentations, raising the profile of unknown organizations, and effectiveness of printed

materials.

>Human Sexuality in the World
“...Psychologists who had no prior AIDS education, one component of sexuality

education, were more likely to hold negative attitudes towards gay individuals and persons

with AIDS.” (Maguire)

This dissertation, written by a Widener graduate student, discussed the lack of


necessary training for graduate students in psychology in relation to human sexuality. The

article mentioned Widener’s dual major program, for graduate students that want an

education doctoral degree with additional emphasis on human sexuality. The people

interested in a field of study was our target audience. The lack of curriculum that address

human sexuality was evident in this work, the author addressed the fact that people obtaining

graduate degrees in psychology were inexperienced in this area, though they may need to

address it in their practical experience. The article also discussed the lack of preparedness in

this field, meaning people who pursued graduate degrees were generally unprepared for

specialties in areas regarding human sexuality.

When searching for human sexuality graduate programs on-line, which simulated how

our target market most likely find Widener’s program, only one relevant article was found that

addresses human sexuality as a curriculum. When we created more press regarding Dr.

Dyson’s program, there was more articles available about human sexuality classes,

specifically the one’s at Widener. An interesting point of the article was when the author

points out that “no single department or disciple can address all aspects of human sexuality

and adequately address the material that must covered.” (Leiblum).

That accusation was completely untrue, knowing that Widener’s graduate program in

human sexuality was all-encompassing. However, the program’s lack of awareness was

hugely evident, since the article seemed to express that the only resource available to people

interested in this discipline was one class, and we know that Widener had an entire graduate

program devoted to training people in this area. Another thing this article stressed was that

people who receive training in this class suggest that they were subsequently more

comfortable discussing topics related to human sexuality, and were more tolerant of topics

related to this field of study. This was a blatant warning to our project that people who receive


graduate degrees in psychology or sociology, but were not trained in human sexuality, may

not readily adaptable to the vastly changing field of therapy and counseling.

>Graduates: Our Bread and Butter

We located some of the most recent demographics of graduate students. The best way

to create a campaign for a target audience was to determine the factors that created that

target market, that niche in society we were aiming for.

“Parent's education does matter for graduate school attendance. 76% of students who

parents didn't have a education level higher than High School didn't attend graduate school,

compared to the 62% of the parents that had postgraduate education.” (Goyette).

This research discussed attributes of potential graduate students, who they might and

the dynamics of their family situations. That helped us to determine what market was the

most beneficial to target. It literally profiled what backgrounds graduate students was going to

come from. Having such information available helped narrow the focus and scope of our

campaign to better hone in on the target audience.

The center of the entire graduate sector focused on the information gathered from a

survey that was done during the Fall of 2004. The goal was to gather specific details relating

to graduate enrollment during that period. 74% of all graduates who enrolled that semester

were White. 11% were Black. 6% were Asian and 8% were Latino/Hispanic. 1% were

American Indian. (Brown). Race information may have seemed useless, but different races

respond differently to similar messages and different cultures have different values in life.

That knowledge helped us to avoid stepping 'on the toes' of people. Over the time period of

1986-2004, the minority enrollment as graduate students increased 5% compared to the


White enrollment level which virtually stayed unchanged. Also more women were in graduate

school compared to men, 1-2% more. (Brown) It was the lack of cultural specific messages

being targeted at minorities, but research showed something was positively affecting

minorities and women. Therefore, any promotional material we created cannot bias itself

towards men or women. As for racial promotions, we created neutral cultural materials, as in

common goals shared by all cultures.

>Graduates: Factors Involved

Not all of the focus was put on the graduate student or their history. Another study

decided to focus on the factors involved in actually getting into a graduate school. The results

were ranked from most important to least important. college transcript, completed applications

forms, GRE Aptitude Test Scores, letters of recommendation from undergraduate faculty, and

GRE Advanced Test Scores. (Lehman) The information gleaned from this study concerns

which factors graduate candidates consider most important in their quest for finding the most

appropriate graduate school. This information was crucial in deciding what factors we

highlight when trying to market Dr. Dyson’s program to the outside world. The people

interviewed in this study were exactly the type of candidates we were interested in having

apply to this program. This study was helpful in determining what was influencing these

potential applicants. Another interesting find in this report was that graduate program

applicants seem too concerned with the same factors within sex and age groups, while their

concerns about graduate programs differed remarkably by ethnic groups. That was a huge

factor in determining our target market and how we reached them.

Another factor which was considered in another study was the graduate school itself. A


study presented the idea that students choose schools and campuses based on the facilities

and resources present. Higher education enrollment decisions were greatly influenced by the

facilities that a college provides them. Based on these facilities (or lack there of), students

decide to stay or leave a particular higher education campus. A study done by the Association

of Higher Education Facilities Officers proves this. The results stated that participants, “73.6%

says that buildings that house their majors were important or very important to them” (June).

This research clarifies that we can focus on Kapelski Learning Center [KLC] and

Academic Center North [ACN] when crafting promotional material for the Human Sexuality

Graduate Program. KLC has a fountain that we can focus on for photos. It was was a unique

feature on campus that was one of the ways of separating Kapelski Learning Center from the

other structures on campus. The other feature we can highlight were the white benches in the

courtyard and the pillars that circle around of next to KLC. Academic Center North has the old

soccer field outside and the dark tinted window expansion that we can use in a promotional

campaign. Gender played a role deciding what major resources were important to the

different sexes in choosing a school. Females focused on the library, classrooms, student

union, open space, and buildings that hold a major. Males focused more on computer and

technology resources, research and lab and varsity athletics facilities. (June)

The Wolfgram Memorial Library has a rather peculiar shape to it. The triangle-shaped

construction differentiates the library in the Widener community. Statistics have shown that a

slightly higher number of women than men were attending graduate schools. Statistics have

also shown that the number of graduate-bound minorities were on the rise, so it was wiser to

spend a little more effort to market towards women and minority undergraduates who were

looking to get into a graduate school.


>Decisions, Decisions

All of this research and history means nothing if we cannot understand how our

current and future prospects decide on what to do and where to. So to effectively plan a

campaign for them, we must effectively think like them. And define decision-making theory

allows use to do just that and created something that did fit our specific needs.

Decision-making was a thought process that must understood before a campaign,

idea, plan, or product was put into action. It does not matter who or what the end product/

result was for. If people were involved in some way, then the decision making process has to

examined and/or defined to cater to the specific needs of a project or campaign's target

audience or market.

Barry F. Anderson, a professor at Portland State University with a PhD in Experimental

Psychology. His book, The Three Secrets of Wise Decision Making, focuses on the three

secrets of decision-making. The three secrets were Courage, Creativity, and Balanced

Judgment.

Courage was the ability to rational when faced with a choice or problem. Creativity

allows someone to fully understand a situation from all angles. Balanced Judgment gives the

opportunity to approach a single decision in an even manner. (Anderson)

These three parts were do not decide on choices alone. Everyone references values

and alternatives at some point to come up with a well thought out choice in a matter. And if

we forget to take in consideration the values and alternatives of certain cultures, gender, or

socio-economic class when creating a persuasive or informative campaign for the Human

Sexuality Graduate Program (HSGP) of Widener University, could lead to negative publicity


and/or a negative image.

Values were factored into every decision, whether or not it was realized. Values

should stated more as goals rather than problems. Alternatives were exactly that. Another

opportunity or disadvantage to consider when trying to make a decision. Values can

influence alternative decisions and vice versa. (Anderson) All alternatives should compared

to the set values before choosing a decision that fits everything.

By understanding how decisions were reached and rationalized in the human mind, it

becomes easier to create a project, product or campaign for a particular target audience.

However, before we were able to just jump into crafting material for HSGP, we must

understand the image they have now and the image they want to achieve. Some once said

“Image was everything”.

>Image was Everything

As of right now, we can't go right into the production stage of our campaign without first

reviewing the ins and outs of an organizational image. Every action or idea we plan or create

had an effect on the overall image in the mind of not only potential prospects but even the

faculty that attends Widener University, especially those in the department of Human

Sexuality. That was why it was important for us to gather a basic understanding of

organizational image.

Corley designed a chart that defines the 6 basic levels of image. Construed External

Image was how an organization's membership perceive the outsiders to view the

organization. The next image step was Projected Image. That was the message that the

organization may or may not want to send out and it was generally the dominant image


recalled by an outsider when speaking of an organization. Desired Future Image was what

the organization want to have both internal and external people remember sometime in the

near future. (Corley) There was no need to continue because Widener's Human Sexuality

Program was on the bottom of the chart. However for reference, the last stage of image was

Reputation.

“Relatively stable, long-term, collective judgments by outsiders of an organization's actions

and achievements” (Corley). Let me just say that even though it sounds as though it was

always positive, there were many cases where Reputation can a negative in the collective

minds of the people. And as my undergraduate Professor Bartoo said, “It was better to have

no reputation than a bad one”.

The situation with the Human Sexuality Places us on the bottom rung, or even lower.

This was only because most community members of Widener were unaware of the University

having a nationally accredited graduate program in Human Sexuality which was the only one

of it's kind in the world. So before we try to go forward and reach out into the world with our

message and materials, we must inform Widener's own society and let the word get around. It

isn't good business to have the world know of you but people in your own organization

unaware of your presence or existence.

>What Moves You? Appeals and Media

We have the basic of creating a well thought out campaign, however we were missing

the actual process for materials and themes. Every campaign or project follows a certain

theme or appeal to better attune to the mind of its target audience and get them to react or

respond to a piece of promotional in the fashion that the creators wanted.


Advertising appeals help to create an engaging campaign theme, or a product theme

or even a poster or TV commercial. The best choice in choosing an appeal was to pick the

one that best relates with your target audience.

Advertising appeals were used to capture the attention of the target audience and/or

sell a product, service, or cause upon the specified market. Advertising appeals were

normally broken into 2 over-arching sections: Emotional appeals and Rational appeals.

(Wikipedia)

Rational appeals focuses on the actual experience a product or service provides.

There was comparisons to other brands and information stating why one product was better

than another.

Emotional appeals presents a product or a service to a consumer's mental or social

needs. The pros and cons of a product were never really discussed openly in an

advertisement. This appeal relies more on generating a 'positive' or 'negative' response in a

consumer. (Wikipedia)

Honestly, we tried a number of different appeals and angles in order to figure out what

connects with our target audience better. The appeals we had in mind were Elitist appeal and

a family appeal. And another appeal was self-fulfillment/ survival. Being the only Graduate

Program in the world for Human Sexuality, the feeling of elitism was very easy to focus on.

We were juggling the idea of family as an appeal because enrollment and successful

completion of a graduate program brings with it promise of a better future and a secure job

area. It provides extra money that could used for your daughter's college fund along with a

new car when she gets of age. And self-fulfillment/survival was simply an appeal that focuses

on the individual bettering their self at life and fighting for survival in an unstable job market.


>Human SEXuality. Sex as a Possible Appeal

Sex as an appeal for Human Sexuality. You knew there was a high chance of it coming

up or being mentioned. Sex as an advertisement appeal bombards a consumer on a daily

basis. It was almost impossible to try to use some form of the media without running across at

least one sexually suggestive ad. It peppers the media landscape from TV to the Internet. But

there were reasons it was used so much. And reasons why more sexually ads seem to target

males rather than females. However, before we just decide to slap a half naked chick on our

logo, we must first come to grips with how each gender views sexual messages and sex as a

whole.

As far as advertising appeals go, sex was in second place behind self-preservation

(looking out for numero uno). The appeal for sex comes from biological and instinctive

beginnings. Both genders views sex differently. The focus of sex to men was to spread their

genetic DNA as far as possible, so they care little about the woman inherent qualities. The

qualities men look for in a woman were beauty and sexual attractiveness. (Taflinger) On that

little note alone, it was possible to see why a half naked chick on a car in a beer commercial

with instantly capture the attention of a guy who was watching TV.

Women were different because they have a greater interest in the children they hope

to produce one day. Women were selective because they want a man who genetic material

or DNA to help to raise a healthy child. Her focus was not just on looks, but a variety of

criteria that includes status, future holdings, personality, etc. They had the same sexual

desires as men; they just repressed it as they check out other criteria. (Taflinger)

This explained why sexual advertisements were shifted to men more rather than

women. It was easier to attract men then women using a sexual approach. Women too have


the desires, but through the use of their intelligence and criteria, the same response will not

gained so easily as it was in men. And due to the time and space restraints, the work

requirement for sexually charged ads for women wasn't as effective as compared to men.

(Taflinger)

Any type of campaign or product that tried to take a sexual angle must realize that men

and women differ on the subject. The project must be planned out and approached from all

angles to best decide how to entice use of a product or service from both sexes. And in

Human Sexuality where it can be any combination of men and/or women being discussed, it

didn't make much sense to focus on strictly men-women relations or even advertise or

suggest it. The difficulty was coming up with a campaign that was full of sexual tension AND

appeals to all sexual orientations without offending anyone. And seeing the slim chances of

that actually happening effectively, it was better to not get caught up on it.

>Effectiveness of Multimedia Presentations

This section focused on the best methods that were proven to work. Methods such as

appeals, themes, format, medium, etc. These were the same things we were thinking about

when working on the campaign for the Graduate Program.

This study was conducted to see how effective advertising was. A group was tested in

Sao Paulo, Brazil to measure how effective an ad was in several magazines. In eight

magazines, four ads ran for ten weeks. At the end of the ten weeks, clinic performance had

risen 54 percent above baseline. “Interpersonal communications can maintain performance

in voluntary sterilization programs, mass media promotion may necessary for program

growth.”(De Castro)

Before the study, the researchers measured how many vasectomies were performed


over the course of a few years. After the advertising, the researchers found that the number of

vasectomies the clinic performed had doubled. This information showed how important

advertising was in order to reach our audience. This shows how critical it was that we not only

advertise, but reach our audience.

This study was relevant to us because it shows how critical printed media was to our

project. Currently, the Human Sexuality Program had little to no advertising. As a result,

awareness of the program was relatively low among students at Widener. This was also

reflected in the number of students who were enrolled in the program (150). By creating

advertising that can used in any and all relevant publications, awareness of the program will

go up, which will eventually cause more students to enroll in the program.

Conducted by Peter Faraday and Alistair Sutcliffe and contains information on how to

design effective multimedia presentations, this study was unique in that it uses research and

scientific studies to explain what makes for a good multimedia presentation.

Of particular use to us was the analysis of the data that the authors provide. People

who rely on images exclusively during a PowerPoint presentation often have difficulty

recalling the information.(Faraday) To combat this, it was important to verbally re-enforce

information so that listeners better comprehend the information.

In addition, the study finds that information that was combined with speech was very

well recalled. (Faraday) For example, if we were to incorporate animation into a multimedia

presentation, it was important to use it as an aid during a speech.

The study was relevant to us because we designed various multimedia presentations

for the Human Sexuality Program to use in the future. By utilizing the information in this

study, we designed presentations that were effective in communicating to those who were

interested in the program.


Focus Group Analysis

>Background
The Human Sexuality Department of Widener University was going through some challenging

times getting recruitment numbers up. The challenge came from a lack of general awareness of the

Program in the University and around the educational world. Senior Capstone of the Communications

Department tasked us with researching the most effective way to go about raising the image of an

underrepresented organization. This was the purpose of the Literature Review, to gather secondary

research that helps to get an understanding of the ideas others used to deal with similar issues.

However, we needed primary research to develop a potent and well-thought out campaign.

>Planning
There are two ways we went about gathering primary research: qualitative and quantitative.

Qualitative research is in-depth interviews and focus groups (content over quantity). Quantitative

research is a survey and/or other multiple choice or quick answer form (quantity over content). Much

isn't learn from each participant but it is less time-intensive and cost-effective. Decisions were made to

do a focus group with a small survey to lead off the following discussion.

The survey consisted of 17 questions. 1 of the questions has 11 media choices where

participants determined which medium is more effective than the others. Participants asnwered each

question on a scale with six degrees: strongly disagree, moderately disagree, disagree, agree,

moderately agree, strongly agree. The questions focused on what makes a campus attractive, what

medium delivers the message the clearest to the individual, and decision making and what influences it.


The participants for the focus group was by Dr. Dyson (Department Head of the Human

Sexuality Program). We were aiming for 6-8 participants who were currently enrolled Human

Sexuality graduate students. We were trying to get an equal number of males and females in order to

balance out the ideas and suggestions during the discussion. The room hosted the focus group in was

Lathem Classroom 4. The date was November 30, 2006 at 5:00pm. We served pizza and soda to all

participants and compensated them for their time spent by giving them $20 dollars each. The latter half

of the focus group (after the survey) was documented on video and burned to DVD to be viewed and

analyzed.

>Focus Group
November 30, 2006 at 5:00pm. Instead of a max of 8 people showing up,13 participants

attended the focus group. About 8 were graduate students, the other 5 were undergrads from different

majors that provided outside viewpoints. There were 7 females and 6 males. We didn't have enough

survey print-outs to give to every one, so we had to run and print some out. Also due to the increase

number of participants, the compensation had to be reduced from the initial $20 to $10. Another issue

that came up was the absence of a boom microphone for the video camera. We resolved that issue

simply by laying out 2 separate hand held microphones and put one on the left side of the room and

putting the other on the right side of the room. After these problems were settled, the actual focus group

went quite smoothly. During the discussion portion of the focus group, useful suggestions and ideas

were spoken about.


>Focus Group Breakdown

The first question asked of the participants was if they are going to attend graduate school and

what specific factors play a role in their choice. Some common answers were: the overall status of the

program, how much it costs and how long will it take. The next question asked was “Does location

matter at all?” and the answer to that was 'not really'. A male student replied saying that their goal is to

stay locally and go to graduate school later when a company or business they work for is willing to

cover most of their graduate school expenses. Question three asked about the biggest factor in choosing

Widener University as a graduate school for Human Sexuality. A participant in the group said that she

graduated college with a degree in Communications. However, during her freshman year in college,

she took a course in human sexuality which sparked her interest in the field. Her thesis for her

Communications degree centered around sexuality in human sexuality, that led her to pursue a post-

graduate degree at Widener University for Human Sexuality. Questions four asked what would the

currently enrolled graduate students would want to show current undergrad Seniors to spark an interest

in the Human Sexuality Program at Widener University. Other than being one of the only nationally

accredited programs in the U.S. for this chosen field, a female participant stated that the diversity of the

students at all of Widener really helped sell the university to her. Also mentioned was the importance

of being near a big city but not actually in it. Personality of the professors helped sell the Program. It

created a personal experience because of the size of the community and the level of attention faculty

members given their students. The question six asked did the intimacy of student/teacher relationships

should be something that should be marketed. Replies from the group came out as saying that if

Widener markets their small, close-knit community, they should have a commitment of keeping it that

way. He said if that is what they market and enrollment goes up, then the actual personality is lost due

to increase numbers.


The discussion then led to what medium influences the choices made or being made about

graduate school. A website was said to be the most effective medium. And if all other media referenced

back to that website, it will be that much more effective. Participants agreed that usability and

accessibility of the website plays a key role in the usefulness of the website. The second medium

brought up was billboards. The reasoning behind this is because so many people are driving and

traveling, it makes a great cost-effective first impression into the minds of students. The third medium

is word of mouth, due to the size of the school, word of mouth might be more effective than say

newspapers or other various forms of media. No matter what media chosen, the more information given

on what makes a specific school so special or great is more useful than just repeating that it is a good

school. Another resource that can help spread the Widener name is sending representatives to college

fairs often hosted at local high schools. An undergrad says that Widener wasn't available at the college

fairs he attended and it would have been a positive influence.


Focus Group 2: Analysis

The second focus group was held on February 27, 2007 in Lathem Hall. The focus group

consisted of three members, all three of which are Graduate students who are currently enrolled in the

Human Sexuality program. The three students were recruited by Dr. Dyson and had previously

participated in the first focus group.

In selecting members for the focus group, a smaller group was selected in order to have an in-

depth discussion on the materials. The first focus group was comprised of a dozen individuals, 2/3 of

which were neither Graduate students nor enrolled in the Human Sexuality program. We found that by

limiting the focus group to a fewer amount of people, it would better stimulate discussion amongst the

participants than a larger focus group would have. Early versions of the Power-Point presentation,

promotional photos, and the newspaper article were discussed.

The discussion began with a discussion of the promotional photos that were taken of Bruce

Hall, the building that is currently being used for Human Sexuality classes. In addition, the photographs

will be used in both the PowerPoint presentation and the brochure. And they are useful in showing off

the campus.

The photographs showed off all the different rooms of the building as well as its exterior.

Photographs of note included several photographs of the computer lab, several photographs of the

exterior of the building, a photograph of a projection screen, photographs of the lounge, photographs of

several plaques and posters, and a high-contrast image of a meeting room.

The focus group agreed that many of the images would work better as PowerPoint slides rather

than promotional photographs. The focus group felt that although the photographs were framed well

and used dynamic camera angles, the lack of students in the photographs did not communicate the


collegiate atmosphere that they would like us to convey. The group also felt that a lack of outdoor shots

hurt the photographs because they did not convey other areas of the university.

We decided to wait until late March/early April to photograph more promotional pictures. The

focus group felt that by waiting until spring, it would improve the outdoor pictures by showing the

University as the flowers are in bloom. In addition, the focus group felt that we should photograph

Bruce Hall again in order to capture students in a classroom setting.

The photographs were followed by a PowerPoint presentation that was created for use by the

Human Sexuality program when promoting the University and the program itself. The focus group

discussed both the design of the Power point and some of the content.

The content contained in the PowerPoint provided detailed information about the Human

Sexuality program. The text used in the PowerPoint used a blue and gold theme that was chosen due to

the colors being the official Widener colors. The backgrounds for the slides were comprised of the

photographs that were taken of Bruce Hall. The focus group felt that while they liked the thought

process behind the colors, it often made the slides difficult to read.

The group recommended that our group switch to colors that would be easier to read against the

backgrounds of the slides. However, the focus group did note that they liked the backgrounds of the

slides and felt that they would work well with a different font and different colors.

The final piece of materials that was presented to the focus group was a draft of the newspaper

article that will also be used in creating a magazine article. The draft contained all the hard news

information about the program as well as information on enrolling in the program.

The focus group felt that while the information contained in the article was factual, it needed a

hook in order to grab the reader and make the article newsworthy. The program was hosting a table

later in the week in the University Center that provided both information about the program itself as

well as other topics relating to human sexuality. The focus group suggested that we visit the University


Center on that day in order to write about the events. Which of course we did and gathered pictures and

some information on more of the out-of-the-classroom activities.

The focus group concluded after the discussion on the newspaper article. Our group found that

while the focus group liked the materials that we provided, we would need to utilize their comments in

order to strengthen the project.

Additional photographs will be taken that will show more of the student body as well as more

of the University. The goal of the new photographs will be to show more of the University, which will

thereby entice a potential student into enrolling into the Human Sexuality program. The PowerPoint

will be redesigned to include less text on the individual slides as well as more contrast in the text that

will allow the information to be more easily read. Finally, the focus group’s comments were taken into

consideration on the second draft of the article that went to print. The Human Sexuality program’s

presence at the University Center was used to bookend the article, which made the article newsworthy

and therefore made the article more enticing to the reader. By taking the focus group’s comments into

consideration, it will allow for better materials that will accurately portray the student body as well as

encourage potential students to enroll in the program.


Findings & Discussion

Our client needed materials that would help increase the awareness of the Human Sexuality

Graduate Program available at Widener University. Our Proposal called for a 5% recognition increase

in the academic world. We planned on doing that by using a logo to link a simple yet effective design

with the Human Sexuality program, a brochure was produced for take home purposes and to keep the

Human Sexuality program on top of mind. Other materials were created to enhance recollection of the

Human Sexuality program in the target audience. During this creation time, a lot of energy was spent

on design choices and getting things just right.

Design Choices

>Logos

The logo was by far the most revised piece of created content. It went through 3 overall

changes. The original logo ideas was supposed to be something abstract like designs or shapes. We

then moved into silhouettes of people and even had an engaging DNA strand that the focus group

enjoyed from a design perspective but felt that it didn't convey the message of Human Sexuality to the

masses. Our last effort was the words Human Sexuality set within a shield-like context just like the

Widener logo. However due to the University it was decided that we couldn't use the shield. It was

decided that the words Human Sexuality and the letters HS would become the logo. It is not only easy

to replicate but it wouldn't be out of place on any type of promotional material or item produced or

procured by the Human Sexuality program. It is different yet subtle. The goal was to give the Human


Sexuality Graduate Program a positive reputation through the use of an accessible logo.

The logo has a few different color schemes based on the client's request. He requested that the

logo have a blue text and white background. color scheme which would be the standard for logo.

However, he also requested that more colors like black and yellow along with blue and white be used

for easier drag and drop use on future materials the Program may create.

The H and the S of the word Human Sexuality are written in a script font, French Script MT,

while the rest of word is written in the standard Arial font for clarity. The highlight of the logo is really

the way the H and S is lined up. The serifs connect sending the message of unity. It is a basic tactic,

however it enforced in the mind of the viewer that the letters should be connected, and that helped to

increase user recall.

This logo will find its way onto the brochure and the PowerPoints and any other material the

Program happens to release. All of the different colors schemes have already been created in a high

resolution for drag and drop use of the Program. The importance of the logo is establish recognition

within each potential student who seems it. It is by far the most important piece of the campaign. One

of the created materials that the logo was placed on was the brochure.

>Brochure

The front cover of the brochure uses Widener’s school colors of yellow and blue in order to

keep with the identity that Widener has created for itself. The two colors were taken exactly from

Widener’s logo (which can be found on Widener’s official website) so that the hues of both colors


match the school’s colors exactly. The half circle that runs vertically across the front cover was used to

lead the viewer’s eye from the photograph to the title and Widener logo.

Underneath the photograph is title of the brochure, “Exploring a Graduate Degree in Human

Sexuality.” The Human Sexuality Program’s logo was placed in the title in order to create familiarize

the viewer with the program’s logo. The front cover uses the version of the logo that completely spells

out the name of the program. However, a version of the logo was created that simply uses abbreviates

the program as “HS” that can be used in the future when brand recognition for the logo is higher.

In addition to the Human Sexuality logo, Widener’s logo and slogan are also featured on the

cover in order to create continuity with previous Widener promotional items that have already been

created. However, the words “available exclusively at” have been added above the logo to

immediately communicate to the viewer simply and effectively that the program is the only one of its

kind in the entire country.

The rest of the brochure is made up of five panels: four inside panels and the back cover. Each

of the five panels features a picture of a building on campus that is centered on the page while the

remainder of the photograph above each building is the sky. This was done so that text could be

applied over each building while still remaining legible. The buildings chosen for the first four panels

are Old Main, the University Center, Bruce Hall, and Metropolitan Hall respectively.

The four buildings were chosen out of every building on campus due to how each building

appeared and what each building represented. Old Main was used in the History panel because, as one

of the oldest buildings on campus, it has a distinct architectural style that communicates the

University’s age. Bruce Hall was used for the Dual Degree panel because it is the building that all

classes for the program are held in. The remaining two photographs were chosen because, as newer

buildings, they show Widener University’s growth.

The back photograph is a picture of the “W” that is located outside of the quads. This


photograph was chosen for the back cover because the “W” represents the word “Widener,” which

further helps to create brand recognition with the viewer. Despite not having any text in the top half of

the photograph, the picture was framed in the center in order to create continuity with the other four

panels. The sidewalk beneath the “W” creates a vertical line that draws the viewer to the text that is at

the bottom of the page.

The information in the brochure contains both short sentences as well as bullets to make the

information easy to read. By having small sentences and bullets, it is easy for the viewer to skim the

brochure and get all the information inside without doing a lot of heavy reading. The text layout also

creates a visually-appealing look that is easy on the eyes and goes with the high brow look of the

brochure. Two fonts were chosen for the inside of the brochure (one font for headlines and another for

the bulk of the text). Two fonts were chosen because it is visually appealing and creates continuity

throughout each of the panels. The headlines used sans-serif font because the bigger font size makes it

easy to read at a glance. A serif font was used for the rest of the text because the serifs help make the

text easier to read.

>Newspaper Article

The newspaper article is a 350 word article that appeared in The Dome, Widener University’s

student newspaper. A draft of the article was first shown in the second focus group. The first draft of

the article was heavily fact-based and focused entirely on what the Human Sexuality Program is. The

comments from the focus group suggested that the article should take a more human approach to help

ease the reader into the rest of the article.

As a result, an introduction was added to the article that described an event that the program had

done recently. The description of the event was then used to direct the reader to the fact-based material


of the rest of the article. The article was kept short due to the standard length of a newspaper article.

The article was written in a formal style to appeal to the formal, academic nature of the program itself.

The article was published in early February.

>PowerPoint

The next part of materials that we crafted are 2 Powerpoint presentations. These are the second

most important creations. The client and his associates go to a lot of conferences in order to spread

world about the Human Sexuality Graduate Program in the academic fields. He specifically requested a

straight forward PowerPoint with about seven slides that he can click through and animations will play

and etc. However, we decided to do create another PowerPoint that would allow an interested student

to take control. This PowerPoint is like a pseudo-website in execution. There are links to click that will

take to certain portions of the PowerPoint, such as History and Career Advancement. Also there is

buttons that someone could click where the slide would be read aloud. This provides a form of

interaction that most PowerPoints and gives us the one up on other presentations in conferences. Not to

mention that most presentations will have straight forward PowerPoints and actions are normally a

deciding in what attracts the most attention and recall.

The PowerPoints will have all of the bells and whistles and animated logos and extra trimmings

in order to create a fun-filled mood which is just as unique as the Human Sexuality Program itself.

The color scheme of a general black background with blue trim and white text is to make it

visual different form the many other PowerPoints it is bound to go up against at conferences. Also the

color choices relate to the color choices of the logo specified by the client.

Each PowerPoint will have have at least 7 slides of actual content. The Basic (PowerPoint with

no interaction) will have History, Career Advancement, Dual Degree, Quotes, Certification and Contact


info. It will have a gallery slide but it won't be of the same quality delivery as the Interactive

PowerPoint will have. The main difference between the Interactive PowerPoint and the Basic is that

with the Interactive, users can decided what they want to look at and in what order. Choices are a big

decision in swaying the minds of potential consumers. A linear PowerPoint limits what one can do with

the technology to really wow and impress the consumer and competition. Other than the two very

different delivery systems, both PowerPoints will share the exact same content.


Conclusion

After a long year filled with its ups and downs, we finally reached the end of the project. It been

a long time coming, and the dread for the project has been building up well over two years. Personally,

we can't believe it ended so suddenly. It kind of just fizzled out. It was definitely an experience worth

going through, after it was all said and done.

If we were able to do this over again, there are several things that we would change. At the

beginning, we discussed the possibility within our group of developing a website. In the second half of

the project, it became apparent that a website would no longer be feasible due to a lack of knowledge

about website design. If we were able to do the year over again, Scott would have worked on the most

basic materials earlier in the semester so that we could have possibly learned how to design a website

for our client. The only real problem with website design (other than lack of advanced knowledge on

the subject) is that our creative freedoms would have been strictly limited due to the preset template the

Widener website abides by.

The major strengths of our project is that the materials that we presented our client were both

functional and high quality. For example, the brochure was done to the best of our ability and is both

visually compelling and easy to read. By not having as many materials as some other groups, it allowed

us to devote more time to the materials we did create. The quality over quantity method that we took let

us have more time to develop our materials, which ultimately meant that our finished materials were of

a higher quality than they would have been otherwise. It is unfortunate though that a lot of our

materials and ideas fell to the way side due to the lack of a third member.

Another strength is that we kept in contact with our client throughout both semesters, which

allowed us to constantly communicate with them. We found that our client’s input greatly aided us in

both the materials we created and the actual design process. Additionally, we found that what our focus


groups felt about certain materials wasn’t always the same as what our client wanted. By keeping in

close contact, it allowed us to work out the differences and strike a balance between the wants and

needs of the client and the wants and needs of the members of the focus group (graduate students: our

target audience.)

Our biggest weakness was a lack of materials. As mentioned above, we would have ideally

done a website. By creating a website, it would increase the awareness of the Human Sexuality

Program more than a brochure or PowerPoint ever could. However, a lack of time meant that we

wouldn’t be able to develop a functional website. Another possible material that could have been

created is a promotional video. However, this was ruled out early on as there was no feasible way for

the video to be distributed and reach its target audience effectively, not to even mention the lack of

video filming and editing skill between the original three group members. The end product wouldn't

have been up the the standards of the other videos presented.

Our second greatest weakness was overcoming the difficulty of losing a group member. We did

not find out about the loss of our group member until two months before the due date, which meant that

we had to work even harder than we did before in order to pick up the slack. We did recover from the

loss, however having an extra group member would have meant that a lot more materials could have

been created and with better quality. Another set of eyes proofing all of the materials we created is

never a bad idea.

Overall, however, we maintained a strong sense of what our client wanted and therefore we

were able to help them reach their goals. At the start of last semester, the Human Sexuality Program

had no real effective or flashy promotional materials. The materials that we provided our client were a

success and allowed them to reach their target audience without really ripping the representatives of the

Human Sexuality Program out of their element. They used PowerPoints before in order to sell their

organization and they will continue use them, albeit with a bit more flash and visual substance. They


will still hand out brochures to interested patrons who visit the Widener booth at conferences, however,

there is now a flashier, more colorful brochure to really entice someone to come to Widener. It shows

off images of the campus while still providing the necessary facts a graduate student needs to make an

educated decision. We aren't trying to change the way the Human Sexuality Graduate Program at

Widener University is selling itself, just improving the techniques it already has.


Works Cited

Achrol, Ravi S. (1991) Evolution of the Marketing Organization: New Forms for Turbulent
Environments. Journal of Marketing. 55. (4). 77-93.

Brown, Heath A. (2005) Graduate Enrollment and Degrees. Research data presented by the Council of
Graduate Schools, Washington, DC.

Corley, Kevin G., Gioia, Dennis A., Schultz, Majken (2000). Organizational Identity, Image, and
Adaptive Instability. The Academy of Management Review. 25. (1). 63-81.

De Castro, Marcos Paulo P., Duarte Franco, Eliane F., Foreit, Karen G. (1989) The Impact of Mass
Media Advertising on a Voluntary Sterilization Program in Brazil. Studies in Family
Planning.20. (2), 107-116.

Faraday, Peter., Sutcliffe, Alistair. (1997) Designing effective multimedia presentations. Proceedings of
the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems. 272-278.

Fu, Ping Ping., Tsui, Anne S. (2003). Utilizing Printed Media to Understand Desired Leadership
Attributes in the People's Republic of China. Asia Pacific Journal of Management. 20.(4).

Goyette, Kimberly A., Mullen, Ann L., Soares, Joseph A. (2003). Who goes to Graduate School?
Social and Academic Correlates of Educational Continuation after College. Sociology of
Education. 76. (2). 143-169.

June, Audrey Williams. (2006) Facilities Play a Key Role in Students' Enrollment Decision, Study
Find. Chronicle of Higher Education. 52. (40). A27.

Leiblum, Sandra R. (2001). Sexual and Relationship Theory. Routledge. 16. (1)

Lehman, James. Powers, Donald E. (2005). GRE Candidates' perceptions of the importance of graduate
admissions factors. Research in Higher Education. 19. (2).

Maguire, Kenneth Micheal.(2005). Introduction to human sexuality for professional psychology
graduate students (Doctoral dissertation, Widener University, Institute for Graduate Clinical
Psychology, 2005). Dissertations Abstracts International-B. 66. (6), 3417.

Mayer, Richard E. (1997) Are we asking the right questions? Educational Psychologist. 32. (1), 1-19.

Perna, Laura W. (2004) Understanding the Decision to Enroll in Graduate School: Sex and
Racial/ethnic Group Differences. Journal of Higher Education. 75.


Roering, Kenneth J., Ruekert, Robert W., Walker, Orville C. (1985) The Organization of Marketing
Activities: A Contingency Theory of Structure and Performance. Journal of Marketing. 49. (1).
13-25.

Taflinger, Richard F. (1996). Taking Advantage: You and Me, Babe: Sex and Advertising. Retrieved
October 23, 2006, from the World Wide Web: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~taflinge/sex.html

Wikipedia (2006). Advertising Appeals. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 23, 2006, from the World Wide
Web:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising_appeals


Enrollment Campaign for the Human Sexuality Graduate Program at Widener University

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (6)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (16)

Similar to Enrollment Campaign for the Human Sexuality Graduate Program at Widener University

Similar to Enrollment Campaign for the Human Sexuality Graduate Program at Widener University (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Enrollment Campaign for the Human Sexuality Graduate Program at Widener University