+Massachusetts Council

on Compulsive Gambling

Strategic Plan for Marketing Communications

Alison Dennis Kim McGuire

Harrison Petit Michael Shea

+Market Situation

Need for a specific market

Need for a well-defined message Not against gambling at the collegiate level, but

want to serve as a save haven for those who exhibit characteristics of problem gambling

Little competition in market

Recent launch of Prevention Initiative Financial First Steps New improvements to Web site

+Situation Analysis

Strengths Nonprofit status Newly improved Web site 24-hour helpline Financial First Steps

Weaknesses Lack of defined message Issues with market penetration Lack of funding Overall lack of awareness

+Situation Analysis

Opportunities New target audience Growth in college market Teach young people about problem gambling Prevent future problems

Threats Growing gambling issues Growing popularity of online gambling

+Target Audience

Primary target College students aged 18-22 in the Boston Metro

area Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, College of

the Holy Cross, M.I.T, Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Boston

Secondary targets Presidents and Deans Parents of college students

+Target Media

Primary targets College newspapers (online & print) and radio

stations Major print publications in Boston area

Secondary targets Major radio stations in Boston area Major television stations in Boston area

+Program Objectives

Dedicated to reducing the social, financial and emotional costs of problem gambling

Intends to reach a new target audience

Aims to offer problem gamblers a comfortable place to seek help

Intends to raise awareness in new markets via social media

Intends to reach out to eight major colleges and universities in Massachusetts by 2009

Will increase the amount of events, speaking opportunities, and news coverage in the following year

+March Madness 2009 Campaign Elements

Public Service Announcements 60 second spots

Testimonials from college students suffering from problem gambling

Placed on all target radio stations The stations eight major colleges and universities

September 2008 start

+March Madness 2009 Campaign Elements

“March Madness Awareness” Goal of generating awareness on problem

gambling around the March Madness tournament Public service announcements

The 60 second radio spot

Electronic newsletters Updates on progress of programs, information on

upcoming programs

January 2009 start

+March Madness 2009 Campaign Elements

Electronic Newsletter Quarterly newsletter

Updates on programs of Council

September 2008 start December 2008, March 2009, June 2009 releases

+Strategy

Press Release “New Gambling Prevention Campaign For College Students” Announce Council’s intentions to work with aforementioned

colleges and universities on new prevention campaign

Appeal to School President Gauge interest of figureheads Tap into their interests to heighten chances of cooperation

Media Pitch Gauge interest of writers Appeal to their interests to ensure a positive article

+Elevator Pitch

Three main points we want to stress in the pitch:Our main goal is to provide awareness on

the negative financial and social effects of problem gambling.

Within the last year, we have launched our new Prevention Initiative.

If you would like to hear more, I am free next week and would love to talk to you more.

+Electronic Newsletter

Quarterly Newsletter

Constant Contact User-name and password-secure account

previously set up Template created to ease transition process

(“Copy of MassGambling 1”) 501-2,500 contact list category suggested

+Web Site & Social Media Evaluation

Web site Improvements needed:

More information on college students needed Making the “Self Assessment” link more accessible

Current positive elements Good use of press room, services section, and “Contact

Us”

+Web Site & Social Media Evaluation

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+Web Site & Social Media Evaluation

Social Media Facebook

Utilize group feature

MySpace Create user page

YouTube Utilize viral video craze: public service announcements

+Web Site & Social Media Evaluation

+Company Descriptions

Three descriptions 100-word, 250-word, 500-word Different Web sites want specific lengths for

write-ups If the descriptions exceed the required length,

they are not used Allows for write-ups on the Council to be used on

a number of different Web based publications

+Thank you!

We hope you have enjoyed our presentation and strategic plan for marketing communications, and have found what we have suggested for you to be informative and helpful.