butv10 Guerilla Marketing Strategy
(Note: these are very brief descriptions and each idea has its level of normalcy (high being guerilla low being standard PR) and level of difficulty next to it)
Stickers (Offbeat Standard Marketing, Medium Difficulty)
These stickers act as graffiti and are any shape you want. They go on light posts, door handles, street benches, and many more places. They would be allowed in Allston and maybe south campus but not on campus necessarily. This would cost roughly $300 at stickergiant.com
Pavement Graffiti (Offbeat Standard Marketing, Medium Difficulty)
This would be great outside and probably would not wash off during the snow or rain. It would be useful because people are often looking down when they walk. Occupy Wall Street has done this before. It would cost roughly $30-50 at stencileas.com.
Computer Lab (Guerilla Marketing, Medium-High Difficulty)
It is unclear how often you would want us to do this or if we can. We would need to do further investigation into this if you want us to do this.
Flash Mob (not suggested) (Low-Medium Marketing, Medium-High Difficulty)
If you are so inclined we can put together a flash mob. We will need volunteers and they can all be wearing something regarding BUTV10 but these are fast, annoying, and the Flash Mob Movement has passed. You could do it somewhere inside like the GSU or a dining hall. This would require a video to teach everyone the dance and at least a week to practice the dance. It would also require outreach because we would need 20-100 people depending on the size of the venue.
BUTV10 Interviews on the Street (Medium Marketing, Medium Difficulty)
These would be on the street interviews. The interviews would be filmed but there would also be someone filming the interview (as in a person filming for the interview and a person filming all three people involved in the interview). It gets the name out there and we will come back to this. In addition make sure to have all your equipment branded with stickers and anything else you can that says BUTV10.
Street Give Away (Standard Marketing, Low Difficulty)
They could give away anything really just as long as it says BUTV10. T-shirts, key chains, gloves, cups of hot chocolate with the BUTV10 logo. Anything – and we can flush this out if you are interested. The price for this depends on what you are giving away.
Mass Text to BU Students (Guerilla Marketing, High Difficulty)
This is finding a way to send all of BU a text message alerting them that there is something on BUTV10…this won’t work but it is an innovative strategy we can build off of.
Stunt at BU Event (Guerilla Marketing, High Difficulty)
Any large gathering with BU students will do for this. This can also be flushed out a lot more. Originally the thought was a sports game stunt. This could be at a men’s hockey game (a reporter could “run out on the ice to capture a shot” but it is planned), or at a men’s basketball game (a basketball player who is not in the game at the time could do some camera work with a BUTV10 branded camera – and another camera will capture that Basketball player shooting the game).
A BUTV10 stunt could also happen at orientation or matriculation. Matriculation may be more outlandish and might work better but would be harder to get approved. We can work on this.
Facebook Campaign (Standard Marketing, Low Difficulty)
You have to have a giveaway but it cannot be something that no one wants. It has to be something legitimately cool. One of the main things that makes something cool is that it is limited. It is limited because of its price (limited people can buy it) it is limited because of its availability (there are very few in the world) it is limited because it is a once in a life time experience (cannot happen again) etc.
Tap into the BUTV10 Team (Standard Marketing, Medium Difficulty)
Have each student working for BUTV10 spread the word to seven friends about BUTV10 (it can be a BUTV10 rumor) and then have them tell seven friends and so on and so forth. It is in the style of those old chain emails – but not a chain email obviously.
Pasting Posters (Guerilla Marketing, Medium Difficulty)
Allston we can do but we need to get the posters and they cannot look like posters they need to be more like ads. In addition we can wallpaper the walls in the corridor to Warren Dinning Hall and wallpaper the wallpaper with posters.
Forehead Tattoos (Guerilla Marketing, High Difficulty)
You need people to commit to this and be ready to look ridicules. This is about loving BUTV10 and being proud that you love it. May not happen but if it did it would be awesome.
Subtle Product Placement (Standard Marketing, Low Difficulty)
If you get stickers or you don’t everything that you use in public needs to have your logo. In addition people need to see you doing things. No one should think that you are a Film/TV student doing something for class, they should know you work for a legitimate company. At sports games you need to be visible and for people to be able to see you. The cameras need to have the logo on the side. You also need to be wearing your BUTV10 shirts when you are out and doing BUTV10 activities.
AstroTurf/ Snow Drawing (Guerilla Marketing, High Difficulty)
If you hire a AstroTurf artist it would be expensive but very cool. They could decorate Nickerson. In addition you could spray paint or draw in the snow on Nickerson the logo for BUTV10. We would need permission for this but everyone in Stuvi2, Stuvi and West would see it.
Tissue Packing (Guerilla Marketing, High Difficulty)
If we went to the bathrooms and went through all the napkins and stamped them we could get everyone to see that. However, this probably would not work because once you take the napkins or paper towels apart you lose the ability to put them back together.
In Line Interviews (Guerilla Marketing, High Difficulty)
Lunch line at GSU and dining halls are prime places to get quick 14 second interviews and also get exposure. Make sure that everyone in line sees you doing the interview and sees that you are from BUTV10. You can do this at Starbucks as well.
Life is a Beach (Odd Marketing, Low Difficulty)
24 Hour cameras on the BU Beach and seeing what happens. This idea is not great but it is something that has not been done before and can be tweaked around.
Oversized Things (Guerilla Marketing, Low Difficulty)
You could have anything oversized that has to do with BUTV10 on Marsh Plaza to help spark curiosity. Ideas include a model made up of an oversized TV camera or an oversized clapper.
Turn a Room (Guerilla Marketing, High Difficulty)
You turn a room people normally use into a movie studio overnight. This was done very successfully (if not the most successful marketing campaign I have seen) by Charmin in NYC. This idea needs to be flushed out but could be a great long term goal.
Chalk Artist (Guerilla Marketing, Medium Difficulty)
3d chalk on a very large piece of paper and then put that paper in the GSU or CAS and let people see it. The picture should be a 3d BUTV10 logo or something to do with BUTV10.
Marsh Plaza Event Stop Motion (Guerilla Marketing, Medium Difficulty)
Set up cameras on Marsh Plaza and as people walk by it takes pictures and becomes a stop motion picture. Get pictures and video of you guys doing it. This allows people to be like “o where do I see this” and you can say “check our Facebook in three days.” Also the video of it happening is necessary.
BU Bus Ad (Standard Marketing, Easy Difficulty)
It legitimizes your brand even if it is only the BU Bus. You need something like this. I would even suggest getting T Stop ads.
Bathroom Ads (Standard Marketing, Easy Difficulty)
Very simple flyers on everything in the bathroom: above the urinals, posted the back of the stall doors, and on mirrors. Put rip away ends on it so that they can take either a hashtag or the website with them.
Interrupt lectures (Guerilla Marketing, High Difficulty)
BUTV10 crew comes through a crowded lecture like Econ 101 or SMG 229 or Com 101 and disrupts the lecture with the teachers’ permission.
Stations around BU Campus: BUTV10 Festival (Standard/Guerilla Marketing, High Difficulty)
This is a day where there are 12 different stations around the campus to increase viewership. Each show sets up a booth around the campus and allows people to interact with the show and learn a bit. Make it intriguing and this is something to flush out.
The Wi-Fi Trick (Guerilla Marketing, Medium Difficulty)
You bring routers to COM or CAS or any school and plug them in with the wireless network BUTV10 and have the homepage be BUTV10. This is a high tech way to do the screen saver move. Just need someone to program the routers which should not be too hard if we get an IT person.
Traditional Marketing
Pitch the News (Standard PR, Medium Difficulty)
You have to develop relationships with journalists and then have a mutual understanding between the journalists and the PR professionals that can lead to coverage. Coverage allows for a mass audience to be exposed to BUTV10. This is one of the most common and effective ways for PR professionals to help their clients.
Gain Connections on Campus (Standard PR, Low Difficulty)
BUTV10 has a unique position. The nature of the TV stations has the ability to make groups feel important by covering them. Sandeep covered a few groups with a TV crew and they were honored by the coverage. BUTV10 can start with COM groups so that they can be with familiar groups. BUTV10 can do special coverage of the most influential groups and gain more recognition.
Create Programs People Want to Watch (Standard PR, Medium Difficulty)
People do not want to watch the current programing on BUTV10. BUTV10 needs to cover things that intriguing things. This does require more crews and more time but maybe there could be a “special project team” or some other type of team that is devoted to special projects. Ideas for specials include “A BU Life: The Dean Elmore Story” or if they cover Quidditch games.
Turn TVs across Campus to BUTV10 (Medium PR, Medium Difficulty)
Brianna Martinez has a list of all the TVs across campus and we can take any location where there are two or more TVs and change one of them to BUTV10. These locations include SMG Starbucks, the GSU, FitRec, and BU Central just to name a few.
Ads (Standard PR, Medium Difficulty)
To legitimize BUTV10 they can put ads in places where people actually look at ads and see the ads as legitimate. If BUTV10 puts their ads next to ads for “real” news stations it helps to put them on the same level in the heads of the students. The image of seeing the two side by side allows for student to put them in the same category, even if the student decides that Local Channel 5 is more legitimate, it allows for students to legitimize BUTV10. Any official places where people would see normal ads are good, just not places where ONLY Boston University student groups put ads like the GSU or Warren Towers.
Lecture Series (Standard PR, Medium Difficulty)
The lecture series would be enticing and engaging ways to get students to not only come to an event but also to see the exposure of BUTV10 and the wide reaching influence. This will only be possible if you get good speakers and make sure that people know it was BUTV10 who got them. That is why it is important to do a proper alumni check.
PR Event (These range from standard to guerilla and from easy to very difficult)
- On the street interviews with BUTV10 equipment
- BUTV10 Fair/ Expo (all 12 shows set up across campus with stations that show something unique and enticing about their show)
Endorsements (Standard PR, Low Difficulty)
Get one of the alumni to endorse BUTV10. It needs to be someone with not necessarily a great name but a great job. This will give BUTV10 validity in not only the eyes of its staff and COM students but also across school. Run an ad or get an article written about the endorsement in multiple papers. Make sure the endorsement does not go unnoticed.