Portfolio Spotlight: Strategic Communication Plan Student Project

This project challenged me to apply my knowledge and expertise on project management and internal communication. The key to success in this project was to use several resources I had become familiar with over the course of my academic career, including communication strategy methods and techniques I had previously studied. I also applied several skills I had developed during my career while working on this project as they relate to internal organizational communication skills.

This project gave me the opportunity to learn about how to quantify project key deliverables, and how to track, report, and audit their development. This project also challenged me to contemplate how my own professional communication style might be perceived by upper-level stakeholders and internal management. These takeaways will help me meet my career goals by refining my project management skills, communication and budget writing skills, and my interpersonal communication skills with upper-level stakeholders. 

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Part I: Project Scope and Outreach Plan

Objectives and Scope

Project objectives include raising $5 million in 12 months. This is to fund the construction of a new medical facility and community center for LHF. The scope of this project includes the successful launch of the capital campaign and holding a launch event. The objectives of the campaign and launch event are to build rapport with the community and solicit donations with their support.

Target Audience Segments

Target audience segments for this project include internal and external stakeholders. (Bourne, 2015). External stakeholders can be defined in three segments: LHF community members; individuals who already receive LHF’s services and their family members, and current LHF sponsors and major donors. The second target audience segment is comprised of corporate and other organizational stakeholders who have not made financial donations to LHF in the past and are otherwise unassociated with the organization. 

The third target audience segment is comprised of private individuals who have not made financial donations to LHF in the past and are otherwise unassociated with the organization. These external stakeholder target audience segments will be provided project status updates in the form of marketing material intended to persuade their participation via financial donation. It is critical that these stakeholders remain informed on project status from a prospective donor standpoint so that they may make informed decisions regarding their contribution. (Bourne, 2015).

Other External Stakeholders

External stakeholders whose audience segments fall outside of those defined as focal groups should still be considered as a risk management measure. (Bourne, 2015). These include organizations, their representatives, and private individuals. While these stakeholders which exist outside of the target audience segments will not be foundational to the development of communication strategizing and marketing materials, they may be exposed to these materials. Therefore, the impression they draw from project status messaging associated with LHF and the fundraising campaign should be a consideration for the sake of brand equity. (Keller, 2019).

Internal Stakeholders

Digital mediums for linear communication material include email newsletters and memos, and videos. (Wroblewski, 2019). Information provided via these two mediums will act similarly to feature stories; emphasizing the human impact that donors provide when they donate to the campaign. Videos will feature LHF employees and community members describing how LHF has positively impacted their lives. Digital mediums for interactional communication include LHF’s website and social media accounts. (Wroblewski, 2019). The information provided for the campaign through these channels should emphasize goalposts as an incentive trigger for audience members to donate. For example, audience members will be able to see how their previous donation contributed to the next weekly update. This platform also allows for feedback to be left on posts, providing a digital space for further audience participation and feedback.

Communication Channels:

Multiple communication channels will be used to reach all three target audience segments. These include linear, transactional, and interactional channels. (Wroblewski, 2019). A mix of traditional face-to-face, print, signage, and physical mail channels will be utilized. Additionally, email, social media, video, and LHF’s website will be used as digital channels. (Indeed Editorial Team, 2023). The content developed for these channels will provide synchronous, omnichannel marketing, designed to generate unique impressions from the greatest number of individuals defined within their segment group. (Indeed Editorial Team, 2023). The nature of the content across all channels acting as a network of information rather than separate entities reflects LHF values by emulating a sense of continuous conversation and community, promoting a feeling of engaging with a noble cause for each audience segment.

Outreach Mediums

Traditional mediums for linear communication material include printed flyers and signage promoting the campaign with information detailing how to donate. (Wroblewski, 2019). Physical mail will be a medium for interactional communication, providing information about the campaign and a return envelope for donors to send direct checks. (Wroblewski, 2019). Face-to-face communication taking place at the campaign launch event, as well as other potential events that LHF might participate in throughout the event, will act as a traditional linear communication medium, providing information and materials to audience members in person. (Wroblewski, 2019).

Digital mediums for linear communication material include email newsletters and memos, and videos. (Wroblewski, 2019). Information provided via these two mediums will act similarly to feature stories; emphasizing the human impact that donors provide when they donate to the campaign. Videos will feature LHF employees and community members describing how LHF has positively impacted their lives. Digital mediums for interactional communication include LHF’s website and social media accounts. (Wroblewski, 2019). The information provided for the campaign through these channels should emphasize goalposts as an incentive trigger for audience members to donate. For example, audience members will be able to see how their previous donation contributed to the next weekly update. This platform also allows for feedback to be left on posts, providing a digital space for further audience participation and feedback.

Progress Metrics:

The first and most important key performance indicator is the amount of funds raised through the capital campaign. Fundraising progress should be tracked and internally audited weekly for assessment. (Bourne, 2015). Additionally, milestones should be established to track progress over longer periods of time. Metric data should be tracked from digital engagement with the campaign to measure external stakeholder interest and feedback.

Part II: Project Timeline and Budget

Key Deliverables:

Key Deliverable #1: The successful execution of hosting the campaign launch event. (Bourne, 2015). This deliverable will require material and human resources. (Skusa, 2024). The development of the launch event is a deliverable that can be broken into steps defined by milestones that will serve as a timeline and help adhere this key deliverable to the project budget.

Key Deliverable #2: The production of media kits to help promote the campaign throughout its duration. Several media kits will be developed to generate interest in the campaign, from launch event promotion to the campaign’s closure. The development of this deliverable will require both material and human resources and can be tracked by milestones and produced within the scope of the campaign’s budget. (Skusa, 2024).

Key Deliverable #3: The development of donor stewardship packages. These packages will be delivered to the highest priority donors; that is, donors who pledge the highest dollar amount funds to the campaign. These donors will likely be organizational rather than individual, including corporations, foundations, and non-profits, although private individuals might obtain them as well. This deliverable will require human and material resources to produce. (Skusa, 2024). The development of these packages can be broken into milestones and fit within project budgetary constraints.

Launch event milestones:

• Securing venue.

• Securing other logistic material (tables, chairs, tents, decorations).

• Developing promotional materials (flyers, signage).

• Securing human resources (volunteers, creating staff schedules).

• Final milestone successful execution.

Securing a venue for the launch event is the first critical step in the development timeline. This should take place prior to serious promotional efforts for the event, since without a venue, the event cannot continue. Securing human and material resources for the launch event are the next tasks in producing this key deliverable, and might not take place in perfect sequence, and are more likely to happen simultaneously. (Harrin, 2016). The final milestone for this deliverable is its successful outcome; that is, the launch event taking place. The first measurement of success for this deliverable is the launch event taking place on time, without issue. The second measurement of success for this deliverable is reflected in the amount of donor participation the event produces; a specific dollar amount should be identified as the fundraising goal for the event itself.

Media kit milestones:

• Feature stories drafted, edited, and finalized.

• Photographs secured.

• QR codes produced.

• Contact lists developed.

• Kit packaged and sent to media outlets.

• Digital kit sent to high import donors.

New media kits should be developed for each quarter, with two extras developed for promoting the launch event and campaign start, and one wrapping the campaign. Milestones are the same for each produced. High-import donors will include those who pledge the highest dollar amounts and those determined to be potential sources of high donation activity. In this way, the media kits act as persuasive triggers and a call to action, as well as a goodwill effort to continuously generate interest and community involvement. A specific dollar amount should be identified to differentiate these donors. (Clampitt, 2017). As a note, photographs in these kits should feature LHF staff, volunteers, and consenting recipients of care and their families, and therefore should be produced internally rather than outsourced.

Donor stewardship package milestones:

• Print letters and certificates.

• Assign representatives from LHF to deliver recipients their packages and invite them to meetings and other events.

• Deliver the packages and invitations until the end of the campaign.

Donor stewardship packages should be produced whenever a new donor is determined to be of highest importance for the campaign’s success. A dollar amount should be determined to designate these donors. One of the most critical tasks in the creation of these packages is to assign an LHF employee to act as a liaison between the donor in question. This representative of the brand will not only deliver stewardship packages but will also act as a point of contact assigned to that donor for communication with LHF. Donors will be encouraged to ask questions and participate in meetings sent by invitation through this key individual.

Timeline and Deadline Outline:

• Month 1-3: Launch event planning. Promotional materials, designation of roles, delegation of tasks, outreach, and promotion.

• Month 4-6: First round of fundraising appeals and outreach to potential donors. Metric data tied to digital content should be tracked, logged, and assessed weekly.

• Month 7-10: Full assessment of campaign progress success and report to be made based on key performance indicators and metric data. Adjustments to be identified and implemented based on performance indicators.

• Month 11-12: Marketing efforts to be increased as deadline draws near to entice as many donors as possible. Campaign wrap-up should include achievement showcase and final donor stewardship efforts.

Project Resources and Costs:

The full budget for the project is $100,000. From this amount, an outline of budgetary allocations are as follows:

Project Resources

• Launch event

• Venue fees: $7500

• Tables, chairs, tents: $2500

• Print promotional materials (flyers, signage): $2500

• Digital promotional materials (social media): $2500

• Human resources (employees, volunteers): $8750

Total: $23,750

Media Kits

• Writers and editors for feature story production: $8750

• Printed kits, including QR codes and photographs: $7500

• Digital kits, including QR codes and photographs: $7500

• Human resources (LHF internal): $8750

Total: $32,500

Stewardship Packages

• Printing costs (letters, certificates): $7500

• Human resources (LHF internal): $8750

• Shipping: $7500

Total: $23,750

The total cost of these deliverables is $80,000 of the $100,000 project budget. These cost estimates factor $20,000 left over for unexpected expenses.

Budget Management:

Budget reviews should take place each quarter to determine allocation status. Adjustments to the budget should be made based on these reviews and any other unexpected expenses. Consider consulting with a financial advisor as a subject matter expert once before the campaign starts, and once again during month 6.

Part III: Management Strategy

Progress Metrics:

Formulating progress metrics should follow the SMART goal model. (Lamachenka, 2016). One progress metric to define project communication success is the correlation data between the release of promotional material and immediate donations received. Forecast predictions should be made to measure these metrics; i.e., for every social media announcement made, a certain dollar amount should be donated. Another method to measure project communication success is to track engagement data and compare it to the target audience segments defined. For example, the geographic location of unique visitors to the LHF fundraiser campaign webpage should reflect that of the target audience segments.

 Finally, direct communication effort feedback can be acquired through surveys. When donors submit a check by mail, or contribute online, they should be prompted to choose from a list of sources to disclose how they learned about the campaign. The data gathered from a survey like this can be critical to identify the strongest and weakest communication material in circulation at any point during the campaign.

Performance Reporting:

Daily meetings between internal stakeholders, including volunteers and employees, should take place in person and online via Microsoft Teams. These brief “huddles” will summarize current campaign goals, recent successes, and areas of improvement, as well as define daily tasks. Monthly meetings between internal stakeholders with more direct campaign involvement, including supervisors, and those with access to funds, like the treasurer and accountant, and the marketing team should take place in person and online via Microsoft Teams. These meetings will provide a more in-depth summary, project health, and define monthly metric goals.

Bi-weekly meetings with upper-level stakeholders will take place in person and online via Microsoft Teams. Executives and board members will be invited to attend. These project reports will include detailed summaries, data sets, visual aids, project health reports, risk management, and define relevant goals, metrics, performance indicators, and time tracking. A written summary will be sent to both internal and external upper-level stakeholders, with sensitive LHF materials redacted for external stakeholder memos sent.

Any urgent messages, significant changes, or other serious impacts to the overall project should be reported in real time, or as close to this as possible, with all internal stakeholders, and certain upper-level external stakeholders as needed. The channels for these communication efforts will vary depending on context, but may include emails, phone calls, or physical mail.

Risk and Issue Management:

Internal stakeholders should meet once prior to campaign launch to organize a crisis mitigation team to meet as needed for unexpected events or budget constraints. This team should then work to assess risks in a proactive, preventative way to identify potential issues and protocol to follow should they occur. These include negative publicity, budget problems, economic factors that may affect donor support, and other acts of God. Tangible examples of risks associated with the project include logistical risks, including safety and wellness, and ethical risks. (AdaptiveWork, 2021). These risks include the physical safety of LHF employees and volunteers during the launch event and stress levels over the campaign. Ethical risks include adherence to legal protection for LHF service recipients, like those provided by HIPAA.

Escalation of these risks should follow a rigid risk assessment and abatement protocol. (AdaptiveWork, 2021). This protocol should include a clear format and expectation for all involved internal parties to document the risk, the causality, and fiscal and brand equity losses associated. The protocol for incident reporting of this magnitude should be authored and standardized prior to the launch event and campaign.

Sources

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