OERu/Planning/OERu marketing communications and partner engagement/Marketing project plan

OERu Marketing Proposal April 29, 2016

A brief overview of activities/actions planned to help the OEru team build brand awareness and connect with potential partner institutions and learners.

Background Research
• Conduct interviews with current OERu partners to identify true benefits of partnership, as well as areas of opportunity

• Review survey data to identify current and potential challenges

• Define and communicate Value Proposition/Elevator pitch

• Define and communicate [| strapline]

= Phase I – Partner Engagement =

Updates to OERu Website
The existing website does a good job of communicating the foundational benefits of OERu, but additional content will improve SEO, increase engagement, and compel both target audiences to take a specific action. Updating the website entirely should be a priority for future marketing strategies, but given the existing budget (time and costs) adding additional content should be the current focus.

Updates to include:

• Create and publish case studies about students, partners and supporters (budgeted for 3 case studies)

• Create additional banners to promote partnership and benefits of OERu

• Email capture on all pages

Professional Presentation of OERu open business model
Along with a cover letter (Letter of Invitation) outlining the many benefits of joining OERu, a professional brochure will be created to provide a high-level overview of the business model canvas.

Colorized, printer-friendly, and attributed Business Model Canvas

Create online brochure (PDF)
Developing a downloadable brochure that provides a deeper insight into the benefits of a partnership with OERu will help build awareness, as well as provide access to important metrics regarding readership. PDF is the recommended format, which will ensure recipients that choose to print the document will maintain the original design.

The downloadable file could be used for lead generation, requiring the target audience to enter their contact information (email address) to gain access to the file, but this goes against the open nature of OERu, and thus we don’t recommend it.

Create Partner Package
To clearly identify the value created through a partnership with OERu, a Partner Package should be created for each new partner to showcase their active presence to the global audience.

The package could include:

• Media release recognizing new status as an official OERu partner

• Blog post on OERu site

• Additional recognition/promotion through OERu social media channels

• Recommendations for communications teams at partner institutions to maximize marketing benefit

Email Marketing Campaign
All email addresses of current, future, and prospective OERu partners should be aggregated and categorized to be used for future email correspondence. We recommend ConstantContact, but there are other options that may already be in place. We propose using Mautic.org, an innovative, open source email platform.

Drip campaign to create engagement with current and new partners:

• Initial letter of introduction – compelling, but informative – not a hard sell

• Follow-up letter to share benefits – how partnership with OERu will provide value to their institution. Minor CTA (visit website for more info, follow on social media, etc)

• Third letter – requesting action

• Fourth letter – thanking them for participating, but acknowledging that they’re perhaps not ready to bring their institution into the current era (subtle – non-offensive)

• Final letter – outlining that this is the final outreach, and further conversations will need to be initiated by the recipient.

Quarterly Newsletter
To continue building awareness, a quarterly newsletter should be created to share OERu success stories, as well as identify upcoming events/engagements. Content to include blog posts, videos, articles, and interviews from leading open education resources around the world. Huge emphasis on creating original content.

Lead Generation
Through active participation in social media and limited online advertising, we can generate additional interest and compel the target audience to provide their email address to stay informed on all matters OERu.

Create/update existing social presence:

• LinkedIn

• YouTube

• Reddit

• Facebook

• Twitter

• Wikipedia – primarily founding anchor partners (Last updated Jan 2015)

• PPC – Reddit, LinkedIn, Facebook – drive traffic to landing page for partners

= Phase II – Student Recruitment = Continuing with the emphasis on content creation, the remaining funds should be allocated to creating awareness and communicating the value of achieving accreditation through OERu channels.

Option A:

A crowdsourcing campaign can be used to generate substantial interest for OERu. By developing a campaign on Indiegogo, we can generate interest in existing courses while attracting a substantial number of students to the OERu platform.

Option B:

• A traditional print-based strategy, including posters, brochures, and media releases designed to engage with prospective students.