CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW The Hsu family wanted to make a gift to support scholarships and increase alumni engagement with UW-Madison

UW Foundation, UW Communications and WAA worked together to conceptualize, plan and execute the campaign

Core team met every couple weeks for check-in and planning

Timeline• June: Concept presented• July - August: Planning / Production• September: Campaign Launch• October: Wrap-Up

For each new Facebook friend or Twitter follower connecting with the UW-Madison or the Wisconsin Alumni Association between September 16 and October 3, the Hsu family committed to giving $1 to the Great People Scholarship, up to $50,000.

Goals:• Support students through the

Great People Scholarship• Dramatically increase the number

of social media followers of the university and WAA

TACTICS Traditional Media

• On Wisconsin alumni magazine

• Free Standing banners

• Bus cards

• Telefund calls

• Camp Randall scoreboards

New Media

• Web landing page with video

• Facebook tab

• Email campaign

• Facebook Ads

• Twitter campaign

While this was a social media-oriented campaign, we recognized early in the planning that traditional media would play a big part in our promotion.

We saw some of our biggest bumps in traffic immediately following email campaigns.

QR codes used on the banners and bus ads saw very little utilization.

OUTCOMES A remarkably strong relationship with loyal alumnus and donor, Will Hsu (@wphsu)

$3,600 annually for scholarships through the Hsu family endowment

Nearly 20,000 new followers Increased awareness of the Great People

Scholarship campaign Strengthened relationship among

UW-Madison campus partners

The link this campaign created between a donor, scholarship funds and social media may have been the first of its kind in higher education.

It led to even more notoriety for UW-Madison as a social media savvy campus including features in:

• New York Times education blog

• The Chronicle of Higher Ed blog

• The Guardian higher ed section

• Inside Higher Ed

• Alumni Futures

LESSONS LEARNED 18 Days is too long to sustain a social media campaign

Mini-Challenges work! We needed a more detailed message plan Using Skype, Facebook video chat, etc.

instead of in-person meetings would have enabled more frequent, quick check-ins

Setting a clear public goal would help to minimize confusion and give supporters something to aspire to reach

Having a list of key alumni on social media platforms is incredibly valuable

Communication among team members and the ability to be agile are critical for success.

It’s important to develop a comprehensive plan and be prepared to deviate from the plan when necessary.

Fin.

Free Standing BannersPlaced in the student unions and taken to alumni tailgate events on football weekends.

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Bus CardsPositioned on buses serving campus and the surrounding area.

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Camp Randall ScoreboardsPromo message displayed on scoreboards during two home games.

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Web Landing PageAll other media directed traffic to the landing page where users could like and follow all four accounts with just four clicks.

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Facebook TabThe tab was the default view for anyone visiting • facebook.com/uwmadison• facebook.com/buckybadger• facebook.com/uwfoundation

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Email CampaignEmail messages were sent to:• Students• Alumni• Entire population• Northeast US region with

targeted content• UW Faculty/Staff

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