MEMORANDUM

Date: December 4, 2019

To:Varsity O
From: Boomer PR
RE:2019 Public Relations Campaign

Dear Varsity O,

This memo contains the contents of the public relations campaign conducted by Boomer
PR. The campaign is titled "Expanding Reach."

All questions regarding the report should be directed to team account lead, Kelsey Hyde.

We thank you so much for this opportunity these past few months. Your careful
consideration is much appreciated.

Signed,

Nick Buscemi, Sarah Ehlers, Kelsey Hyde, Emory Hood

1
 TABLE OF
CONTENTS
COVER LETTER.....................................................1
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................3
MEET THE TEAM...................................................4
MISSION & PROBLEM STATEMENT.............................5
SITUATION ANALYSIS.......................................6-13
SUMMARY OF RESEARCH......................................14
RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................15-32
PLAN OF ACTION & MILESTONES.......................33-34
BUDGET...........................................................35
EVALUATION.....................................................36

2
 EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Boomer PR conducted both primary and secondary
research for the client, Boomer PR. Research included
in-depth interviews and a survey. Interviews were
conducted to current OU athletes. The questions were
designed to gather knowledge, attitude, and behavior for
the client, Varsity O. The main goal of Boomer PR's
campaign is to increase awareness surrounding Varsity
O.

Varsity O is a self funded organization. The

organization current donors include middle-age
individuals; however, the organization is wanting to
target a younger alumni. Meaning, the organization is
needing to find a new way to attract interest from the
younger OU alumni.

Through research conducted by Boomer PR, we

identified key trends within participants' survey and
interview responses.

Boomer PR is essential for Varsity O. We will able to

assist them in targeting a younger alumni age-group and
achieve their ideal awareness level in order to be a
successful organization.

3
 MEET THE TEAM

KELSEY HYDE EMORY HOOD

Hometown: San Antonio, TX  Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Fun Fact: I love sushi, but I Fun Fact: I made Kylie Jenner
hate seafood laugh once

NICK BUSCEMI SARAH EHLERS

Hometown: Tahlequah, OK
Fun fact: I have 7 siblings
4
Hometown: Walnut, IA
Fun Fact: In January, I'll start
grad school and work as a
graduate assistant for OU.
 PROBLEM
STATEMENT
Varsity O faces a lack of awareness among current
and past athletes of The University of Oklahoma. The
research conducted will allow the organization with
knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of their target
stakeholders.

MISSION
STATEMENT
To build and maintain a spirit of loyalty and pride
for the University of Oklahoma whereby OU
student-athletes become lifetime members of the
University of Oklahoma Athletics family and are
welcomed, involved, and encouraged to participate
during and after their college tenure.

5
Situation
Analysis

6
 INTERNAL FACTORS
Varsity O is a social club at the University of Oklahoma (OU)
founded in 1925 that focuses on connecting current and former
OU student athlete letterwinners with the OU Athletics family.
The organization is run by two main employees, Joe
Washington and Maddie Stein, and works alongside the OU
Athletics Department. The organization’s headquarters and
athletic wear store is located on the Norman OU campus. 

The organization hosts numerous events each year for

current and former student athletes to come together and
bond, network and celebrate. The organization is in the process
of becoming completely digitized and increasing their social
media presence. The organization is also striving to become
more well-known in the Norman community and distinguished
nationally alongside other universities. The funding of Varsity O
is strictly based off of donations and merchandise. 

The mission of Varsity O is to build and maintain a spirit of

loyalty and pride as well as encourage the participation of OU
athletes during and after their college tenure. The goal of the
organization is to provide meaningful opportunities, promote
education resources, celebrate OU athletes’ achievements and
strengthen the bond of current and former athletes of all
sports.

7
 EXTERNAL FACTORS
As an alumni organization, Varsity O has a dependency on
numerous external factors inside and outside the university.
Varsity O stands out among other alumni organizations
because letterwinners can join while being current or former
student athletes. However, these other alumna associations
such as LSU, UCLA and Notre Dame have much stronger
participation and legitimacy across the U.S. when compared to
Varsity O.

Opposition wise, donations can be considered a major

external factor due to Varsity O’s funding is 100% donation-
based. The organization must find new ways to market the
purpose of the association to not only the general public, but
letter winner alumni members. The former athlete members
who do not already contribute to the organization might feel
less inclined to donate because they feel as if they have
already contributed enough to the university because of the
time they spent on the field. Non sports fans are also a sector
of Varisty O’s publics who would be less inclined to donate as
well. 

Luckily, Varsity O faces minor impediments in comparison to

other alumni organizations. The lack of social media
engagement and networking via internet are slight obstacles
the organization is currently fixing. These two factors are
impactful ways in improving the public knowledge of Varsity O.

8
 EXTERNAL FACTORS
As an alumni organization, Varsity O has a dependency on
numerous external factors inside and outside the university.
Varsity O stands out among other alumni organizations
because letterwinners can join while being current or former
student athletes. However, these other alumna associations
such as LSU, UCLA and Notre Dame have much stronger
participation and legitimacy across the U.S. when compared to
Varsity O.

Opposition wise, donations can be considered a major

external factor due to Varsity O’s funding is 100% donation-
based. The organization must find new ways to market the
purpose of the association to not only the general public, but
letter winner alumni members. The former athlete members
who do not already contribute to the organization might feel
less inclined to donate because they feel as if they have
already contributed enough to the university because of the
time they spent on the field. Non sports fans are also a sector
of Varisty O’s publics who would be less inclined to donate as
well. 

Luckily, Varsity O faces minor impediments in comparison to

other alumni organizations. The lack of social media
engagement and networking via internet are slight obstacles
the organization is currently fixing. These two factors are
impactful ways in improving the public knowledge of Varsity O.

9
 EXTERNAL FACTORS
As an alumni organization, Varsity O has a dependency on
numerous external factors inside and outside the university.
Varsity O stands out among other alumni organizations
because letterwinners can join while being current or former
student athletes. However, these other alumna associations
such as LSU, UCLA and Notre Dame have much stronger
participation and legitimacy across the U.S. when compared to
Varsity O.

Opposition wise, donations can be considered a major

external factor due to Varsity O’s funding is 100% donation-
based. The organization must find new ways to market the
purpose of the association to not only the general public, but
letter winner alumni members. The former athlete members
who do not already contribute to the organization might feel
less inclined to donate because they feel as if they have
already contributed enough to the university because of the
time they spent on the field. Non sports fans are also a sector
of Varisty O’s publics who would be less inclined to donate as
well. 

Luckily, Varsity O faces minor impediments in comparison to

other alumni organizations. The lack of social media
engagement and networking via internet are slight obstacles
the organization is currently fixing. These two factors are
impactful ways in improving the public knowledge of Varsity O.

10
 EXTERNAL FACTORS
As an alumni organization, Varsity O has a dependency on
numerous external factors inside and outside the university.
Varsity O stands out among other alumni organizations
because letterwinners can join while being current or former
student athletes. However, these other alumna associations
such as LSU, UCLA and Notre Dame have much stronger
participation and legitimacy across the U.S. when compared to
Varsity O.

Opposition wise, donations can be considered a major

external factor due to Varsity O’s funding is 100% donation-
based. The organization must find new ways to market the
purpose of the association to not only the general public, but
letter winner alumni members. The former athlete members
who do not already contribute to the organization might feel
less inclined to donate because they feel as if they have
already contributed enough to the university because of the
time they spent on the field. Non sports fans are also a sector
of Varisty O’s publics who would be less inclined to donate as
well. 

Luckily, Varsity O faces minor impediments in comparison to

other alumni organizations. The lack of social media
engagement and networking via internet are slight obstacles
the organization is currently fixing. These two factors are
impactful ways in improving the public knowledge of Varsity O.

11
12
 C O M P E T I T I V E

A N A L Y S I S

Since Varsity O specially operates within from OU letterwinners, their

competition is less within a group that could steal their clients and more
of an aspirational competition between similar organizations. Some of
Varsity O’s aspirational competitions include Notre Dame, LSU, and
UCLA.

Notre Dame has a letterwinner program called “The Notre Dame

Monogram Club,” which is very difficult to find through a basic internet
search. The club dates back to 1898 (“The Notre Dame Monogram Club,”
2014). Notre Dame constantly posts on social media and has about 3000
followers on Instagram and likes on Facebook. On Twitter, they have over
7000 followers.

LSU has a letterwinners’ program called “LSU National L Club,” which

is also difficult to find through a basic internet search. LSU National L
Club also charges a fee for former athletes to maintain their membership
(“LSU’s National L Club,” 2018), but they do not have their own specific
website. LSU National L Club has no Instagram presence, but they do
have less than 1000 followers on Twitter and over 2000 likes on
Facebook.

UCLA’s program for their letterwinners is called “Bruin Varsity Club,”

which was also difficult to find. Although there is no fee to be a member
of their program, they do have a “Premier” option that gives their
letterwinners more exclusive opportunities if they pay $10 a month
(“Bruin,” n.d.). The Bruin Varsity Club has no Facebook presence, but they
do have 2000 followers on Twitter and 1000 on Instagram. According to
the Wooden Athletic Fund Twitter page, over 8000 alumni contribute to
their athletic fund (“Wooden Athletic,” n.d.).

13
 S U M M A R Y O F

R E S E A R C H

In order to gain the most accurate and beneficial data for Varsity O, Boomer PR
conducted primary and secondary research. These findings became the baseline
of the agency’s campaign recommendations. 

Primary Research
For primary research, Boomer PR created a survey via Qualtrics to
quantitatively collect current and former letterwinner athletes’ knowledge,
perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, and media behaviors toward Varsity O. The
survey was distributed for approximately two months and resulted in a total of 863
completed surveys. With these results, the agency set goals, objectives,
strategies, and tactics toward increasing the brand awareness and public
engagement of the client. 

In addition, Boomer PR conducted four in-depth interviews with current student

athletes to qualitatively collect information on Varsity O from the knowledge,
perceptions, attitudes, behaviors and media behaviors of our key publics. These
interviews allowed the agency to gain a clearer understanding on Varsity O
through the perspective of student athletes’ first-hand experiences. With these
results, the agency formulated recommendations on how to reach current and
former student athletes at a large-scale based off smaller-scale data. 

Secondary Research
For secondary research, Boomer PR analyzed the social media accounts of
various competitors to gain a better insight on what does and doesn’t work when
increasing brand awareness and engaging with key publics online. Alternative
secondary research methods were more difficult to uncover due to minimal
exposure of Varsity O with the public. 

Research Insights
Both primary and secondary research indicated a few clear findings. First, the
results showed the public has minimal knowledge of Varsity O; however,
expressed a significant interest in learning more, becoming a member, and
donating to the organization. Second, the publics were most engaging on
Facebook and consider this platform a common source of obtaining news, trends
or information. Third, the publics considered email to be the best form of contact
with Varsity O. Finally, based on the survey data and interview transcriptions,
Boomer PR has concluded the publics generally support the efforts of Varsity O
despite having slim knowledge of the organization as well as express a strong
interest in joining/contributing to Varsity O’s mission.

14
Recommendations

15
 T H E G O A L

Boomer pr's goal is to raise

awareness and increase
participation amongst
athletes for varsity O.

16
 O B J E C T I V E 1
Awareness
To have an effect on the awareness of Varsity O
by OU letterwinners, specifically to increase their
understanding of Varsity O’s purposeful mission (50%
by May 2020).

E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y

Through primary research, Boomer PR

discovered a majority of participants had minimal
knowledge of Varsity O. In addition, current and
former student athletes were unaware of Varsity O’s
website and social media accounts resulting in a
lack of knowledge on the organization. In order to
increase the publics understanding of the
organization's mission, Varsity O should increase
social media engagement, develop their website
and create an established brand across all
platforms.

17
 S T R A T E G Y 1

Strategy: Increase social media engagement

Tactics:
Build a social media calendar
Follow all OU sports organizations
Engage with sports teams (like, comment, share, retweet, re-post
Paid marketing (commercial ads on sports channels, sports
Twitter/Facebook/YouTube)

S T R A T E G Y 2

Strategy: Establish Varsity O brand refresh on social media

Tactics:
Create Facebook page
Create Instagram highlight wheels
Update website
Create branded hashtag for all social media platforms
Create new logo

18
 O B J E C T I V E 2

Acceptance
To have an effect on the acceptance of Varsity O by OU
letterwinners, specifically to increase letterwinners’ positive
attitudes towards Varsity O and the benefits they provide (30%
by May 2020).

E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y

Through primary research, Boomer PR concluded that

many student-athletes would participate in Varsity O, but
they did not know enough about it. Additionally, these
students want to see Varsity O at more student-athlete
events. In order to increase positive attitudes, Varsity O
should attend events for current student-athletes, create
events for former student-athletes, and use social media to
stakeholders.

19
 S T R A T E G Y 1

Strategy: Special Events

Tactics:
Find and attend current student athlete events
Find and attend reunion events
Attend Sooner Choice Awards
At all events, have a speaker talk about Varsity O and a booth for
letterwinners to learn more about Varsity O
Create special events calender

S T R A T E G Y 2

Strategy: Increase engagement with Career Services for current and

former student athletes
Tactics:
Post on social media close to December and May graduations
about Career Services
Encourage students to have a sit-down with Career Services
Partner with Career Services and have them give student athletes
information about Varsity O.

S T R A T E G Y 3

Strategy: Internship opportunity for current athletes

Tactics:
Connect with different sports to offer internships to students
Positions would have flexible hours during off-season
Students can help spread the word and improve attitudes about
Varsity O

20
 S T R A T E G Y 4

Strategy: Established for Varsity O a brand refresh on social media

Tactics:
Invite letterwinners to the Facebook group.
Encourage members to post job opportunities.
Encourage members to post career updates.
Use Facebook to invite letterwinners to Passport to the Future
Use Facebook to invite letterwinners to Tailgates
Use Facebook to invite letterwinners to Reunions
Reach out to members of Varsity O and offer a prize for answering “How
does Varsity O benefit you?”
Use responses as testimonials to engage with potential new
membersCreate a video testimonial to share on social media

S T R A T E G Y 5

Strategy: Create a former student athlete-current student-athlete

mentorship program
Tactics:
Encourage former athletes to mentor current students
Host events for former athletes to meet current athletes
Create partnerships

21
 O B J E C T I V E 3

Action
To have an effect on the action of Varsity O specifically to
increase letterwinner engagement by OU letterwinners by
50%.

E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y

In order to capitalize on the awareness and acceptance

phases, Varsity O must move forward from exposing
letterwinners to networking events and Varsity O social media
to establishing consistent habits and traditions. Establishing
these habits and traditions will lead to changes in opinion and
behavior.

22
 S T R A T E G Y 1

Strategy: Special events

Tactics:
Establish and maintain consistent email invite list
Work to have a consistent number of letterwinners attending different
athletic events
Establish Varsity O preferred seating and accommodations at all
sooner sporting events

S T R A T E G Y 2

Strategy: Implement content and consistent communication in private

Facebook group.
Tactics:
Send a message and/or Varsity O generated social media content for
every OU athletic events.

S T R A T E G Y 3

Strategy: Social media

Tactics:
Establish and implement content calendars on Instagram, Facebook
and Twitter
Instagram & Facebook
Standard posts: once a week, every athletic event 
Post to stories 1-3 times per day
Twitter:
Retweet all OU athletics posting
Retweet all letterwinner athletic related tweets
Tweet details for all OU athletic events

23
 S T R A T E G Y 4

Strategy: Use Testimonials

Tactics:
Highlight letterwinner testimonials once a week

S T R A T E G Y 5

Strategy: Internship opportunity for current athletes

Tactics:
Work with OU Athletics, OU career services and local Norman and
Oklahoma CIty businesses to create internship programs exclusively
for OU letterwinners

S T R A T E G Y 6

Strategy: In-game promotions

Tactics:
Highlight Varsity O letterwinner as "Athlete of the Game"
Provide explanation on what Varsity O is, how to donate, how to join,
etc.
"Guessing game" type activity following the same game outline as
"Masked Singer" on Fox. Conduct activity during time-outs.
Focus on anonymous Varsity O letterwinners with disguised
identities.

24
D E L I V E R A B L E S

25
D E L I V E R A B L E S

26
D E L I V E R A B L E S

27
D E L I V E R A B L E S

28
D E L I V E R A B L E S

29
D E L I V E R A B L E S

30
D E L I V E R A B L E S

31
D E L I V E R A B L E S

32
T I M E L I N E

33
T I M E L I N E

34
B U D G E T

35
 E V A L U A T I O N

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of Boomer PR’s campaign, the agency

recommends that Varsity O do the following upon completion of the campaign. 

First, by utilizing social media analytics as well as the conducted content

analysis completed by Boomer PR, Varsity O’s social media platforms can be
properly evaluated and measured. In addition, this will allow the organization to
monitor the growth of brand awareness and public engagement in comparison to
competitors online. This will help determine specifically what posts their publics
are interacting with and what content is generating the most impressions through
a positive spotlight. Likewise, this will assist in highlighting the important aspects
of the organization’s online public engagement such as: likes, comments, shares,
retweets, etc. With this data, Varsity O will be able to curate social media content
that is qualitative and quantitative in order to reach their identified key publics. 

Second, by taking the survey conducted by Boomer PR prior to the campaign,

and distributing it post campaign to gain insights on the effectiveness of the
campaign. This will allow Varsity O to gain an understanding of the public’s
current knowledge, perception, attitude, behavior, and media behavior toward the
organization post campaign. With the survey results pre-campaign, this will allow
Varsity O to compare and contrast the data to the new data results as well as help
determine the success of the campaign over the past year.

The campaign plan that Boomer PR is suggesting to Varsity O is an outline

strategized toward raising brand awareness of the organization. This plan is
applicable annually with slightly different content, strategies, tactics, and
measurements as the organization expands. In addition, these particular methods
of evaluation will allow Varsity O to clearly measure brand awareness and public
engagement via social media. With this in mind, the agency recommends that
future campaigns using this plan use similar methods of evaluating the
effectiveness of the campaign.

36
 A P P E N D I X

References
About. (2019). Retrieved 28 September 2019, from
https://www.thevarsityo.com/about.html

Bruin Varsity Club. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://woodenathleticfund.com/giving/bruin-varsity-club.html

Caffey, K. (2019, September 24). Personal Interview.

History. (2019). Retrieved 28 September 2019, from

https://www.thevarsityo.com/history.html

Levingston, I. (2019, August 25). Personal Interview.

LSU’s National L Club. (2018, February 27). Retrieved from

http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?
DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=204817762

Moldauer, Y. (2019, August 25). Personal Interview.

O’Donnell, K. (2019, September 24). Personal Interview.

The Notre Dame Monogram Club. (2004, September 10). Retrieved from
https://und.com/the-notre-dame-monogram-club/.

Washington, J. (2019, August 28). Personal Interview.

Wooden Athletic Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://twitter.com/WoodenFund

Yul, M. (2019, September 25). Personal Interview.

37
 A P P E N D I X

Interview Guide
Demographics and Participant Characteristics
1. What is your name and how do you spell it?
2. How old are you?
3. What gender do you identify with? address you- he, she, they?
4. Where do you currently live?
5. What is your ethnic and/or racial background?
6. What is your current employment status? (Student, part-time, full-time,
unemployed, etc.?)
7. What was your household income last year?
8. What extracurriculars and volunteer work are you involved with?
9. What is/was your undergraduate GPA? 

I will now ask you about your knowledge about Varsity O as an organization. 

Knowledge

1. What information do you know about post-graduate alumni groups for

former student athletes?
-Attitude:
-Behaviors:
-Financial
2.  What information do you wish you knew about these alumni groups? 
3. What do you wish the public knew about donating to alumni groups? 
4. What does Varsity O offer that you think best benefits the program’s
participants?  
5. How do you think the public awareness of Varsity O will help increase
scholarships for participants? 
6. How do you think testimonials (stories from people who have received their
“O” Ring) would help Varsity O? 

Now I am going to ask you some questions about your engagement with media
in your daily life.
 A P P E N D I X

Media Behaviors

1. Do you follow Varsity O on social media?

2. Which social media platform do you feel the most comfortable using?
3. On average, how many hours a day do you spend on social media?
4. How comfortable are you engaging with people you’ve never met before on social
media?
5. How often do you see social media posts using Varsity O?
6. How do you feel when you see Varsity O posts?
7. Where do you get your daily news?
8. If you saw an advertisement for Varsity O, how would you respond? 

I will now ask you questions about your attitudes toward the organization Varsity O. 

Perception and Attitudes about the Organization

1. Are you aware of the organization Varsity O? 

2. How do you perceive the purpose of Varsity O?
3. How do you think the general public perceives the organization Varsity O?
4. How do you think the perception of Varsity O can be improved?
5. How beneficial do you believe Varsity O’s services are? (If they are unaware of
services, briefly describe them)
6. How practical do you believe Varsity O’s goals are? (If they are unaware of goals,
briefly describe them)
7. How innovative do you believe Varsity O’s services are? (If they are unaware of
services, briefly describe them)
8. What can Varsity O do to spread the organization’s awareness?
9. What can Varsity O do to encourage people to donate?  

Conclusion

At this time I have covered all the questions I had. Are there any other experiences or
perceptions about Varsity O that you would like to share or anything you feel I missed? I
appreciate your time and help with this research. Please let me know if you think of
anything else you would like to add. Contact information for the primary researcher can
be found on your copy of the consent form.
 October 5, 2019

RESEARCH
REPORT
for Varsity O

PREPARED BY

BOOMER PR

Nick Buscemi Kelsey Hyde

Sarah Ehlers Emory Hood
MEMORANDUM
Date: October 5, 2019
To:Varsity O
From: Boomer PR
RE:Research Findings for Varsity O

Since the client briefing on August 28, Boomer PR has conducted and completed extensive
primary and secondary research regarding Varsity O and their target stakeholders.
Research was conducted in order to prepare a plan to create a campaign around
increasing awareness.

This report includes data gathered from in-depth interviews, a survey, and they key points
that directly resulted.

Signed,

Nick Buscemi, Sarah Ehlers, Kelsey Hyde, Emory Hood

1
 TABLE OF
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY....3
PROBLEM STATEMENT...4
MISSION STATEMENT...4
SITUATION ANALYSIS...5
INTERNAL FACTORS...6
EXTERNAL FACTORS...7
PRIMARY STAKEHOLDER...8
SECONDARY STAKEHOLDER...9-10
SWOT ANALYSIS...11
COMPETETIVE ANALYSIS...12
RESEARCH GOALS...13
INTERVIEW METHODOLOGY...14
INTERVIEW FINDINGS...15
INTERVIEW CONCLUSIONS...16
SURVEY METHODOLOGY...17
SURVEY FINDINGS...18
SURVEY CONCLUSIONS...19
SECONDARY RESEARCH...20
APPENDIX...21

2
 EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Boomer PR conducted both primary and secondary
research for the client, Boomer PR. Research included
in-depth interviews and a survey. Interviews were
conducted to current OU athletes. The questions were
designed to gather knowledge, attitude, and behavior for
the client, Varsity O. The main goal of Boomer PR's
campaign is to increase awareness surrounding Varsity
O.

Varsity O is a self funded organization. The

organization current donors include middle-age
individuals; however, the organization is wanting to
target a younger alumni. Meaning, the organization is
needing to find a new way to attract interest from the
younger OU alumni.

Through research conducted by Boomer PR, we

identified key trends within participants' survey and
interview responses.

Boomer PR is essential for Varsity O. We will able to

assist them in targeting a younger alumni age-group and
achieve their ideal awareness level in order to be a
successful organization.

3
 PROBLEM
STATEMENT
Varsity O faces a lack of awareness among current
and past athletes of The University of Oklahoma. The
research conducted will allow the organization with
knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of their target
stakeholders.

MISSION
STATEMENT
To build and maintain a spirit of loyalty and pride
for the University of Oklahoma whereby OU
student-athletes become lifetime members of the
University of Oklahoma Athletics family and are
welcomed, involved, and encouraged to participate
during and after their college tenure.

4
Situation
Analysis
 INTERNAL FACTORS
Varsity O is a social club at the University of Oklahoma (OU)
founded in 1925 that focuses on connecting current and former
OU student athlete letterwinners with the OU Athletics family.
The organization is run by two main employees, Joe
Washington and Maddie Stein, and works alongside the OU
Athletics Department. The organization’s headquarters and
athletic wear store is located on the Norman OU campus. 

The organization hosts numerous events each year for

current and former student athletes to come together and
bond, network and celebrate. The organization is in the process
of becoming completely digitized and increasing their social
media presence. The organization is also striving to become
more well-known in the Norman community and distinguished
nationally alongside other universities. The funding of Varsity O
is strictly based off of donations and merchandise. 

The mission of Varsity O is to build and maintain a spirit of

loyalty and pride as well as encourage the participation of OU
athletes during and after their college tenure. The goal of the
organization is to provide meaningful opportunities, promote
education resources, celebrate OU athletes’ achievements and
strengthen the bond of current and former athletes of all
sports.

6
 EXTERNAL FACTORS
As an alumni organization, Varsity O has a dependency on
numerous external factors inside and outside the university.
Varsity O stands out among other alumni organizations
because letterwinners can join while being current or former
student athletes. However, these other alumna associations
such as LSU, UCLA and Notre Dame have much stronger
participation and legitimacy across the U.S. when compared to
Varsity O.

Opposition wise, donations can be considered a major

external factor due to Varsity O’s funding is 100% donation-
based. The organization must find new ways to market the
purpose of the association to not only the general public, but
letter winner alumni members. The former athlete members
who do not already contribute to the organization might feel
less inclined to donate because they feel as if they have
already contributed enough to the university because of the
time they spent on the field. Non sports fans are also a sector
of Varisty O’s publics who would be less inclined to donate as
well. 

Luckily, Varsity O faces minor impediments in comparison to

other alumni organizations. The lack of social media
engagement and networking via internet are slight obstacles
the organization is currently fixing. These two factors are
impactful ways in improving the public knowledge of Varsity O.

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 PRIMARY
STAKEHOLDER
DEFINITIVE
“I’ve loved my time at OU.
I will miss being surrounded by my teammates and friends all the time. We
are so tight knit. I’m really hoping I can find a way to stay in touch and
continue to see them.”

Name: Shay Knighten

Pain Points
Age: 23
Concerned her window of public
Type: Definitive
exposure is closing
Title: Student Athlete
Worried about what her future

holds
Motivations and Values
Behaviors
Achieving personal success
Enjoys hanging out with old
Values social engagement
teammates
Be inspiring to other athletes
Provides assistance to young
Goals
softball players at camps
Continue to play softball at an elite
Enjoys engaging with fans on
level 
social media
Be a mentor to younger athletes
Tries to support OU athletics in
Stay in touch and visible on OU’s
person as much as possible
campus

8
 SECONDARY
STAKEHOLDER
DEPENDENT
“I have such a passion for women's gymnastics, and for the community
it has created. I am so grateful to have the oppottunity to get to be an
inspiration to those who look up to me."

Name: Maggie Nichols Pain Points

Age: 22 Concerned where her career will

Type: Dependent
take her post-college
Title: Student Athlete
Worried about not topping her

previous year’s record

Motivations and Values
Not being as acknowledged for her
Achieving personal success
successes in NCAA sports
Breaking ground in college women’s

gymnastic 
Behaviors

Being an elite role model athletically and Enjoys spending time with her

academically teammates

Goals Loves working out at the gym

To continue breaking more NCAA records

Focuses on academics when not in
Represent OU Women’s Gymnastics in an
the gym
exemplary manner
Strong advocate for women
Be an inspiration to younger athletes

9
 SECONDARY
STAKEHOLDER
DANGEROUS
"My favorite part about my job is getting to work with so many of the
talented individuals that take part in OU's athletic programs. I want
nothing but the best for our current and former athletes."

Name: John Matthews Pain Points

Age: 54 (Wong & Matt, n.d.).

Worries about lack of
Type: Dangerous
interest from alumni
Title: Athletic Administration 
Worries about limited

budget
Motivations and Values

Success of the program Behaviors

Values relationships with Enjoys attending events

letterwinners Works on acquiring

Goals
funding
Build relationships
Maintains organization in
Grow alumni participation
the program (Janssen,
Have the best authentic alumni
2013).
program

10
 SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
Varsity O has unique strengths and
capabilities that make them stand out to former
student athletes. First, Varsity O has a long
history and a salient desire to serve letterwinners
to the best of their abilities. Because the
University of Oklahoma has a successful athletic
department, Varsity O is able to market to
numerous professional athletes and seek their
support. In addition, Varsity O offers several
benefits to their members, like scholarships and
networking opportunities, and there is no cost to
be a member.
opportunities
Varsity O has many opportunities that
they can take advantage of in the upcoming
year. First, they can continue to grow their
social media channels, and they can strive
for consistency in their branding and content.
They can also reach out to all of OU’s sports
programs. In one of Boomer PR’s interviews,
the researcher found that there are specific
athletic events, like Sooner Choice Awards,
that Varsity O can attend to increase
awareness (O’Donnell, 2019).
11
Weaknesses
Although Varsity O has their strengths, they also
have some areas of weakness that they can improve.
First, their social media is new and does not have
many followers. It also lacks consistent branding
across all mediums. While the staff at Varsity O has
accomplished a lot thus far, their limited numbers
limits the amount they can accomplish. However,
Varsity O did add additional staff members, like their
new student interns. Additionally, Varsity O has a
limited number of active letterwinner members. The
name “Varsity O” is also difficult to find through a basic
internet search and is difficult to remember.
threats
Many student athletes cherish their time
spent playing with their team, yet some
view their play time and contribution to the
school as enough and they prefer not to
donate back to OU. This contribution factor
threatens Varsity O, because without
funding, they would not be able to function.
Since Varsity O is self-funded, their
unreliable cash flow threatens their
sustainability. With the ever-shifting
demographic of student athletes, it can be
difficult to target the right group.
 C O M P E T I T I V E

A N A L Y S I S

Since Varsity O specially operates within from OU letterwinners, their

competition is less within a group that could steal their clients and more
of an aspirational competition between similar organizations. Some of
Varsity O’s aspirational competitions include Notre Dame, LSU, and
UCLA.

Notre Dame has a letterwinner program called “The Notre Dame

Monogram Club,” which is very difficult to find through a basic internet
search. The club dates back to 1898 (“The Notre Dame Monogram Club,”
2014). Notre Dame constantly posts on social media and has about 3000
followers on Instagram and likes on Facebook. On Twitter, they have over
7000 followers.

LSU has a letterwinners’ program called “LSU National L Club,” which

is also difficult to find through a basic internet search. LSU National L
Club also charges a fee for former athletes to maintain their membership
(“LSU’s National L Club,” 2018), but they do not have their own specific
website. LSU National L Club has no Instagram presence, but they do
have less than 1000 followers on Twitter and over 2000 likes on
Facebook.

UCLA’s program for their letterwinners is called “Bruin Varsity Club,”

which was also difficult to find. Although there is no fee to be a member
of their program, they do have a “Premier” option that gives their
letterwinners more exclusive opportunities if they pay $10 a month
(“Bruin,” n.d.). The Bruin Varsity Club has no Facebook presence, but they
do have 2000 followers on Twitter and 1000 on Instagram. According to
the Wooden Athletic Fund Twitter page, over 8000 alumni contribute to
their athletic fund (“Wooden Athletic,” n.d.).

12
 RESEARCH GOALS
Boomer PR's research goals are to gauge current
and former letterwinner athletes' perceptions and
knowledge of Varsity O. Boomer PR conducted
research to better understand how current student
athletes perceive Varsity O, what their general
knowledge is about Varsity O, and to gather the
social media habits of Varsity O.

In order to create a successful campaign, Boomer

PR needs to know what student athletes know about
the organization and how they perceive Varsity O. By
obtaining the social media habits of student athletes
will help Varsity O raise the awareness and get as
much exposure as possible.

Boomer conducted interviews in order to gather

this information.We also developed a survey, which
was distributed to a large amount of former student
athletes.

Our secondary research consisted of analyzing the

social media pages of the similar organizations at
Universities across the country. This secondary
research allowed us to compare Varsity O to other
organizations in order to create a strategy for the
campaign and set campaign goals.

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 INTERVIEW
METHODOLOGY
The purpose of the interviews was to gather information
about the general knowledge, perception and social media
habits of current student athletes. Current student athletes are
one of the primary targets of Boomer PR's campaign so these
interviews were a great resource to gain information.
Secondary research provided a lot of great information on how
similar organizations across the country use social media to
reach their audience. However, it provided limited information
on what people know about Varsity O and how Varsity O is
perceived. Boomer PR decided to utilize interviews as our
primary research tactic because of the information we needed
to gain and the resources we had at our disposal.  

Four interviews were conducted in order to gain more of an

understanding on what student athletes know about Varsity O
and the general perception about the organization. The subject
of each interview was either a University of Oklahoma current
student athlete or recent graduate. Each interview was
conducted one-on-one on and near or on the University of
Oklahoma’s Norman campus. Each interview was recorded and
transcribed making it easier to analyze the responses. 

The questions asked in the interview were separated into

four sections. The first section asked the general demographic
information about the student athlete, including their name,
age, race and income. The second section consisted of
questions gauging general knowledge of Varsity O which
included goals and benefits. The third section consisted of
questions about the perception of the organization. The final
section asked about the social media habits of the student
athlete.

14
 INTERVIEW
FINDINGS
From the four interviews that were conducted,

Boomer PR found that current student athletes had

very little knowledge of Varsity O. Because student

athletes did not know about the organization, there

were no general perceptions either. Despite the lack

of knowledge, each student athlete interviewed said

that they would like to be involved with Varsity O,

and they would like to know more about the

organization and what benefits they offer.

15
 INTERVIEW
CONCLUSIONS
From the interview findings, Boomer PR confirmed that

student letterwinners have little knowledge and very few

formed perceptions about the organization. There is a fairly

clean slate to work with when it comes to Varsity O's brand. It

was also helpful to know that each students athletes uses social

media and are in favor of following Varsity O's social media in

order to be more involved and engaged.

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 SURVEY
METHODOLOGY
The purpose of the Qualtrics survey was to gather information about
current and former athletes' knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, behaviors,
and media behaviors of Varsity O at large. In addition, the survey was
taken by these people because both current and former student athletes
are two key publics and strong target audiences for the organization.
Alongside demographic questions, the survey was composed of five
major sections:
Knowledge
Perceptions
Attitudes
Behaviors
Media Behaviors

The agency gathered approximately 400 completed surveys to gain a

better understanding of the degree of public awareness and engagement
with the organization. All the participants provided thorough answers in
relation to the overall perception of Varsity O. The survey was sent out to
student athletes throughout the Oklahoma region as well as states
outside of the sooner state.

Furthermore, the demographic portion of the survey asked about the

participant’s graduation year, sport they were in, age, gender, race, and
estimated household income. The knowledge portion was composed of
questions asking basic questions about the mission, purpose, contact
information and functions of Varsity O. The perceptions portion was
composed of a grid expressing an assortment of adjectives describing the
organization. The attitude portion was composed of questions expressed
by a Likert (five) scale on a grid asking the participants’ level of agreement
on certain statements about Varsity O. The behaviors portion was
composed of questions expressed by a Likert (five) scale asking the
participants’ behaviors toward the organization. Lastly, the media
behaviors portion was composed of questions asking the participants’
level of social media usage as well as one Likert scale asking about the
likelihood of the participant in looking at Varsity O’s website.

17
 S U R V E Y F I N D I N G S

The survey results concluded that the public had minimal awareness of
Varsity O; however, there was a significant interest in becoming more aware
about the organization. The public findings have reflected an overall positive,
optimistic mindset toward the organization in learning more, donating, joining,
and sharing information via social media. 
The knowledge findings showed the public had little understanding of
what Varsity O is and their mission. A majority of participants weren’t aware
the organization was aimed toward all sports rather than just football. In
addition, the public has minimal awareness of Variety O’s website and social
media accounts. On the other hand, the public expressed interest in being
contacted via email by Varsity O to learn more information as well as
potentially becoming a member. 
The perceptions findings showed the public viewed Varsity O as: long-
term, beneficial, high-tech, efficient, distinguished, practical, exclusive, and
traditional. 
The attitude findings showed the public somewhat agreed Varsity O takes
the opinions of the public into account when making decisions as well as how
the organization is known to be successful at the things it tries to do. The
public strongly agreed Varsity O does a good job celebrating the rich history,
traditions and achievements of the student-athletes. Likewise, the public
strongly agreed Varsity O would benefit them, tries to maintaining a long-
term commitment to them, and is an important part of OU Athletics.
The behavior findings showed the public saw Varsity O as a good means of
keeping the spirit, loyalty and pride of OU athlete letterwinners. The public
was somewhat likely to donate and learn more about the organization. In
addition, the public was extremely likely to attend events such as game day
activities and reunions as well as encouraging others to join the organization.
The public also emphasized an extreme likelihood of becoming a Varsity O
member. 
The media behavior findings showed the public was somewhat likely to
visit Varsity O’s website. The results reflected the public’s minimal knowledge
of the organization’s social media accounts and following of them. The
participants shared they were most active on Facebook out of all social
media platforms and we open to following Varsity O on social media. Contact
wise, a majority of the public desired to be contacted via email.

18
 S U R V E Y

C O N C L U S I O N S

From the survey findings, Boomer PR has discovered current

and former student athletes have minimal knowledge of Varsity

O; however, participants have expressed a great interest in

learning more, contributing and becoming a member of the

organization. The agency also found out that Facebook is the

most used platform, so it would be the best for increasing

awareness of the organization in the process of becoming fully

digitized. The large majority of participants also mentioned that

their prefer to be contacted via email.

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 S E C O N D A R Y

R E S E A R C H

Secondary research provided a lot of great

information on how similar organizations across the

country use social media to reach their audience.

However, it provided limited  information on what

people know about Varsity O and how Varsity O is

perceived. Boomer PR decided to utilize interviews

as our primary research tactic because of the

information we needed to gain and the resources we

had at our disposal.

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 Appendix
References
About. (2019). Retrieved 28 September 2019, from https://www.thevarsityo.com/about.html
Bruin Varsity Club. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://woodenathleticfund.com/giving/bruin-varsity-club.html
Caffey, K. (2019, September 24). Personal Interview.
History. (2019). Retrieved 28 September 2019, from https://www.thevarsityo.com/history.html
Levingston, I. (2019, August 25). Personal Interview.
LSU’s National L Club. (2018, February 27). Retrieved from http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=204817762
Moldauer, Y. (2019, August 25). Personal Interview.
O’Donnell, K. (2019, September 24). Personal Interview. 
The Notre Dame Monogram Club. (2004, September 10). Retrieved from https://und.com/the-notre-dame-monogram-club/.
Washington, J. (2019, August 28). Personal Interview.
Wooden Athletic Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://twitter.com/WoodenFund 
Yul, M. (2019, September 25). Personal Interview.

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