sPARTAN Strategies

Michigan State University

Sexual Assault Program: Crisis Chat

Marketing Communications Campaign

x Spartan Strategies
 Table of Contents:
EXECUTIVE sUMMARy  3
situation analysis  4-14

Marketing RECOMENDATIONS  15-20

We
ADVERTISING RECOMMENDATIONS  21-28
stand
PR | mARKETING COMMUNICATIONS  29-34
with
MEDIA RECOMMENDATIONS  35-43 Survivors
EVALUATION  44-45
MSU Sexual Assault Program

BUDGET  46-50

CONCLUSION  51-52

APPENDIX  53-70

 Executive Summary
Michigan State University students have been affect-
ed by sexual assault, however these students have little
knowledge of the available resources (see survey
results). MSU SAP stands behind survivors and social
injustices by promoting individual human healing and
building an empowered inclusive community (EndRapeM-
SU). They provide counseling, advocacy, and support
groups to MSU students with over 100 volunteers, edu-
cating the public on sexual violence and helping those
through a crisis. MSU SAP’s Crisis Chat offers anony-
mous support to sexual assault victims, from
10am-10pm, 7 days a week. Funded primarily by grants
and donations, MSU SAP has limited access to develop
a larger awareness of the program.
In this campaign using simple, advertising, public
relations, and media recommendations it will increase
awareness by 15%. To best promote the Crisis Chat
through MSU’s Sexual Assault Program, cost effective
measures will be put into place compiling of a total
budget of $12,361.79, to draw and inform victims of
their resources. The marketing strategy is backed by
secondary research showing a lack of knowledge of
MSU’s SAP Crisis Chat, and how to combat this issues
with the specific advertising, media and public relations
and promotional recommendations. The target market
stretches through all MSU students ages 18-24, living on
and off campus, with a specific focus on students
involved in Greek life. The advertising strategy will incor-
porate a promotional video with a sample conversation
between a sexual assault victim and a crisis chat coun-
selor, to provide victims and potential victims with what
to expect from the chat. The media strategy will pro-
vide the push MSU SAP’s Crisis Chat needs on social
media to reach a larger audience and increase knowl-
edge of the resource. Print advertisements will also be
placed throughout each dorm on MSU’s campus to
provide incoming freshman and newer MSU students
with the knowledge of MSU SAP’s Crisis Chat to last
throughout their college career. An ambassador program
will be put into place through the public relations and
promotions strategy to specifically reach students in
Greek life by speaking to each fraternity and sorority on
campus and hand out promotional brochures for these
students to reference in the future. These strategies will
provide MSU SAP’s Crisis Chat with an increased number
of users and a surge of awareness by 15% across the
target market.
3
 Situation Analysis
Introduction
history and evaluation
crisis chat evaluation
consumer evaluation
competitive evaluation
marketing environment evaluation
swot ANALYSIS

4
 Introduction

The Michigan State University Sexual Assault Pro- ness of the Crisis Chat for potential users and to allevi-
gram (SAP) has assisted thousands of people impacted ate some of the stigmas for survivors and supporters
by violence by providing resources and support to regarding speaking out.
affected victims. SAP provides resources such as imme-
diate crisis intervention, therapy, and advocacy services
to victims that have been affected by sexual violence,
assault, rape, misconduct, or stalking. Programs offered
by SAP include counseling, individual or group therapy
sessions, support groups, a 24-hour hotline, advocacy,
and crisis-chat to Michigan State students and individu-
als in the greater Lansing community who have been
impacted by rape or sexual violence. SAP is dedicated
to standing with survivors against all forms of social
injustice by promoting individual healing and building an
empowered, inclusive community to bring strength and
resilience to all people impacted by sexual violence.

SAP recently introduced a new resource, Crisis Chat

option via their website. This function allows users to
virtually speak with a Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention
(SACI) advocate. The overall aim of this is to create a
more private, secure and safe space for survivors to be
able to communicate about past traumas. With limited
funding for promotional efforts, reaching the masses to
promote this new feature has been difficult for MSU
SAP. The goal of this campaign is to increase aware-

5
 History and Evaluation
Established in 1980, the MSU Sexual Assault Pro-
gram is the oldest campus-based program in the coun-
try. It caters to victims of sexual violence and works to
foster a safe and inclusive environment for survivors.
MSU SAP employs 20 full-time workers, as well as over
100 volunteers. Each year, the program serves an aver-
age of 700 survivors, making a meaningful impact on
the community by helping those in crisis and educating
the public on the seriousness of sexual violence.
and grant funded with no link to Michigan State Univer-
sity, the program’s abilities to focus on promotional
efforts are limited. They use their limited resources to
engage with the community as much as possible, offer-
ing pamphlets and flyers on the available resources and
services regarding crisis chat. They also participate in
various on-and-off campus events and stay active on
social media. Despite this, MSU SAP still struggles to
resonate in the minds of potential consumers.

Resources available through MSU SAP include

individual counseling, individual or group therapy ses-
sions, support groups, meditative yoga, acupuncture,
advocacy, and the newly-developed 24-hour hotline and
online crisis chat. These services are provided for free,
thanks in large part to volunteers, grant funding from
the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services,
Division of Victim Services, Crime Victim Services Com-
mission, and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) program
funding which is supported by the crime victim assis-
tance grant. Grants are used to fund positions such as
new therapists and advocates to build a system that
survivors deserve.

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the MSU

SAP is the lack of resources. Being primarily donation

6
 Crisis Chat Evaluation

The crisis chat became operational in August share any information that they are comfortable with,
2018, this new resource provided on the MSU SAP web- anonymously. The main goal of the crisis chat is to
site (endrape.msu.edu) it is easily accessible by victims reduce the negative impacts of a victim’s experience in
or clients that have access to a computer. The chat is a comfortable, confidential way.
accommodating to people with hearing or speaking im-
pairments, providing people with disabilities a helpful
resource to turn to in their time of need. The crisis
chat allows survivors to communicate their situation
through messaging. Victims can chat confidentially with
a Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention (SACI) advocate
privately to mention details that may be uncomfortable
to speak up about face-to-face or publicly.

Victims can access the crisis-chat 7 days a week

from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm by logging into the MSU
SAP website, they then can click the teal box in the
bottom right corner of the site and begin chatting at
any time with a SACI advocate. SACI advocates are not
professional counselors, but they are trained volunteers
to support survivors, their friends, and family. Advocates
direct them to resources that would be helpful in their
situation, whether discussing feelings related to sexual
assault, connecting them to on-campus or local resourc-
es, giving information on advocacy services, or answer-
ing any given question regarding sexual assault. Victims
are never forced to disclose any information; they can

7
 Consumer Evaluation
The MSU Sexual Assault Program’s Crisis Chat
service for survivors consists of victims that have under-
gone some sort of sexual assault or the friends and
family of affected victims. The majority, at 70% of vic-
tims are adult trauma survivors, 30% are childhood
trauma victims, and 30% are a part of the LGBTQ com-
munity. (About Us)
that there is a lack of knowledge of the resources avail-
able through SAP, but a correlation with those who
would actually prefer an online anonymous chat line like
the Crisis Chat. Potential users can increase with an
increase in knowledge of available resources such as
the Crisis Chat.

The web-based chat’s useful chat function appeals

to students and nonstudent survivors, international stu-
dents or students with a language barrier. Additionally,
those who feel marginalized and vulnerable, and survi-
vors who have never spoken to anyone about their
sexual assault experience are encouraged to use the
chat as well. The chat provides clients with crisis inter-
vention to help clients process emotions and thoughts
during a crisis, identify their natural supports, and
locate resources or other options. The number of clients
served by SAP has continued to steadily increase from
around 260 in 2007 to over 600 in 2017 (About Us).
The increase in clients is consistent with MSU’s efforts
to raise awareness and foster a culture where individu-
als feel empowered and supported.

Conducted secondary research through survey has

provided information found among sexual assault victims

8
 Competitive Evaluation

MSU SAP’s competitors are national, local, and NOVA is another national organization that deals
indirect. National competitors include the National with victims of crime. They provide services that help
Sexual Assault Hotline (RAIIN), the National Organization connect victims with services and resources through
for Victim Assistance (NOVA), and the U.S. Department trained victim-advocate and crisis responders. They
of Justice National Sex Offender Public Hotline. ensure that all services and core competencies are
met to the highest standards and promote public
policy initiatives to protect the rights of victims. This
National Competition
organization also has a victim assistance hotline, simi-
lar to SAP’s Crisis Chat from 9am-5pm Monday
RAINN is the largest national anti-sexual assault
through Friday, but with no text or SMS options avail-
organization in the U.S. It is a fully confidential service
able.
that provides support in both English and Spanish,
through text and SMS by a trained staff confidentially.
The U.S. Department of Justice National Sex
RAINN gives victims guidance in finding a local health
Offender Public Hotline, NSOPW is the only govern-
facility with trained staff to handle sexual assault cases,
ment website that links state, territorial and tribal sex
they provide local resources to help with recovery, offer
offenders in one national search site. It is a public
referrals for long-term support, give basic medical
service that allows anyone to identify local offenders
advice, and information on local laws. Their website has
without cost by name, address, zip code, town or
information regarding types of sexual violence, the last-
county. Their goal is to provide the most up-to-date
ing effects of abuse, understanding consent, and stat-
information possible to ensure accurate data. Their
utes of limitations for the state victims are located in.
search page is easy to navigate and the results are
Their website is easy to navigate and upfront about
found quickly. Additionally, they have educational
their services. The organization also provides services in
resources on their website about prevention, recogniz-
education and training that prepare companies and
ing sexual abuse and opening the discussion with chil-
organizations to handle and support adult survivors of
dren. There is no hotline for their organization, as it is
sexual assault.
just a public database service.

9
 Competitive Evaluation
Local Competition
MSU Safe Place is on-campus relationship vio-
lence and stalking resources at Michigan State Univer-
sity. This organization addresses relationship violence
and stalking specifically, and serves students, faculty,
staff and non-affiliated members in the Greater Lansing
Area. This program is confidential and provides emer-
gency shelter, counseling, support groups as well as
professional referrals. Their page can be found on
MSU’s official website and provides other information
about their services, community outreach, and addi-
tional resources. They do not have an official hotline
but provide a number to reach their office on their
contact page.
End Violent Encounters is a service that supports
survivors of sexual, domestic, stalking and elder abuse.
They provide a 24-hour hotline, counseling, emergency
shelter, personal protection, community training, and
medical advocacy. Their 24-hour crisis line is there for
victim support, connecting survivors to direct services,
provide referrals and guide friends and family members
in having a conversation with a loved one experiencing
abuse.
Indirect Competition
Societal Factors
When it comes to reporting sexual assault, both
male and female victims are often hesitant to get help.
According to psychologytoday.com, there are a few
reasons why:
Shame
For many victims, shame is a natural reaction to
being violated or abused. When a victim feels helpless
at the hands of another person, often times they shift
the blame on themselves. The societal blame being
placed on women for their own sexual assault deters
many from seeking help. For men, the feeling that their
sexual assault is emasculating also might prevent them
from seeking help.
Denial/Minimization
There are many forms of sexual assault that
have been normalized in society. This often causes
victims to do downplay their cases and convince them-
selves it is not serious. Female victims of sexual as-
sault often convince themselves that they are the only
victim of their perpetrator, thus making it pointless to
come forward.
10
 Competitive Evaluation


Fear of Consequences
Women can face losing their jobs, credibility and
personal safety upon stepping forward. This prevents
many from seeking help.

Low Self-Esteem/ Feelings of Hopelessness

These violations often wound an individual's
self-esteem and self-concept. Many victims surrender to
their fate or simply lack the emotional strength to
stand up to the pressure of confronting the trauma.

History of Sexual Violation

Individuals with a history of sexual violation are
less likely to speak out about it. This could be be-
cause of freezing up during a sexual advance or histo-
ry of not being believed.

Drugged, Dissociation, and Disbelief

Due to any of these factors, individuals might
only have vague memories of assault. This can cause
doubts about their own memory and hinder them from
getting help. (Psychology Today)

11
 Marketing Environment Evaluation

College Campuses have a high incidence for
sexual assault. One in 5 women and one in 16 men are
sexually assaulted while in college (Valenti, 2014). Michi-
gan State is no exception. The University has been tor-
mented by the Larry Nassar sexual assault scandal over
the last few years. Nassar, a University doctor, was
charged with sexually assault after it came to light that
he had acted inappropriately with over 120 females
under his care, between the years of 1999-2016
(Winowiecki, 2018). The effect on MSU’s campus has
lead to increased focus on helping and sympathizing
with sexual assault victims. This has prompted opportu-
nities for services such as MSU SAP’s Crisis Chat.

12
 S.W.O.T. Analysis


Strengths
• The Michigan State University Sexual Assault Program (SAP) is a
strong organization with stable leadership that has been active in for
the past few decades and is the oldest campus-based program in the
country.
Weaknesses
• SAP has a lack of resources to help the victims around campus and
in the Lansing community.
• Not enough data regarding sexual violence to regulate awareness.

• They have successful employees and volunteers on campus and off • SAP might need more funding from State and University.
campus. Nassar situation brought fear to the University, and Community.

• Promote the development of FREE services like individual counseling, • Lack of research.
group therapy sessions, support groups, meditative exercises,
24-hour-hotline, and online crisis. • Victims are afraid that they don’t have enough privacy.

• Has one of the greatest experiences with Sexual Assault and help • Lack of awareness of SAP and the numerous services that are
many people that have such crisis. provided for FREE.

• With 20 employees SAP is averaging 700 survivors a year. • Low collaboration with faulty, students, and law enforcement.

• Has funding from many programs.

• SAP Chat services helps many victims’ adults, children, LGBTQ.

• The Nassar situation brought fear to offenders in the University and

Lansing area.

• They have the growing ability to decrease awareness of bullying.

• SAP is surrounded by a University that has strong cultural traditions.

13
 S.W.O.T. Analysis



OPPORTUNITIES threats
• Increase awareness that there is great privacy for the victims. • Funds aren’t enough to help the many victims that are affected with
sexual assault.
• Increase Partnership to increase awareness of SAP in the LANSING
Community. • Low awareness is affecting the victims.

• Partner with different University programs to help reach as much • Victims scared to speak out and get help.
help not just in the community but all around the state.
• SAP in MSU has a great disparity in resources and capacity
• SAP should mandate all nearby schools to have a bullying/harass-
ment program. • The Nassar situation caused many to be more afraid of sexual
assault.
• Freshman youth program to help increase awareness for incoming
freshmen. • Not many people take sexual assault seriously.

• Increase awareness to known victims and how they can help the
victims of sexual assault

• Law enforcements in the area need to have a stronger connection

with the SAP in MSU.

14
 Marketing
Objectives
Recommendations
target market
Intended effects
measurement
strategy
product
price
distribution
promotion
15
 Objectives

The overall objective of our campaign is to The marketing campaign will focus majorly on
increase awareness of the Crisis Chat. Spartan Strate- these students who are most at risk for experiencing
gies is aiming to achieve this goal through several mar- sexual assault, or may have already experienced sexual
keting, public relations and media practices that will assault and are looking for a comfortable outlet to talk
ultimately leave an impression on Michigan State Univer- about these issues. Targeting Michigan State University
sity students. Aiming to increase awareness of the Crisis students, means they are only located in East Lansing
Chat 15% by the end of the campaign. from the month of September-May. However, targeting
this demographic will provide the Crisis Chat with more
awareness and increase the number of users. Additional-
target market ly, using an ambassador program to involve the most at
The target market is Michigan State University risk target market for sexual assault at Michigan State
students living on and off campus. The age range of University will be the most effective way to increase
the target audience based on MSU students is ages awareness of the Crisis Chat.
18-24. More specifically, focusing on educating students
involved in Greek Life about MSU SAP’s Crisis Chat.
Michigan State University has a total of 39,423 under-
graduate students and 10,928 graduate students, 51.9%
are female and 48.1% are male (ThisisMSU). Of these
students, 12% of men are members of a fraternity and
11% of women are members of a sorority (U.S News).
In a one-on-one interview with a sexual assault victim, it
was discovered this 22-year-old female was a member
of a sorority at Michigan State University (see in-depth
interview portion of appendix). Research indicated
women in sororities are 74% more likely to experience
sexual assault (KPBS.org).

16
 Objectives

one about their experiences or use it in the future.
INTENDED EFFECTS
The main objective of the campaign is to increase On MSU SAP’s Crisis Chat website, an instructional
awareness and usage of the MSU Crisis Chat. Promotion video displaying a sample conversation between a victim
for the Crisis Chat in locations where the target market and a counselor will be provided to show victims what
will view this information, or directly providing it to to expect and make them more comfortable using the
them, will be key in the success of our objective. The chat. These marketing tactics will achieve our objective
marketing campaign will use social media by boosting and increase awareness of the MSU SAP Crisis Chat
posts during at-risk times for sexual assault. This will be 15% by the end of the campaign.
during Welcome Week, Halloween, Tailgating Season,
and Sexual Assault Awareness month. Providing this
information during these times will remind students that
MSU SAP is available.
Measurement
Measuring the effectiveness of this campaign will
Additionally, ads/posters will be placed on each be very straightforward. The objective of the campaign
floor of every dorm at Michigan State University. can be measured through an examination of current
Increasing awareness for students early on in their col- users of MSU SAP Crisis Chat to users at the end of
lege career will provide them with resources they may the campaign. A brief survey of awareness of the Crisis
need currently or in the future. An ambassador program Chat will be conducted post campaign and sent out in
will also be created involving two ambassadors to speak a similar fashion to the pre-campaign survey.
at all sororities and fraternities across the Michigan
State University campus, to provide these students with
the specific information about the benefits of the Crisis
Chat and how to obtain this resource. By directly speak-
ing to sororities and fraternities this will allow men and
women to potentially gain the courage to talk to some-

17
 Strategy

PRODUCT
The product is the Crisis Chat, offered through
MSU SAP’s website. The product was recently introduced
by the program to offer a more accessible, private form
of communication for survivors struggling to come for-
ward. One of the biggest problems with this product is
that not many people know of its existence yet. Heavy
promotion of this product is crucial in order to increase
awareness and use of the Crisis Chat software.

Another problem with the existing product is that

a large number of survivors feel uncomfortable discuss-
ing their trauma, especially through an online portal.
Survey results show that more than half of respondents
report they are unwilling to use an online chat-line. It is
important to reframe this thought process among poten-
tial users, in order to get more people online.

18
 Strategy

of the Crisis Chat by 15%. This will be measured with a
PROMOTION post-survey given to respondents following the conclu-
The MSU Sexual Assault Program is active on and sion of this campaign.
around campus, to promote their mission to students
and area residents. The program participates in activities
such as AOP, the Student Resource Fair, Men and Price
Women’s Health Fairs, and Sparticipation each year. MSU SAP’s Crisis Chat is a free online service for
They also collaborate with Take Back the Night, an sexual assault victims, funded through grants. Offering
international anti-violence organization. However, as the the program for free makes it easy for anyone to use
survey showed, there is an alarming lack of awareness this resource. It also makes the process more confiden-
among the student body surrounding this program and tial, as victims do not need to go through their insur-
the Crisis Chat, in particular. Among survey respondents, ance companies or ask a parent/family member for
none responded that they had heard of the Crisis Chat. financial assistance to seek the help they need.
Also alarming, more than half of survey respondents
said they would be uncomfortable using a chat-line to
discuss a past experience. For this reason, the promo-
Distribution
tion will focus heavily on increasing awareness among
the population at MSU, as well as presenting the mes-
sage that the Crisis Chat is a viable alternative to
in-person therapy.

Promotion for the Crisis Chat will center heavily

around an instructional video. MSU SAP also touts a
social media following, and it will be important to start
leveraging this to increase product awareness. The over-
all goal of promotional efforts is to increase awareness

19
 Advertising
Objectives
target Audience
Recommendations
Message
Intended effects
measurement
creative strategy
target audience
key benefit and support
objectives
tone and manner
executions
21
 Objectives
The overall advertising recommendations and ob-
jective of this campaign is to help increase awareness
of the Crisis Chat to Michigan State University students
living on or off campus. The primary group of students
targeted in this campaign will be males and females
involved in Sororities and Fraternities at MSU. Recom-
mended advertising initiatives will be used to help
increase awareness of Crisis Chat, as the majority of
Michigan State students are unaware of this feature on
MSU SAP’s website. An increase in advertising on MSU
SAP’s Crisis Chat feature will be achieved through
posted flyers on at each dorm on every floor and the
distribution of business cards will be used to help indi-
viduals and survivors who may need advocacy services.
target Audience
This campaign is aimed primarily at college stu-
dents aged 18-24 studying at Michigan State University.
There are currently 50,351 enrolled students on MSU’s
campus (MSU Facts). Within this group, a major focus
will be on Greek Life. MSU boasts 63 different Greek
Life organizations, making up around 12% of the total
student population (U.S News). Data shows that these
students are more likely to experience sexual assault
during their college years. As a result, this group will be
a prime target of this campaign.
Message
This campaign aims to raise awareness of the
Crisis Chat function among MSU students. Based on
survey findings, a very small portion of the student
body is currently aware of this program. Only 25% of
respondents said that they have heard of the Crisis
Chat. By promoting its offerings through advertising
around campus, visibility will be increased and more
students may, in turn, start to make use of the feature.
A large number of survey takers, 63% in total,
also noted that they would feel uncomfortable even
using a chat-line to discuss their experience with sexual
assault. As noted in previous sections, survivors are
unwilling to come forward because they fear for their
privacy and suffer from feelings of shame and denial.
By promoting the Crisis Chat as a safe and confidential
method for expressing oneself following a traumatic
sexual experience, MSU SAP may draw a larger
response from potential users.
22
 
Objectives

Intended effects
To increase usage of the Crisis Chat feature
offered by MSU SAP. The first step of this process
involves increasing awareness of this among the MSU
student body. Then, consumers need to know this is a
safe and confidential option. By advertising heavily
across MSU’s campus and tailoring the message to
potential users looking for an outlet to discuss their
experience, this campaign will be able to reach the
largest amount of consumers and draw more users to
the service.

Measurement
The best way to measure consumers’ awareness is
through a survey distributed to MSU students. The
survey should be run at the midway point of the cam-
paign and post-campaign to determine the effectiveness
of the advertising. More details can be found in the
“Evaluation” section.

23

Creative Strategy
target Audience
Targeting Michigan State Students aged 18-24,
more specifically in Greek Life and freshman students
with creative advertising will illustrate that the MSU
SAP’s Crisis Chat is a helpful tool for sexual assault
victims to turn to. This target group will in turn after
learning about the Crisis Chat and it’s advocacy fea-
tures use the chat and spread the word to friends and
other students that may be in need of advocacy ser-
vices, ensuring that Michigan State is a safe environ-
ment for its students.
key benefits and support
Michigan State University offers a variety of sexual
assault services for individuals on campus and off of
campus. Crisis Chat offers advocacy services for all
individuals of different identities. This online resource
provides victims with advocacy volunteers that direct
students to important resources to help them through
their times of struggle in a confidential way sharing any
information they feel comfortable with.
Communicating the offered services to freshmen
and Greek Life members through print advertising will
reduce the negative impacts of whatever they may have
experienced or currently be experiencing. Overcoming
the hesitation of sexual assault concerns, students will
realize that the Crisis Chat is a safe, helpful tool to
turn to when in need of support. Educating freshman
will help them realize that sexual assault is an issue on
all campuses and is an especially important subject to
be aware of at Michigan State given previous circum-
stances (ie. Larry Nassar Case) to help them be cau-
tious on campus and know where to turn to if they
have been affected by any sort of sexual assault. Along
with informing freshman on Crisis Chat, Greek Life am-
bassadors will give all 63 Greek Life chapter members
at Michigan State, business cards with information on
how to use Crisis Chat. The business cards will give
these students an outlet to turn to if they have been
affected by sexual assault or know of anyone who has
been affected. A well-executed advertising campaign will
help foster a supportive and helpful community at Michi-
gan State University, ensuring that individuals gain
strength and get the support that they deserve.
24
 Creative Strategy
objective
The objective of the creative advertising strategy
is to provide victims and students at Michigan State
University with the knowledge and information that MSU
SAP’s Crisis Chat provides through the use of print ad-
vertisements including flyers and business cards. Making
these advertising initiatives will allow victims that are
unaware of this service to cope with their distressing
emotions through the online chat resource in a confi-
dential way. The creative advertising strategy will raise
awareness of the Crisis chat by 15% by the end of the
campaign, connecting students to on-campus and local
resources, giving them the necessary information on
advocacy services, and answer any questions a victim
or a friend of a victim may have about sexual assault.
and business cards will have a bright color scheme,
drawing students in and capturing their attention
through the use of supportive blue tones, calming pur-
ples and inviting pinks. Text chat bubbles will be fea-
tured on these printed materials as well, highlighting on
the chat feature and resonating with millennials who are
keen on text. The Michigan State Spartan logo will also
be placed on flyers and business cards to invoke famil-
iarity with students. Overall, the tone, color scheme,
logo, and text bubbles will be used on all campaign
materials to maintain continuity and familiarity on all of
MSU SAP’s Crisis Chat campaign initiatives.

tone and manner

The creative message will have a supportive, wel-
coming, and hopeful tone. The posters will pertain to
incoming freshmen, as freshmen are especially vulnera-
ble to assault during the first six weeks of their college
career (NPR.org). Business cards will be distributed to
Greek Life members, as they are also at a high risk of
sexual assault during their college careers. The posters

25
 Executions

The distribution of print advertisements for MSU Greek Life ambassadors will visit each Sorority and
SAP’s Crisis Chat will further unify the Michigan State Fraternity at Michigan State, they will inform members
community and provide students with necessary knowl- on MSU SAP’s crisis chat, give a tutorial on how to use
edge on how to combat sexual assault through MSU the chat, and promote the chat through the distribution
SAP’s Crisis Chat service. Creative executions will inform of small business cards. The cards will feature the 24/7
students on how to visit the Crisis Chat website, show hotline number, put an emphasis on the Crisis Chat,
them the ways in which they can follow Crisis Chat on include the MSU SAP website link, list other available
social media, inform them on the dates and times that resources that MSU SAP offers, and stress confidentiali-
the chat is available, and let them know that resources ty. Business cards will be useful as they are small and
are available and confidential. can fit in a students wallet so they always can have the
information on hand when they feel threatened or have
Posters will be strategically placed on every floor been affected by sexual assault.
of the 27 undergraduate dorms. The posters will be
18x27 in size, making them large will ensure that the
attention is being grabbed. Crisis Chat posters will be
hung up in dorms at the beginning of the semester to
resonate with freshman right away and increase their
awareness of sexual assault. This signage will give stu-
dents the information stated in the previous paragraph
in an eye-catching way, increasing the visibility of Crisis
Chat. Word bubbles will be used to urge students and
survivors to seek help, learn about sexual assault, and
ask questions.

26
 Executions

Dorm Poster Feeling triggered? Overwhelmed? Need Resources?

MSU SEXUAL ASSAULT PROGRAM

STANDS WITH SURVIVORS

We Hear You

We Believe You

We Support You
CRISIS CHAT SERVICE
Available 7 days a week 10am-10pm

Visit go.msu.edu/SAP to talk with an advocate & for more resources

or call our 24/7 sexual assault hotline (517) 372-6666

27
 Executions

Greek LIFE BUSINESS CARD

28
 PR and
Promotions
Objectives
target
Message
Intended effects
measurement
strategy
executions

29
 Objectives

The goal of public relations and promotions is to
raise awareness about the crisis chatline. Through stra-
intended effects
tegic implementation, the campaign will make the chat a Students will become aware of this resource on
more approachable resource for people who need it. campus and will not be hesitant to reach out for help.
Along with this, friends, and family members of sexual
assault victims will have a resource that they can refer.
target
College students 18-24 who are at increased risk
of sexual assault/ harassment. These groups includes
college females, females in sororities, and members of
the LGBTQ+ community. The typical target audience is
students who frequent house parties, bars and fraternity
houses, and other informal social gatherings on campus .

message
“Help is out there for those who have questions
or need guidance toward the next steps in healing.
Whether it be questions about consent, therapy or
counseling; the chatline is made accessible to everyone
who needs it. We know confronting these issues is often
traumatizing or scary to speak about, so texting might
help you give us more accurate information regarding
your personal case. As always, conversations are com-
pletely confidential.”

30
 Objectives

4. Have you seen flyers advertising the crisis chatline
Measurement around campus?
At the end of each semester, on-campus ambas- • Yes
sadors will send out survey to all undergraduate stu- • No
dents about their use of the chatline.
5. Do you think campus ambassadors helped your per-
sonal understanding of the crisis chatline?
Sample questions • Yes
• No
1. In the past semester, have you been inclined to use
the crisis chatline? These questions would measure student use of the
• Yes chatline so it can be assessed and improved upon.
• No
• Indifferent

2. In the past semester, have you been inclined to refer

a friend to use the crisis chatline?
• Yes
• No
• Indifferent

3. Do you recognize the MSU SAP crisis chatline as a

helpful resource for sexual assault victims?
• Yes
• No

31
 Strategy
Ambassador Program:
The MSU Sexual Assault Program will create an
ambassador program that will help bring awareness to
sexual assault incidents on campus. These ambassadors
will target Fraternity and Sorority houses on campus,
since women in sororities are 74% more likely to expe-
rience rape during their college careers (KPBS.org).
These ambassadors will give presentations at the begin-
ning of each semester to each house and deliver an
educational presentation about sexual assault. Each
presentation will be broken into three parts:
Part One
The first part will educate students about consent
and basic statistics surrounding on-campus sexual as-
sault. Since minimization of sexual assault is a large
reason why many cases go unreported, having a work-
ing knowledge of your personal boundaries is the first
step in recognizing when someone violates them. The
second portion of this segment recognizes the statistics
of how women are at a larger risk of sexual assault on
campus. This is important to address, as many people
don’t realize the rate at which they happen, giving many
license not to believe women when they step forward.
Part Two
This portion addresses the preventative measures
surrounding sexual assault. In this portion, it is import-
ant to stress assault is never the victim's fault, however
there are preventative measures in place it evade
danger:
1. Pouring your own drink/not setting your drink down
at a social gathering.
2. Use the buddy system.
3. Share your location with friends you trust.
4. Communicate with your friends about your plans for
the night before going out.
5. Do not walk/rideshare alone at night.
6. If you are concerned for a friend, call 911 or an
on-campus RA.
These measures don’t prevent all sexual assault
cases, but heightened awareness of your surroundings
puts you in a better position to get yourself out of a
dangerous/uncomfortable situation.
32
 Strategy

Part Three
Here, the introduction of the crisis chat line takes
place. Information about the chatline, a brief tutorial
and business cards with the endrape.msu.edu url will be
passed out. During this part, ambassadors will stress
confidentiality and encourage use of the hotline for any
incident- whether the individual thinks it is big or small.

33
 Executions

Press Release

In the beginning of each semester, a press release

will be sent out via email to build awareness of the
crisis chatline. The targeted journals include WKAR and
WLNS.

34
 Media
Media vision
key media problem
Recommendations
Target audience
other objectives
reach and frequency
timing and continuity
Others
strategy
media and vehicle selections
schedule
flowchart

35
 Media Vision

MSU SAP Crisis Chat has been around for almost
40 years and holds an impactful mission statement and
message. This campaign stands behind this message,
however it seeks to improve the lack of awareness of
the Crisis Chat. The media strategy will use traditional
print advertisements, an ambassador program, social
media platforms, and an informational video to appeal
to a larger audience and benefit sexual assault victims.

The MSU Sexual Assault Program Mission Statement:

We believe in the strength and resiliency of all people impacted by sexual violence.
We stand with survivors against all forms of social injustice by promoting
individual healing and building an empowered, inclusive community.

36
 Key Media Problem

The biggest problem MSU SAP faces is a lack of
awareness surrounding their social media presence. They
currently have an active Facebook and Twitter feed,
where they post updates daily. Their Facebook boasts
1,929 likes and their Twitter has 1,723 followers. After
conducting our survey, though, we found that 0% of
respondents followed these accounts. This points to
issues in awareness surrounding SAP’s presence on
campus. Students that don’t know the program exists
will have a hard time accessing the Crisis Chat function.

37
 Target Audience

The media strategy will target Michigan State Uni-
versity students who live on and off campus, focusing
primarily on students in Greek Life. The online strategy
will target MSU students who use Facebook and Twitter.
These students will take advantage of the information
on the boosted posts, posted at higher risk times, and
print advertisements conveniently located in Michigan
State dorms. Social media will also allow potential users
of the Crisis Chat to see a sample interaction on the
chat in the example video, allowing victims to know
what to expect with the Crisis Chat. For more informa-
tion on the media strategy target audience see the
“target market” section of the plansbook.

38
 Other Obectives
The objective of the media strategy is providing
victims with the information about MSU SAP Crisis Chat
on frequently used social media platforms, print ads
and an educational video displaying a sample conversa-
target
tion of the Crisis Chat. This will allow victims to virtually
collect this information and resource when it may be
target
hard for an individual to talk or reach out to someone
in person. Furthermore, the media strategy will assist in
raising awareness of the Crisis Chat to increase aware-
ness by 15% by the end of the campaign.
reach and frequency
The media will produce a reach of 7% for MSU
students and sexual assault victims seeking potential
resources. The target audience for the media campaign
will produce an average of 5 impressions per week, and
10 impressions per week during the time of boosted
posts as well as the launch of the MSU SAP Crisis Chat
informational video.
Timing and continuity
The media elements of the campaign will be con-
tinuous from August to May, with boosted posts on
Facebook and Twitter for the MSU SAP Crisis chat in
selected months. The instructional video of a sample
MSU SAP Crisis Chat conversation will be launched in
the beginning of September in alignment with the
start-up of Michigan State University classes. Crisis Chat
informational posters will be posted on each floor of
every dorm at MSU during the move-in period. The
timing of the social media portion of the campaign is
selected to promote MSU Crisis Chat at times of
increase partying and risk for sexual assault to occur,
as well as sexual assault awareness month.
OTHERS
The media placements of the campaign reach our
target market of MSU students and Greek life members
who live in the dorms/on campus and via social media.
Greek life students not living in dorms/on campus will
be more specifically targeted through our ambassador
program. For more information, please see the “public
relations” portion of the campaign. The social media
portion will primarily reach MSU students as well as
other sexual assault victims in Lansing seeking resourc-
es.
39
 Strategy
media and Vehicle selections
Online
MSU SAP should continue to advertise on social
media acknowledging sexual assault survivors and sexual
assault statistics. However, there is a lack of recognition
and promotion of the availability of the Crisis Chat.
Using social media as a cost-effective resource for ad-
vertising the Crisis Chat can drive engagement and
interaction for sexual assault victims at Michigan State
University students. Majority of our surveyed participants
had little to no knowledge of MSU SAP’s Facebook or
Twitter pages, which correlates with little or no knowl-
edge of the MSU SAP Crisis Chat. Contrastingly, all our
surveyed participants have Facebook and Twitter ac-
counts (See Appendix). Increasing posts about the Crisis
Chat and boosting these posts will reach a larger
number of MSU students and create an increase of
awareness of the chat. Social media posts about the
Crisis Chat will be boosted during Welcome Week, Tail-
gating Season, Halloween, and Sexual Assault awareness
month. This will directly target MSU students, as well as
students in Greek life, during periods of high partying in
a college environment that can lead to sexual assault.
This campaign will also include a sample conversation
front and center of the MSU SAP website, as well as in
a boosted post Facebook and Twitter. The informational
video will allow sexual assault victims to feel more com-
fortable and know what to expect from the Crisis Chat.
Considering MSU SAP is primarily grant funded, MSU
SAP should apply use of a free program like google
analytics during and after the campaign to track/alter
posts based on engagements, likes and shares. Using
google analytics will help guide MSU SAP’s social media
to reach the target audience and improve engagement.
Print
Traditional print advertisements placed in MSU
dorms will be crucial for providing incoming MSU stu-
dents with the awareness of the MSU SAP Crisis Chat
resource. Ten eye catching flyers will be posted in each
of the 27 dorms at the start of the September semester
to create a spread of awareness across all on campus
students. Resident assistants frequently post information-
al posters about events at MSU and meetings, so stu-
dents frequently view boards in the dorms, especially
during the beginning of the semester. Considering there
is a lack of knowledge of the MSU SAP Crisis Chat,
targeting incoming MSU students will help make them
aware of this resource during the entirety of their col-
lege career. Print ads are also a cost-effective form of
advertising, that will attract attention and help achieve
40
 Strategy

achieve the objective of increasing awareness. The post-
ers can be printed by a variety of services like UPS or
Office Depot, for a reasonable price. See “budget” sec-
tion for more information regarding price. Providing
traditional print ads directly for our target market will
guarantee an increase of awareness of MSU SAP’s Crisis
Chat.

41

Strategy




schedule
August November March
(days) (days) (days)

01-31: Social Media Posting 01-31: Social Media Posting 01-31: Social Media Posting
01: Boosted Posts - “Welcome Week”
09: Greek Ambassador Program December April
(days) (days)
September
(days) 01-31: Social media Posting 01-31: Social media Posting
01: Boosted Post - Video Roll Out 01: Boosted Post - SAAM
01-31: Social Media Posting
01: Boosted Posts - Tailgating January May
01: Dorm Flyers (days) (days)
01: Greek Ambassador Program
01: SAP Press Release 01-31: Social Media Posting 01-31: Social Media Posting
09: SAP Press Release
October
(days) Februrary
(days)
01-31: Social Media Posting
31: Boosted Posts- Halloween 01-31: Social Media Posting

42
 Strategy

flowchart

43
 Evaluation
marketing goals
advertising goals
sales promotion goals

44
 Goals
mARKETING gOALS
To summarize, the marketing goals for this cam-
paign focus on increasing awareness of MSU SAP’s
Crisis Chat by 15% which will increase future usage of
the product. This objective can be measured using the
survey sent out before the campaign and post campaign
to measure the increased recognition of the crisis chat.
Secondly, MSU SAP can use google analytics to track
engagement on social media to better produce future
posts.
sALES pROMOTION GOALS
To measure our public relations and promotional
goals a survey will be given out manually through the
campaign ambassadors to fraternity and sororities pre-
sented with the information, to track the awareness
among the specific demographic of Greek life MSU stu-
dents. Respondents will be asked questions to measure
usage and awareness of MSU SAP’s Crisis Chat. Narrow-
ing down specific students of greek life will give MSU
SAP better insight to further the ambassador program.

aDVERTISING gOALS
The advertising goals coincide with the overall
marketing goals of the campaign. Using Google Analytics
to track demographics of social media engagement on
the informational video will provide MSU SAP with the
knowledge to further improve their website, or other
interactive forms of advertising with consumers of the
crisis chat.

45
 Budget
general ledger
pie chart
specific expenses

46
 General Ledger


47
 Pie Chart


48
 Specific Expenses

Advertising Expenses instructional video roll out. There will be a larger budget
dedicated to this posting, in order to reach a larger
Print Ads audience and raise awareness of the Crisis Chat func-
The MSU Sexual Assault Program should set aside tion. $500 has been set aside to boost this post on
$5,940 for print promotions, in the form of flyers to be Facebook, and $200 to boost on Twitter.
distributed to the 27 undergraduate dorms on campus.
Each dorm will be alloted 10 18x24 size flyers, provided
by MSU SAP, to hang throughout the residence halls.
The cost of these flyers is approximately $22 a piece.
Additionally, MSU SAP will create business cards to
disperse to various Greek life organizations on campus
through its ambassador program. The cost of these
cards comes in at $0.04 per card. Each semester the
program will print 3,000 cards, making the grand total
cost for this initiative $240.

Social Media
Advertising for the campaign will also include the
cost of boosting of posts prior to major holidays and
events, equaling a cost of $650. The four events we will
be boosting posts for include Welcome Week, Tailgating,
Halloween, and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The
posts will be boosted on MSU SAP’s active Facebook
and Twitter pages. Each boosted post on Facebook
amounts to $100, and each post on Twitter is $50.
There will also be a one-time boosting fee for the

49
 


Specific Expenses

Public Relations and Promotions Expenses Agency Commission
This cost is derived from total billable hours. It
Ambassador Program includes time spent putting together the instructional
Home to 63 sororities and frats on campus, MSU video and promotional print ads. Over 8 months, the
SAP should designate an ambassador program to dis- allotted amount is $1,000.00.
cuss with members the prevalence of sexual assault in
Greek Life orgs, as well as available resources in a time
of need. The program will assign 2 ambassadors to Total Budget: $12,361.79
travel to the different chapters on campus at the start Contingency Budget: $638.21
of each semester, and providing them with a semesterly
stipend of $1,200 a piece. The total cost of this pro-
gram will amount to $4,800 in wages. The ambassadors
will also be responsible for handing out business cards
to students that spell out a list of available resources,
including the Crisis Chat function.

Instructional Video
A small budget has been set aside for the pro-
duction of the instructional video. By getting an MSU
student to volunteer in putting together the video, costs
can be virtually eliminated. The only real amount to
factor in would be an editing software, such as Adobe
Creative Cloud. A one month subscription comes in at
around $31.79.

50
Conclusion

51
 Conclusion

We, Spartan Strategies believe this is the best
plan to increase awareness and usage of MSU SAP’s
Crisis Chat, throughout the campaign and well after.
Through secondary research we discovered our target
audience and created a campaign to directly target
them through print advertisements, an instructional
video, an ambassador program, and distributing bro-
chure advertisements. This plan reaches the target audi-
ence through all directions and is simple to implement.

Conclusion
MSU SAP’s Crisis Chat would greatly benefit in achieving
their goals by executing our campaign and increase
awareness by 15%.

# 52
 Appendix
SURVEY
FOCUSED SURVEY
BIBLIOGRAPHY

53
 Survey

Online Survey conducted through Qualtrics
research survey tool, distributed to Michigan State Uni-
versity members.

Survey Results

1.

2.

54
 3.

4.

55
5.

6.

56
7.

8.

57
9.

58
10.

59
11.

12.

60
13.
10.

14.

61
15.

16.

62
17.

18.

63
19.

20.

64
21.

22.

65
23.

24.

66
25.

26.

67
27.

68
 Focused Survey
Indepth Interview Questions with an MSU Female
involved in Greek Life:
1. Age: 22
2. Class Status at MSU: Senior
3. On Campus or off campus? On campus
4. Gender: Female
5. Do you think people have a solid idea of con-
sent? I think some people have an idea of consent but
when alcohol is added in the mix, the lines can be
blurred for some people.
6. Do you think there are any campus factors that
contribute to sexual assault incident? I think the
sorority and fraternity environment can really lead to
the perfect opportunity to be sexually assaulted or sex-
ually assault someone.
7. What resources did you know of on campus? Not
really any, but I also didn’t really look into it.
8. Were you personally hesitant to reach out for
help? Would you mind specifying why? Yes, mostly
because I was ashamed and felt like it was also my
fault for what happened.
9. What do you look for in a resource? My friends
10. What are you most comfortable doing? Texting?
speaking with someone over the phone? Group
counseling? Probably texting or talking to someone I
know extremely well. I think group counseling would also
be helpful.
11. What do you wish people understood more
about sexual assault survivors? That it's really hard
to open up about details so if someone is confiding in
you please be extremely supportive and let them tell
their story from their perspective. Also it is hard for
someone to reach out for help themselves so if you
see them going through really dark times, it may be
necessary to step in and help them get the courage to
talk to someone.
69
 Bibliography

Carone, Angela. “Fraternity Culture Linked To College Sexual Assault Problem.” KPBS Public
Media, www.kpbs.org/news/2014/oct/21/fraternities-and-campus-sexual-assault-problem/

Guerrant, Emily. “State Grant Funding Helps Expand Resources in Sexual Assault Program.” MSUToday, 2018, msuto
day.msu.edu/news/2018/state-grant-funding-helps-expand-resources-in-sexual-assault-program/.

“Here's What Student Life Is Like At Michigan State University.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report,
www.usnews.com/best-colleges/michigan-state-2290/student-life.

Michigan State University. “About Us.” Michigan State University Sexual Assault Program, 2018, endrape.m
su.edu/about-us/.

Michigan State University. “MSU Facts.” Michigan State University, msu.edu/about/thisismsu/facts.php. Summers,
Juana. “Smartphone Apps Help To Battle Campus Sexual Assaults.” NPR, NPR, 13 Aug. 2014, ww
w.npr.org/2014/08/13/339888170/smartphone-apps-help-to-battle-campus-sexual-assaults.

Valenti, Jessica. “Frat Brothers Rape 300% More. One in 5 Women Is Sexually Assaulted on Campus. Should We Ban
Frats? | Jessica Valenti.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 24 Sept. 2014, www.theguardian.com/com
mentisfree/2014/sep/24/rape-sexual-assault-ban-frats.

Ward, Kim. “MSU Sexual Assault Program Launches Crisis Chat Service for Survivors.” MSUToday, 2018, msutoday.m
su.edu/news/2018/msu-sexual-assault-program-launches-crisis-chat-service-for-survivors/.

Winowiecki, Emma, et al. “TIMELINE: A Long History of Abuse by Dr. Larry Nassar.” Michigan Radio, 24 Jan. 2018,
www.michiganradio.org/post/timeline-long-history-abuse-dr-larry-nassar.

Youatt, June P. “2018 Fall Enrollment Report.” Michigan State University, 2018.
70
 About Us

We are Spartan Strategies, a full-service marketing agency,
dedicated to creating marketing campaigns that go above
and beyond the needs of our client. Our team of experts
brings talent and experience to deliver you unique
solutions through creativity and strategy.


The Team

Lindsay Simos
Elizabeth Thompson
Lauren Zollo
Carli Fox
Madalyn Spraggins
Saleh Mousa