Advertising Your Event on a College Campus

February 22, 2017

Advertising Your Event on a College Campus

This blog post is directed towards the students on Ohio Northern’s Campus but it deals with advertising on a college campus so read on if you are interested in that. I am in my third year as a member of the Student Planning Committee also known as SPC. We are a group of about 30 students who plan, develop and host free activities and games on campus for our students. This year I was appointed an executive position called group coordinator and I have learned a lot from it. There are four of us sitting on exec with the same title. Our job is to plan the event with my team of seven. We come from all majors and plan all types of events from the easiest bingo to the huge acts like Fred Winters the hypnotist. There are a few reasons why I believe our events are successful and when it gets down to it the biggest thing is advertising. On a campus like Ohio Northern where there are only 3,500 students it is hard to get a big turnout. I will be outlining what we do to get students to come.

1. Plan ahead: we select the events for the semester at the end of the previous semester. The executive board knows what will happen. The next step is to book a room. On our campus, it is so hard to get the room you want two weeks before an event.

2. Get your group involved: ask them ideas they have for the event. A theme is a great way to advertise. Bingo is something that is done so often on our campus it almost always needs a theme.

3. Buy: create a shopping list. I have an excel document with all the items, pricing and where to find them. Our advisor has the credit card so this is the easiest method to tell him what is needed. Plus, you are more likely to stay within budget!

4. Start advertising: get things moving about two weeks before the event. We are lucky to have a communications chair that develops the Facebook events and other social media. However, they cannot know what to do unless you tell them.

5. Week of event: this is when things get crazy.

a. First, we have what is called the Mac Board. This is right outside the dining hall. It is one of the first things you create and it goes up right after the previous even ends.

b. Second, when it is a week out we start an email blast. We send an email to all students thought the onu-student-l. It is a job to remember to send it every day.

c. Third, there is some type of secondary advertising with every event. It is the groups job to think of a creative way to get the idea out.

d. Fourth, we have something called a-boards what are stand up white boards. These are done the day of the event and placed in the activities center.

e. Lastly, word of mouth. This is so important and I stress this with my group. Talking about the event in person gets people more hyped for it. I will stand up in front of my sorority and give a description of each event (of course I slightly beg them when it is my own event).

6. Actual event: setting up can take half an hour to two hours depending on the event. It is best to plan for extra time so your event is ready when the guests arrive. Then it is all fun. Perks of being a member is you still get most of the free stuff (all except raffles).

What is the common theme between all advertising? Consistency. This is achieved through communication. I fill out a Google Form weeks in advance so our communication chair has the correct information. I have a group chat with my team so they are in the loop constantly. Every type of advertisement has the same information on it: what will happen, what time, where it is.

As an example, I will show you the preparation for my event that happened on February 22^nd Paint Shop! Make sure to plan your advertising. We have it down to a science of when things need to happen on our campus. Also, realize you cannot do it all alone. The only thing I did by myself was the Mac Board and that was because I waited too long to ask others to help me.

Mac Board: