MIKAELA YEAGER PROJECT PORTFOLIO

The pieces included in my portfolio showcase my skills in marketing communications, strategic planning, public relations, social media, multi-media advertising and graphic design.

“MY PATH” NEW STUDENT GUIDEBOOK

In summer 2016, new students at Clarkson College became the first class to receive the “My Path” guidebook. The objective of this piece is to help incoming students be successful as they prepare for and endure their first year of College.

The 46-page guidebook discusses everything from new student orientation and registration to parking and health and safety requirements. With this guidebook at their side, students are much more likely to be aware of the resources and services available to them and the many ways they can reach their potential in their first year and beyond.

View the online version of the “My Path” New Student Guidebook.

HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR PIECE

The Clarkson College Marketing department designed a recruitment piece that exclusively targets high school juniors who have an expressed interest in health care. The piece gives the students a glimpse inside the culture at Clarkson College without inundating them with in-depth details about academic programs, tuition, financial aid, etc. The goal of the High School Junior piece is merely to entice college-bound students to take the next step, i.e. visit the Clarkson College website and request more information, plan a campus visit or attend an upcoming Preview Day.

When writing the copy for this piece, I maintained the solemn yet inspiring Clarkson College brand voice, while also infusing a touch of humor and light-heartedness to gain the appeal of a younger audience.

View the full version of the High School Junior Piece.

SEARCH PIECE

View the full Search Piece.

The Search Piece is the Clarkson College version of a view book, making it the primary recruitment tool for the Admissions staff and academic outreach liaison. My responsibility for the piece was to provide an accurate yet concise depiction of Clarkson College, laying out fast facts and differentiators, a synopsis of each health care program, ways to get involved on campus, financial aid and scholarship information, benefits of living on campus and more.

PROGRAM BOOKLETS

View the full version of the Graduate Nursing Booklet.

When the Clarkson College Marketing department conducted a rebranding project in 2010, we designed an informational booklet for each academic program offered at the College. I worked closely with the program directors to gather pertinent information to include in the booklets. While factual, the content retains the Clarkson College brand voice and gives prospective students a sense of the true character of the institution.

125TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK

Clarkson College celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2013. In honor of this milestone, we created a book filled with archival photos and facts about some of the institution’s most prized moments in history. My task was to write a short, compelling description for each fact in the book. Clarkson College employees and alumni who attended the 125-year dinner celebration each received a copy.

View the full version of the 125-Year Anniversary Book.

With the launch of a revamped website in 2010, we needed to refresh our web content and intercalate the new brand voice. In updating the content for each webpage, we recognized the importance of search engine optimization to boost organic search results, while also aiming to write informative, easily digestible copy. In my role, I update web content regularly as programmatic and institutional changes arise.

Clarkson College also has several landing pages, which we often create for specific campaigns or target audiences. For the “Be the Best” landing page (example on the right), the content is geared toward high school students. Striking images of Clarkson College students, faculty, staff and the campus permeate throughout the webpage. The copy is inviting and laconic so viewers can stay engaged and feel enlightened upon leaving the site.

WEBSITE & LANDING PAGES

View more of the Clarkson College website.

View the full Be the Best webpage.

E-MAIL CAMPAIGNS

View the interactive version of this e-mail campaign.

One of the main recruitment and communications tools used at Clarkson College is an online e-mail campaign service equipped with comprehensive tracking capabilities. The custom templates are branded so recipients can quickly identify each campaign as a communication from Clarkson College. We use this tool to communicate with all of our target audiences, including current students, employees, alumni, prospective students and partners.

The sample campaign to the right was sent to ACT test-takers in high school who indicated an interest in a field of health care offered at Clarkson College. In it, I provided an introduction to Clarkson College and gave prospective students the option to click to learn more or to plan a campus visit.

Current Student & Why Clarkson College Videos

In spring 2014, Clarkson College launched a series of online videos that feature interviews with various current students. Although we worked with a local video production company to produce the videos, I was charged with the responsibility to coordinate which students would “star” in the videos and prepped them with questions and talking points to consider for the interviews.

The following fall, we utilized footage from the online videos to create spots for a three-month TV campaign. The spots aired on major networks, targeting high schoolers, community college students, and parents of prospective students.

View the online videos.

EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER

The Alumni Times is a quarterly alumni magazine, and the Maltese Crossing is a bi-weekly employee e-newsletter. I serve as the primary writer and editor for both publications. For each issue, I am responsible for creating a story board, conducting interviews, taking photos and writing the respective articles.

View the full Summer 2016 issue of the Alumni Times

View a recent issue of the Maltese Crossing

MEDIA RELEASES

One of my essential job functions is to serve as the primary media contact for Clarkson College. This role entails writing and submitting news releases to all of the appropriate media outlets. Congratulatory announcements for graduating students, scholarship recipients and students named to the dean’s list are sent each semester, and alerts of any major achievements or events at the College are sent accordingly.

The media release on the top right is notification of a top ranking Clarkson College recently received by U.S. News & World Report.

I wrote and submitted the media release below for a fundraising event held for Partnership for Autism Career Employment, which is a subsidiary of Autism Action Partnership of Omaha. Part of my duties as a PACE volunteer entail generating publicity for public fundraising events.

Both media releases received a response and coverage from the Omaha World-Herald.

MARKETING PLANS – NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAM LAUNCH

In fall 2016, Clarkson College became one of the first institutions in the region to launch a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Bachelor’s degree program. I developed the following marketing plan as a framework for generating awareness and recruiting students to apply to the program. The integrated plan includes print, web, digital, social media, and public relations strategies.

I discussed and finalized the plan with the PTA program director and then communicated project duties with the graphic designer and website coordinator to ensure all of the tactics outlined in the plan would be com-pleted by the expected deadlines with time for the program director to review and approve each item.

PUBLIC RELATIONS PROPOSAL – RAILS-TO-TRAILS CONSERVANCY

In my Advertising & Public Relations Issues & Strategies Master’s degree course, my final project entailed creating a high-level public relations plan for an existing social service or non-profit organization. In the PR plan I developed for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, which is dedicated to creating a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines, I propose endorsing a corporate bicycling com-pany to sponsor one-year anniversary celebrations of newly-built rails-to-trails systems across the U.S. The objective is to build awareness of how the new trail systems are benefitting local economies, the environment and the physical well-being of the community.

View the full RTC Public Relations proposal.

MARKETING PLANS – CLARKSON COLLEGE SOCIAL MEDIA

For my Social Media & PR Theory graduate course at UNL, I developed an updated social media plan for my current employer, Clarkson College. Strategic employment of a social media plan will foster greater awareness of the Clarkson College brand among prospective students and the public at large. Additionally, positive social interaction with current students, faculty, staff, alumni, key influencers and thought leaders in the community will glean additional loyalty, support and pride for the Clarkson College brand and its Mission to prepare students to professionally provide high-quality, ethical and compassionate health care.

View the complete Clarkson College social media plan.

MARKETING PLANS – NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH

This marketing plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the strategy for launching a new autonomous, battery-powered lawn mower known as the MondoMower. My group members and I at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln conducted extensive market research and situational analyses to formulate practical yet aggressive marketing and advertising objectives; research and development efforts; and segmentation, promotion, distribution, and pricing strategies.

View the full MondoMower Marketing Plan.

MARKETING PLANS – JCPENNEY BRAND LAUNCH

A final project assignment for one of the courses in my Integrated Media Communications master’s degree program at UNL entailed writing a brand re-launch proposal for JC Penney. The attached proposal outlines the history of the JC Penney brand, its current standing and concepts to redeem the brand’s image and perceived quality.

View the full JC Penney Brand Relaunch Plan.

MARKETING RESEARCH PROJECT – INCREASING ALUMNI GIVING

This research study was conducted by graduate students of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Journalism & Mass Communications and sought to find effective marketing and communication methods for propelling alumni of varying generations to become and/or maintain a loyal and supportive connection with their alma mater.

View the full research study.

“The Path” Video

View “The Path” video on the PrepareToBeTheBest microsite.

With the unveiling of the new Clarkson College brand in 2010, we worked with a local agency to create an inspirational video dedicated to those who work in the field of health care. I was privileged with the opportunity to write the copy for this video, which has been shown at various pinning and graduation ceremonies since its release.

FACEBOOK PAGE

View the Clarkson College Facebook page.

A shared responsibility in the Marketing department is maintaining the Clarkson College Facebook page. After attending a higher education marketing national conference in November 2012, and sitting in on various sessions related to social media, we implemented a strategic plan to increase the number of “Likes,” reach, visits and engagement of our Facebook followers.

As displayed in the graph to the right, we nearly doubled in “Likes” and more than quadrupled in total reach in a two-year period.

To celebrate reaching 1,000 “Likes,” we held a contest for a free mini iPad. Students and alumni who answered a question about their experience at Clarkson College were eligible to win. The page now has more nearly 2,100 follwers.

GOOGLE ADWORDS & ANALYTICS

Over the last two-and-a-half years, Clarkson College has leveraged online advertising through Google AdWords pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. In spring 2013, I was given the responsibility to set-up the campaigns, which includes creating keyword lists, ad groups and ad copy for Google search networks. I monitor the campaigns daily and make adjustments based on performance and opportunities.

In fall 2015, I created an AdWords campaign for the Health Care Business program. The top right Google Analytucs graph compares the total pageviews the program’s webpage received in that time period versus the number it received during the two-week period prior to the campaign’s launch. Entrance to the webpage increased by 800%, and the average time spent on the page increased by 40. 37%. Below the Google Analytics report are two examples of search ads I created for the Health Care Business program.

FACEBOOK ADS

Clarkson College has recently starting investing more advertising dollars in targeted Facebook ads. By utilzing e-mail addresses provided in our Request More Information forms, we can create custom audiences for who the ads will serve.

The ads to the right launched in April 2016 and are promoting the RN to BSN program. They appeared on the Facebook news feeds and Instagram pages of those who inquired to the program within the last six months.

RESIDENCE HALL VINYL

This past year, we took on the task of livening up the communal areas of the Clarkson College Residence Hall. The idea was to give the walls a personality that was fun, caring and a little cheeky. We came up with more than 20 sayings to display throughout the three floors. I prepared the artwork for print and worked with a graphics display company to complete the installation.

T-SHIRT DESIGNS

As both the Marketing Specialist at Clarkson College and as a volunteer for Partnership for Autism Career Em-ployment, I am responsible for design-ing T-shirts for a multitude of events and fundraisers. Once the design is finalized, I work with a local T-shirt vendor to process each order.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES POSTERS

Clarkson College hosts a slew of on-campus activities each year. As marketing respresentative on the Student Activities, I create a promotional poster for each event to display throughout campus and on various social media channels.