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FAST TRACK TO A SUSTAINABLEFUTURE

campaign plan

Spring, 2012

FAS communications

RAC

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executive summarytable of contents Emy Louie is the director of public outreach for the US High Speed Rail Associa-tion where she is responsible for building new relationships and spreading the word about USHSR’s programs and activities. On her own initiative, Louie has written Fast Trains- Ameri-ca’s High Speed Future, a book that is intended to engage audiences unfamiliar with high speed rail (HSR) and to heighten enthusiasm for her vision of an advanced HSR system in America. Louie is publishing Fast Trains- Amer-ica’s High Speed Future with the help of Nancy Bolts, an experienced advertising professional and a writing coach. It is our mission as FasTrack Communi-cations to promote publicity about Fast Trains- America’s High Speed Future, Louie as an author and activist and the US High Speed Rail Asso-ciation among audiences interested in sustain-ability and environmental issues. Because HSR entails reduced carbon emissions, it is consid-ered to be a form of green transportation and thus audiences interested in environmental and sustainability issues have a vested interest in supporting HSR. By engaging these audi-ences, Louie has the opportunity to mobilize a community of passionate and intelligent activ-ists to advocate for an HSR system in America. We have designed a campaign that engages Louie with these audiences and markets to them Fast Trains- America’s High Speed Future. To better understand its audience and the market Louie’s book and vision we conducted primary and secondary research. Through secondary research, we determined that many Americans are skeptical of the eco-nomic feasibility of building an advanced HSR system. Other Americans demonstrate “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) mentality. However,

Executive Summary................................................................................................................ 3

Background............................................................................................................................. 4

Research Summary ............................................................................................................... 6

Communication Plan ...............................................................................................................9

Overview of Campaign .............................................................................................. 9

Key Audiences...........................................................................................................10

Goals, Objectives, Strategies & Tactics .................................................................. 12

Timeline ................................................................................................................................ 16

Budget .................................................................................................................................. 17

Evaluation ............................................................................................................................ 18

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................19

Appendix A: References ...................................................................................................... 21

Appendix B: Ready-to-Use Pieces ........................................................................................22

Ready-to-Use Sample Tweets .................................................................................22

News Release Promoting Event ..............................................................................24

News Release to Promote Book ..............................................................................26

Ticket to a Sustainable Future...................................................................................27

Event Invitation..................................... ...................................................................27

Event Plan............................................ ....................................................................28

primary research demonstrated that audiences interested in sustainability and environmental issues are likely to appreciate the importance of HSR from a sustainability perspective. These audiences agree that HSR is a project that America should invest in. We designed a campaign that reaches out to audiences interested in environmental and sustainability issues that are concentrated around college campuses. The campaign relies heavily on speaking engagements during which Louie discusses HSR with local chapters of environmental and sustainability groups at college campuses across the nation. The campaign has the objective of increasing awareness about, interest in and sales of Fast Trains- America’s High Speed Future, ultimately selling 10 books at each speaking event and yielding 50 hits per month on Louie’s book website. A second objective of our campaign is to create a long-term relationship between US High Speed Rail Association and target audi-ences by opening up channels of communica-tion between the two, quantifying this with 50 signed pledges confirming commitment to HSR per event. The strength of the campaign lies in its strategy of leveraging a young, active and pas-sionate audience that has an invested interest in HSR to become active supporters of HSR. The success of the campaign will rely on its ability to frame HSR as an issue of importance to environmental and sustainability advocates. The uniqueness of our campaign is executed through a “ticket to a high speed future, which includes a QR code directing people to Louie’s book website and a simulation of the USHSR experience.

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background The mission of Emy Louie’s book, Fast Trains – America’s High Speed Future, is to gen-erate awareness and to promote excitement around the topic of HSR. HSR is an issue inher-ently related to sustainability issues, a point made by Jeremy Rifkin in The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World: “Becom-ing a low-carbon emissions economy means shifting from a Second Industrial Revolution run on fossil fuel energies to a Third Industrial Revolution run by renewable energies.” It is our team’s mission to market Louie’s book to organizations and individuals interested in issues related to sustainability and the envi-ronment. Our team’s purpose is to promote an alliance between environmental/sustain-ability groups and HSR. Our campaign seeks to

open pathways of communication with these groups and to persuade them of the signifi-cance of HSR in relation to sustainability issues while marketing the book. The book’s strengths lie in its style, its advocacy, its originality and the passion it exudes. Readers unfamiliar with HSR will find it is a short, accessible read that lacks an excess of technical jargon. Another strength is the book’s relevance to the environmental advoca-cy audience to which our team will market the book. HSR is a topic that is often brought up in relation to issues like sustainability and reduc-ing carbon emissions. In addition, Louie’s book will be the first book of its kind; it should face little competition on the market if it is targeted and marketed properly. On the other hand, because this is Louie’s first book, she does not

have an existing loyal readership. Furthermore, Louie will not have access to the promotional services provided by publishers because she is self-publishing. Another challenge is that al-though HSR is related to environmental issues, the book does not specifically address that relationship. Thus environmental groups may avoid a book that does not directly address their primary priorities. To better promote HSR and to engage a young, progressive and tech-savvy audience, our team has the opportunity to relate the topic of HSR to the passions that already exists among networks of environmental advocates and groups. The popularity of sustainability and the “green” movement in today’s society means that Fast Trains – America’s High Speed Future could gain success if branded in align-ment with those themes. The current state of the U.S. economy means that many people are interested in sustainable, job-creating projects. The struggling economy provides us the op-portunity to place HSR on the public’s agenda. Finally, our team has the opportunity to mar-ket Louie’s book to audiences that are already active train riders. People who commonly ride Amtrak may be more likely to purchase the book and to take interest in HSR. The main threats to Fast Trains – Amer-ica’s High Speed Future include the criticisms and questions that skeptical readers may have about HSR. A 2012 article published in The Heritage Foundation’s Policy Review il-lustrates the types of HSR criticisms that the book may evoke. The article criticizes HSR as an expensive and fiscally irresponsible invest-ment. In reference to a proposed HSR network in Florida, the article questions whether pas-

sengers would find HSR to be convenient: “If a potential high-speed rail passenger in Tampa factors into his trip the time required to get to the city’s train station (which could easily take an hour), park his car, purchase tickets, and wait for the train, he would probably decide to drive to Orlando.” The book should provide adequate counterarguments to convince skep-tical readers of the plausibility of incorporating HSR transit into an American system of public transportation. Our team ‘s focus is on marketing Fast Trains – America’s High Speed Future to local environmental/sustainability groups nation-wide. Our audience consists of students and young adults that are self-motivated, passion-ate, determined people who are interested in environmental and sustainability issues. Our target audience has a vested interest in back-ing HSR in the U.S. and may already have some familiarity with the environmental advantages and disadvantages of HSR.

“We know that this is going to be a long-term project. But us getting started now, us moving the process forward, getting people to imag-ine what’s possible and putting re-sources behind it, so that people can start seeing examples of this, around the country, that’s going to spur all kinds of activity,”

-Barack Obama

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research summary The two main methodological strate-gies we utilized in our research were surveys and interviews. Both of these research tactics allowed us to gather information regarding local and campus environmental groups’ at-titudes toward HSR. We defined environmental groups by those whose mission targets any kind of environmental issue, not just those related to HSR. For our survey, we obtained our sample through non-probability, purposive sampling. Whichever members of campus environmen-tal groups were willing to participate in the survey were given the survey and asked to complete it. We also contacted the leaders of these organizations and scheduled interviews. During our interviews we encouraged leaders to forward the survey to the members of their organizations. Of the groups we contacted, those that responded to the survey included the Campus Y (specifically HOPE gardens), the Environmental Affairs Committee of Student Government, the Environmental Law Project, the UNC-CH Environmental Science and En-gineering Student Organization, Epsilon ETA, the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC), Students Working in the Environment for Active Transformation (SWEAT) and the Sustainability Theme House (“Green House”). In addition, two of our group members visited the AMTRAK station in Durham, N.C., to collect research from those boarding the Friday 5 p.m. train. Specifically, 133 people responded to our surveys, nine of those who were surveyed at the AMTRAK station. The leaders of these groups allowed us to interview them, some in person and some via email. Specifically, we interviewed

four environmental group leaders. In addition, we interviewed eight people at the Amtrak station. The order of our interview questions was strategically planned, starting with broad questions and ending with specific questions about survey takers’ attitudes toward a poten-tial book on HSR. Our first main goal in conducting research about environmental groups was to successfully investigate the level of familiarity of HSR among the stakeholder group. Once we surveyed groups and gauged their level of familiarity, we knew where to focus publicity efforts and promote awareness. Our second main goal in conducting research was to figure out if these groups found HSR to be environ-mentally friendly and the reasons behind their answers. Finally, we wanted to understand if these environmental groups would consider buying a coffee-table book on high-speed trains, which would indicate purchase intent amongst the stakeholders. (Note that Fast Trains: America’s High Speed Future is not a coffee-table book, but Louie was planning for it to be when we conducted surveys and inter-views). The interviews revealed a major theme about what would prevent people from using HSR. A common response to this question was that if HSR were expensive, inconvenient or unsafe, then participants would not use it. Cost was the most commonly mentioned factor for this question. The survey also revealed that the environmental issues participants are con-cerned with are pollution (air quality included), global warming and recycling. Among these issues, air quality was a major concern. This is exciting for promoters of the book, since the topic of the book, HSR, would reduce traffic,

“I would purchase a coffee-table style book about high-speed trains.”

“High-speed rail is a form of transportation that the United States should invest in.”

“I actively seek information about environmental and sus-tainability issues.”

Figure One

Figure Two

Figure Three

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ultimately reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This in turn would improve air quality. If this point is emphasized in the text of the book, the book may be appealing to the book’s tar-get audience. Alice Lang, president of UNC stu-dent organization ENVIRO-SO, summarized the idea that HSR would be good for the environ-ment when she said “High speed rail is relevant to environmental issues because without mass transportation, you’re talking about people in cars and traffic and there’s lots of combustion and pollutants in the air due to this.” In addition, most respondents said they would be willing to use HSR in North Carolina, but they did think it was a plausible option for N.C. right now. They believe it should begin in larger cities and then move to N.C.. The survey revealed that participants actively seek information about environmental and sustainability issues. As shown by Figure 1, 50 percent of participants reported that they “agree” that they actively seek information about environmental and sustainability issues and 35 percent reported that they “strongly agree” that they actively seek information about environmental and sustainability issues. Only 15 percent of participants reported that they either “disagree” or “strongly disagree” that they seek information about environmen-tal and sustainability issues. This data shows that the majority of participants (85 percent) actively seek information about environmental and sustainability issues. The survey also revealed that partici-pants believe that HSR is a form of transporta-tion that the U.S. should invest in. As shown by Figure 2, only 5 percent of participants “strongly disagree” or “disagree” that HSR is a form of transportation that the U.S. should

invest in. The other 38 percent and 57 percent of participants “agree” and “strongly agree,” respectively, that the U.S. should invest in HSR. The participants who actively seek information about environmental and sustainability issues (see Figure 1) also believe that HSR is a form of transportation that the U.S. should invest in (see Figure 2). Both of these conclusions reveal that there is in fact an audience interested in and supportive of the topics of the book. After conducting fieldwork, we have gained valuable insight into the target mar-ket of environmental groups. One of our first research goals was to analyze how familiar this segment was with HSR. We found out that this stakeholder group was very familiar with the concept of HSR. Many have travelled abroad in Europe or have read about the subject matter. Our second goal was to find out if environ-mental groups connected HSR with matters of the environment and sustainability. Indeed, they did. Our survey showed that most agreed that HSR was directly related to the environ-ment, ultimately causing a positive impact by reducing carbon emissions and providing sus-tainable transportation. Our last goal was to measure how likely this target market would be to buy a coffee-style book on HSR. Accord-ing to our research, the majority of this target market would not be likely to purchase such a book. Only 32 percent would be willing to buy a book on this subject matter.

research summary communication plan

Emy Louie’s main goal is to use her book Fast Trains-America’s High Speed Fu-ture in order to increase awareness, excite-ment and enthusiasm for USHSR, specifically among environmental groups and tribes that are interested and informed on sustainability and environmental issues. According to our research, 57 percent of survey respondents already agree that the implementation of HSR in the United States would be beneficial and 50 percent of survey respondents said they already actively seek information about envi-ronmental and sustainability issues. Although this is encouraging, only five percent of survey respondents said they would be very likely to buy a book about HSR. In order to encour-

age environmental tribes, specifically UNC-CH environmental and sustainable organizations, local environmental and sustainable organiza-tions and traditional train riders in the area, to buy Louie’s book, we created a campaign in which the main objective is to sell Louie’s book. Our campaign, “Fast Track to a Sus-tainable Future,” will take place on UNC-CH’s campus. University events like these will be replicated on college campus around the na-tion throughout the upcoming year. The event will be promoted mainly through a formal invitation and a “ticket to a sustainable future,” which is described in the second part of the campaign.

Overview of Campaign

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University Sustainability Groups: These groups are already really active on cam-pus, and they take the environment seriously. They are a great resource to tap into since they already have a propensity to act when it comes down to environmental causes. The goal with this audience is to show them how sustainabil-ity and the environment relate to high-speed rail. We also want to get these groups to start hosting their own events teaching people about the positive effect high-speed rail could have on the environment. Ideally, we would like to change the attitudes of sustainability groups toward high-speed rail and motivate them to change their behaviors toward pro-moting and talking about high-speed rail.

Sponsoring organizations and individuals include: • Emy Louie• The University • A UNC USHSR student-run organization• A local community environmental group,

such as the North Carolina Sierra Club

At the event, Louie and sponsors will: • Discuss HSR and its environmental ben-

efits• Show a simulation of the HSR experience• Sell Fast Trains-America’s- High Speed Future • Sign copies of Fast Trains- America’s High

Speed Future • Distribute USHSR literature• Give away HSR-themed prizes • Hold a question and answer session• Have event attendees sign a pledge prom-

ising their support to and commitment of USHSR

Secondly, partnering campus sustain-ability groups, local environmental groups, USHSR representatives or new USHSR campus

organizations will set up and run a booth at the AMTRAK station in Durham. An event like this will be replicated across the nation at tra-ditional train stations near the college campus-es where interactive lecture events will take place. Representatives will pass out literature to traditional train riders, who according to our research tend to have a vested interest in the environment. A main piece of this literature in-cludes a USHSR “ticket to a sustainable future.” This “ticket” includes a QR code and a link to Louie’s book website. The goal is that tradition-al train riders access the website while waiting for their train to arrive. Added to Louie’s book website will be a simulation of the HSR experi-ence, which gives website visitors a peak into what exactly it feels like to ride HSR.

Key Audiences

communication planEnvironmental Groups Locally and Nationally: National environmental groups already have a strong will to help the environ-ment and pass legislature making the environ-ment better. We want to target local chapters of national organizations to hopefully motivate the national chapters to help our cause. The most important part of getting these groups involved is to have them on our side when it comes to passing legislation allowing high-speed rail. These groups have been instrumen-tal in some of the NIMBY problems other rail road projects have faced, so we would like to gain their support early as a way to create rap-port and trust between our groups. We mainly want to inform these groups and get them excited about the idea of high-speed rail. Ide-ally in the near future we would like to get the national chapter to help promote the positive side of high-speed rail.

Train Riders: A typical high-speed rail rider is someone who enjoys traveling quickly and riding in comfort. An AMTRAK rider likes the same things, but just does not know yet that he or she really wants to ride a high-speed rail. Another part of this audience that could be helpful is that some of them are environ-mentally aware. We want to target environ-mentally aware groups that are concerned with sustainability in order to overcome a potential NIMBY problem. Our main goal with this group is to inform them about the posi-tive impact high-speed rail could have on the environment and the creation of jobs in their towns. Train riders are looking for immediate payoffs from a new transportation, and the most important one is the creation of plenty of jobs. We are going to promote the environ-mental side of our argument along with the thousands of jobs created through high-speed rail.

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communication plan

FASTRACK’S GOAL:Target UNC-Chapel Hill environmental and sustainability groups, traditional train riders in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area and sustainable and environmental groups in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area in order to increase their awareness of high-speed rail, resulting in enthusiasm and excite-ment for the topic. (This goal can be applied to similar campus events at other college campuses around the na-tion, as designated in the Timeline).

Objective 1: Increase awareness about, interest in and sales of Fast Trains- America’s High Speed Future, ultimately selling 10 books at each speaking event and yielding50 hits per month on Emy’s book website, fasttrains.wordpress.comStrategy: Create buzz about the book among environmental and sustainability groups on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus through the event, “Fast Track to a Sustainable Future”• Host the event in the Forest Theater, an

outdoor amphitheater on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus in order to attract students interested in the environment to a relevant venue.

• Invite the UNC-USHSR student-led campus organization and a specific environmental group on UNC’s campus (such as Epsilon ETA, UNC’s environmental honors frater-nity)

• Give away free food (Jimmy John’s and Mediterranean Deli) in order to attract the college-aged members of UNC-CH environ-mental and sustainability groups. Students can interact with each other and eat before the event starts.

• During the event, Louie will share her excitement, knowledge and enthusiasm to teach environmentally interested attend-ees about the environmental benefits of HSR.

• Give free sunglasses to the first 25 event attendees. The sunglasses will be Carolina blue, UNC-CH’s colors. The color of the sunglasses should match the official color of the university in which each event takes place. “America’s High Speed Future” will be written on one side of the sunglasses and “fasttrains.wordpress.com” written on the other side.

• The event will begin with a virtual simula-tion on what it feels like to ride USHSR. The simulation video is filmed from the perspective of a HSR passenger sitting in a luxurious seat, the video will allow a website visitor to press play and watch as a beautiful landscape passes by at 200 miles per hour, waiters fill up their drinks and ask passengers what they want for lunch, chairs recline, televisions blare, head-phones are placed on his or her ears and he or she is offered blankets and pillows from friendly staff.

• After Louie finishes her lecture, she will ask students to sign a pledge stating their commitment to and support of USHSR, or their interest in joining the USHSR student-run group on UNC-CH’s campus. Pledge

Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics

Audience 1: University sustainability groups (Ac-tive)

Audience 2: Environ-mental Audiences

Audience 3: Train Riders

What do they value?

Social change, sustainability, time constraints, passionate about justice, need fund-ing, things to talk about and ways to get involved

Similar to University sus-tainability groups in that they value social change and environmental aware-ness. Strong emphasis on changing policies for long-term national changes.

From the research we found that they value an inexpensive, reli-able and quick form of transportation.

What is the de-sired action?

Become more involved in the conversation about high speed rail through increased awareness and a heightened level of engage-ment

Inform the national groups about high-speed rail so they can eventually help pass legislation that would allow it in the US

Inform as a way to prevent NIMBY prob-lems and to get them excited about this new luxurious transporta-tion option.

What is stopping them from ac-tion?

Lack of awareness and infor-mation. High-speed rail is a plan that will take 10 years to develop, so most people especially college students have not heard of this as an option for the future

The time frame is about 10 years, which can be a very long time for results-oriented groups.

Train riders have a limited knowledge of high-speed rail. When interviewed at the AMTRAK station most thought that the AMTRAK train was a high-speed rail. Lack of information

What messages will move them to act?

Establish a long-term rela-tionship with students by having ambassadors that constantly keep the idea of high-speed rail in the fore-front of students’ minds.

Appeal to them by start-ing with local chapters of national organizations and treat them as insiders with high-speed rail infor-mation and the book.

Train riders will prob-ably be motivated by information. A typical traveler wants luxury at an inexpensive price. Emphasize cheap prices, lack of wait times for delays and how luxurious the seat-ing will be

What information sources do they pay attention to?

Social media such as Twit-ter and Facebook, Daily Tar Heel, events in the Pit or word of mouth

Information disseminated by group leaders or by the national organization. News stories about policy changes and maybe local universities

They are typical, aver-age people. Most prob-ably pay attention to online sources, social media, local news sto-ries and events at the train station when they are waiting on their train.

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communication plansigners will have their name be dropped into a hat. Louie will draw a name from the hat, and the winner will be announced after the event’s question and answer ses-sion. The winner will receive a free signed copy of Fast Trains: America’s High Speed Future.

• Louie will ask event attendees 10 trivia questions about HSR. The first person to raise his or her hand will be called upon, and if he or she answers the question correctly, he or she will win a USHSR flash drive. Included on the flashdrive is the USHSR simulation and a copy of the free chapters from Fast Trains: America’s High Speed Future.

• Louie will host a question and answer ses-sion, referring event attendees to answers using Fast Trains: America’s High Speed Future

• Louie will host a book sale/book signing after the event in order to interact with environmentally interested students

• After the event, Tweet at members of envi-ronmental groups who attended. Include a link to fasttrains.wordpress.com.

• Place printed invitations and “Tickets to a Sustainable Future” on tables in build-ings around campus before the event. These tickets include a QR code that directs

participants to fasttrains.wordpress.com, Louie’s website for Fast Trains: America’s Sustainable Future. By then the site will be redesigned to include a new layout, the USHSR simulation, free chapters from the book, important HSR links, the college event tour schedule and a link to purchase the book and facts about the environmen-tal benefits to USHSR

• Personally invite UNC-CH environmental and sustainability groups by setting up a meeting with them and giving them an invitation, as well as sending the invitation to their organization’s leaders, encouraging them to come to the event and to ask any questions.

• Sell the book in Bull’s Head Bookshop in UNC-CH’s student store, FlyLeaf books on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Nice Price Books on Boyd Street in Carrboro.

• Mention various UNC-CH sustainability and environmental groups on Twitter, directing them to fasttrains.wordpress.com. Refer to the Social Media Outline in the Ready-to-Use pieces for Tweet ideas.

• Write and publish a letter to the editor in The Daily Tar Heel, UNC-CH’s campus news-paper

• Send press releases about the book and about the event to campus publications with the goal of having an article printed about the newly released book

Strategy: Interact with traditional train riders in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area • Visit the AMTRAK station in Durham, N.C.,

and pass out USHSR “tickets” to traditional train riders in hopes that they use the QR code on their phone or computers that

directs them to fasttrains.wordpress.com while they wait for the train.

• UNC-CH sustainability and environmental organizations, UNC-CH student run USHSR organization, a USHSR representative and members of a local environmental group will set up an informational booth at the AMTRAK station in Durham. They will be available to answer questions that tradi-tional train riders have about USHSR, as well as to pass out literature about USHSR, give USHSR flash drives to those who correctly answer trivia questions, to sell copies of Fast Trains: America’s High Speed Future and to raffle off a free book to those who sign a pledge that they are committed to support-ing USHSR.

Strategy: Form relationships with local envi-ronmental and sustainability groups • Send press releases about the book and

about the event to newspapers in the Ra-leigh, Durham, Chapel Hill area.

• Mention these groups on Twitter, directing groups to fasttrains.wordpress.com, as well as using tweets from the Social Media Plan in the Ready-to-Use Pieces)

Objective 2: Create a long-term relation-ship between US High Speed Rail Association, specifically through Emy Louie, and target audi-ences by opening up channels of communica-tion between the two, quantifying this with 90 signed pledges confirming commitment to HSR per event. (One thing to note is that we don’t have numerical values to compare the num-ber of signed pledges to from previous years. Because of this, the significance of having 90 signed pledges is not clear. However, we can track the number of signed pledges from year

to year after the campaign begins. This way, we can evaluate the success of this objective of our campaign over time.)Strategy: Establish relationships with individual members of the UNC-Chapel Hill student com-munity who are passionate about environmen-tal and sustainability issues • Tactic: Form a UNC-CH student-run orga-

nization in which members are a liaison between HSR and UNC-CH students.

Strategy: Inform traditional train riders of the benefits of HSR over the benefits of other forms of transportation • Form an online group of HSR “followers” via

the HSR website. Recruit these followers at the various train stations such as AMTRAK by passing out the “ticket” and setting up an informational booth at the train station.

Strategy: Explain long-term benefits of a part-nership between USHSR and local environmen-tal and sustainability groups • Provide specific list of financial benefits

these organizations will gain based on the percentage of book sales these organiza-tions will gain via press release/email

• Give presentations to leaders of these organizations, explaining why they should partner with USHSR Association

• Partner with local chapter of the Sierra club and Environment North Carolina by donat-ing portions of book sales to these organi-zations

• Pitch the book and the idea of HSR to lead-ers of these groups, with the goal of send-ing them the HSR “ticket” and other litera-ture via email

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May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March AprilUNC

-Call local bookstores near UNC Chapel Hill

x

-Start calling restaurants about food donations

x

-Order HSR merchandise to give away at event

x

TRAIN-Hold event at AMTRAK station

x x x x x x

LOCAL-Email local chapters about options for partnership

x

MISC.-Send out press releases for event

x

-Send out press release about book

x

OTHERGeorgetown XSan Francisco State XUniversity of Chicago

X

New York University

X

Penn State XGeorgia Tech XUniversity of Texas at Austin

X

budgettimelineIn order to implement our campaign, we will need to get some specific supplies especially to help spread the word about our events. The main ones we need to always have on hand are the handouts, which includes the FAQ sheet, Fliers, and the Tickets with the link to the website on them. These are the key to getting people to the Forest Theatre event, spreading word about the cause around campus, and getting students involved in the sustainability group that HSR will create at UNC Chapel Hill. Ideally, we would like this budget and plan to be used at as many campuses as possible during the first few months after the book is released. The more people you can get involved and excited about high-speed rail the more books Emy will sell.

Item Description Cost per Item Amount Total CostFliers To be distributed around

campus in preparation for the speaking event at Ford’s The-atre.

$0.20 per page

500 @ $0.20 $100

Tickets To be distributed on campus at the event, at the train sta-tion and in the Pit by the newly formed student organization

$0.20 per page (2 tickets per page)

500 @ $0.20 $100

Forest Theatre Rental for event includes re-fundable damage deposit

$500 + $200 deposit

2 hours $700

Life on the Fast Train

To giveaway $15 per book 5 @ $15 $75

Food (Jimmy Johns)

Refreshments $6 per sub (serves 4)

25 @ $6 $150 (do-nated)

Sunglasses personalized with book information

Promotional materials for the Fast Trains: An Interactive Lec-ture on a Sustainable Future

$50 Imprint/ Setup Fee and $0.97 per pair

25@ $1 + $50 setup

$75

Flash Drives Promotional materials for the Fast Trains: An Interactive Lec-ture on a Sustainable Future

$4 per flash drive with personaliza-tion

10@ $4 $40

Total $1090

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To evaluate the first objective to “In-crease awareness about, interest in and sales of Fast Trains - America’s High Speed Future, we can use quantitative measures. The following are ways to evaluate this objective:• Track the number of copies sold of the

book once it’s released. Our goal for num-ber of books sold will be 20 per month.

• Yield 50 hits per month on the free chap-ters on the promotional website.

• In order to evaluate the “awareness about and interest in the book” portion of this ob-jective, we can conduct a post-campaign survey that asks the same questions that were asked in the pre-campaign survey that measured target audience awareness about and interest in the book. By compar-ing pre- and post-campaign awareness and interest levels, we can evaluate the effectiveness of our campaign’s messages. For this post-campaign survey, we have to make sure that we survey the same group of people that we surveyed in the pre-campaign survey so that pre- and post-campaign survey results are comparable.

• Since one of the strategies for this objec-tive is to host a speaking event by Emy Louie, we can evaluate this strategy’s suc-cess by tracking the number of attendees at this event. Our goal will be to sell 10 books at each speaking event.

In order to evaluate the second objec-tive to “Create a long-term relationship be-tween US High Speed Rail Association (USH-SR), specifically through Emy Louie, and target

audiences by opening up channels of commu-nication between the two,” we will again use quantitative measures. The following are ways to evaluate this objective:• Record the number of students who join

the UNC-CH student-run organization that connects HSR and UNC-CH students.

• Survey the new student group members post-campaign about why they joined the group and if they will continue to be an ac-tive member of the group.

• Survey the already-existing environmental and sustainability groups about their incor-poration of topics related to high-speed rail at their group meetings. We can compare the number of times the groups incorpo-rated HSR topics into their meetings pre- and post-campaign in order to evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness.

• Compare train riders’ levels of knowledge about HSR (what it is, why it’s beneficial, etc.) pre- and post-campaign. This mea-sures the effectiveness of the education aspect of the campaign.

• Gather 50 signed pledges confirming com-mitment to HSR at each event. One thing to note is that we don’t have numerical values to compare the number of signed pledges to from previous years. Because of this, the significance of having 50 signed pledges is not clear. However, we can track the number of signed pledges from year to year after the campaign begins. This way, we can evaluate the success of this objec-tive of our campaign over time.

evaluation conclusionThe mission of the USHSR is “to build wide-spread public, business, and political support for a major investment in a national high speed rail network.” Our campaign will make strides in the public support sector of the USHSR’s mission through the use of events, social media and media relations efforts. More specifically, the public group that we will target will be local and national environmental groups. By supporting the mission of the USH-SR to build public support for HSR, we will also build support public support for Emy Louie’s book about HSR. This will support the mission of Emy Louie, which is to build public support for her book that leads to the purchase of her book.Our campaign will effectively target local and national environmental groups by communi-cating to them the benefits of a HSR system

in the U.S.. These environmental groups will be great partners in our efforts to promote HSR in the U.S. because they are people who are already interested in national issues, envi-ronmental issues and politics. By appealing to specific tribes of people with similar interests instead of doing a media blast to everyone, we are able to save time and money in our promo-tion efforts. Targeting specific tribes also allows us to present more specific, relevant informa-tion to groups of people that are more likely to be interested in the topic of HSR. They also have a network of other environmental groups and environmentalists that they can connect with. By forging new partnerships with local and national environmental groups, we have the opportunity to forge even more partner-ships with other related environmental groups. This network of interconnected tribes could

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lead to a snowball effect where information about the benefits of HSR spreads throughout the environmentalist community. Eventually, the hope is that these environmental groups will spread the word about HSR to other public groups and built even more public support for HSR and the book.Our role for our client will be to open up com-munication with these groups and then com-municate clear, concise information to these groups so that they can begin to understand and eventually support HSR. We will do so by presenting information to target audiences about how HSR is beneficial to the environ-ment. This support of HSR will also theoreti-cally lead to the purchase of Emy Louie’s book, which is the ultimate goal of the client. Even though the issues of NIMBY and financial feasibility present themselves in regards to HSR, the focus of our campaign will

be to build excitement and support for HSR and the book. Therefore, these issues will not be played up in our campaign efforts, even though they are issues that present them-selves within the issue of HSR. The speaking event that will be put on by Emy Louie will be a major aspect for our campaign. This will provide the target audi-ence with an opportunity to have their ques-tions answered, to interact with Emy and to “put a face” on the campaign. The hope is that this speaking engagement will give the cam-paign a personal touch and will help build a more emotional connection with the target audience. Having an emotional connection with your target audience is always beneficial to a campaign because that emotional con-nection helps keep the target audience inter-ested and engaged in the topic of HSR and the book. This emotional connection will help set Emy Louie and her HSR campaign up for long-term success in promoting HSR and the book. Another way that this campaign will set Emy Louie and her HSR campaign up for long-term success is through its presentation of facts about how HSR will be beneficial to the US in the next 10 to 20 years. These facts will communicate to the target audience that HSR is something that can affect the U.S. into the next 10 to 20 years and therefore, should be taken seriously now and in the future. When the target audience is aware that this issue is not a short-term, immediate issue that will go away within the next five years, they will take it more seriously and want to learn more about it, ensuring the long-term success of the cam-paign.

conclusion appendix a: referencesWorks Referenced

Julian, Liam. “The Trouble with High-Speed Rail.” Policy Review. Apr-May (2010): 3. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/5296.

Plungis, Jeff, and Angela Greiling Keane. “Roads, Bridges, High-Speed Rail Are at Top Obama’s Transportation Agenda .” Bloomberg. Bloomberg, 25 Jan 2011. Web. 27 Apr 2012.

Rifkin, Jeremy. The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2011. Print.

“Sustainability.” US High Speed Rail Association: 21st Century Transportation for America. US High Speed Rail Associatio, n.d. Web. 27 Apr 2012. http://ushsr.com/benefits/sustainability.html.

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appendix b: ready-to-use piecesReady-to-use Sample Tweets

These sample tweets are ready to be used for promoting the book and generating excitement about upcoming events. We suggest using Emy’s personal Twitter account to post these tweets, since it is a great way to keep her name in the conversation about her book and high speed rail in general. We utilized the rule of thirds when creating this ready-to-use content. One third of your tweets should be original content generated by Emy either about herself, her book or her involve-ment in high speed rail. The second third of your tweets should be shared content. This allows for Emy to bring other information into the conversation about high speed rail. Ideally, you would want to link to pertinent blogs, post news articles or just post buzz surrounding her book gener-ated by other users. The final third of the tweets should be user-generated content. This gives users a chance to interact with Emy and engage in a two-way conversation. These tweets would be a mix of RT of other users talking about the book or interactive ways to get users involved. It would help Emy spread enthusiasm about high speed rail and create buzz about her book.

Original Content • Follow @emylouie to learn more about my upcoming book Fast Trains-America’s High Speed

Future • Check out our Facebook page and learn more about the luxury experience of riding on high-

speed rail.• Fun Fact: Frustrated with the rising gas prices? High Speed Rail uses electricity! #ushsr• Today is National Train Day! Check out our website to learn more about high speed rail ushsr.

com #ushsr• Come to the UNC campus this Thursday to hear @emylouie talk about her book and have a

chance to get her autograph #ushsr• I am blogging! Check out http://fasttrains.wordpress.com/author/emylouie/ for my take on

high speed rail in the US #ushsr• Here is a great video that talks about high speed rail http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=FgF8ldAJlSA #ushsr

Shared Content • California’s high-speed rail just created a new plan to help stay on budget! http://www.chica-

gotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-california-highspeedrail-planbre83200w-20120402,0,218267.story #ushsr

• When you release the book and send out news releases, tweet a link to a newspaper that wrote an article highlighting your book. See example below.

• RT @newsobserver: Fast Trains-America’s High Speed Future released today. Read the story here: http://www.newsobserver.com

• When Emy has the event on UNC’s campus, you can create a Facebook event and put a link on Twitter or you can put a link to a story in the Daily Tar Heel about it. See example below.

• Emy Louie is coming to UNC to talk about her new book Fast Trains-America’s High Speed Future and sustainability issues. Check out our Facebook event here: www.facebook.com

• RT @dailytarheel: Fast Trains-America’s High Speed Future author Emy Louie comes to UNC. Read more here: www.dailytarheel.com

• When the book is released and there are people tweeting about reading it, RT some of their comments. See example below.

• RT @randomtwitter: I loved Emy’s book Fast Trains-America’s High Speed Future! I thin every-one should pick up a copy today! #ushsr

User-generated Content• How did you like the book Fast Trains-America’s High Speed Future? We would love to hear

from you! #ushsr• We have sold 100 copies! If you own one of them, RT this. If you don’t have your copy yet,

what are you waiting for? #ushsr• RT this if you are going to the event with Emy Louie at UNC Chapel Hill. #ushsr• The first 25 people to attend the event this week will get a pair of promotional sunglasses!

#ushsr• Come to the event this week and sign the pledge to support #ushsr and be entered into a

drawing for a free autographed copy of Emy’s book Fast Trains-America’s High Speed Future #ushsr

• What did you think of the book? We would love to hear from you! #ushsr• Did you enjoy the book? Tweet a picture of you and the book! The first 25 will get an auto-

graphed copy! #ushsr• Thanks for all the wonderful photos! #ushsr• Trivia: During what weather conditions can high speed rail operate? First one to answer cor-

rectly gets a shout out and an autographed copy of Emy Louie’s book! #ushsr• Do you know how many jobs #ushsr would create? Check out my book Fast Trains-America’s

High Speed Future to find out!

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appendix b: ready-to-use pieces

Emy Louie is the Director of Public Outreach for the USHSR. This is her first published book.

Louie has also run her own radio show, taught courses in HSR, sustainable development practices,

advocacy and building grassroots movements. For more information on Louie, visit http://

fasttrains.wordpress.com/author/emylouie/.

The USHSR is a national non-profit that aims to build public, business and political support for a

nationwide HSR system. The goal is to have the entire system built by 2030. HSR will have

environmental and economic benefits for the U.S. For more information on the USHSR, visit http://

www.ushsr.com.

For media inquiries or advance media credentials, contact Emy Louie at (919) 845-8205.

# # #

Emy LouieRaleigh, NC 27609 (919) 845-8205 (phone)emylouie@hotmail.com

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUTHOR OF NEW BOOK ON HIGH SPEED RAIL TO VISIT CHAPEL HILL’S CAMPUS

CHAPEL HILL – Emy Louie, author of the soon to be released book on high speed rail, Fast

Trains – America’s High Speed Future, will soon be visiting UNC-Chapel Hill to speak about her new

book. She will also speak about high speed rail (HSR) and its benefits to the environment. Support for

HSR in the U.S. has been building for some time now and is reaching an exciting stage of increased

public and political support.

The speaking event will be held Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012 from 6 -8 pm in the Forest Theater.

Environmentally, HSR will “significantly reduce our dependence on oil, shrink our

national carbon footprint, reduce congestion and create efficient mobility that's safe and affordable for its

passengers,” according to the United States High Speed Rail Association (USHR). Economically, HSR

will encourage economic development of smaller towns along train routes, will be a catalyst for the next

real estate boom and will create green jobs.

The issue of HSR may be of particular interest to local environmental groups since HSR has

various environmental benefits. Such groups may include the Environmental Sciences and Engineering

Student Organization, the Student Environmental Action Committee and the Carolina Environmental

Student Alliance. All local residents are encouraged to attend.

A question and answer session and book signing will follow Louie’s speech. Copies of the new

book will be available for purchase at the event.

The event will be free and open to the public. There will be a raffle to win prizes and locally

grown food will also be provided.

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appendix b: ready-to-use pieces

Emy LouieRaleigh, NC 27609 (919) 845-8205 (phone)emylouie@hotmail.com

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW BOOK TO SPREAD DREAM OF HIGH SPEED RAIL IN AMERICA

(CITY, S.T.) - On May 21, 2012, the Director of Public Outreach for the United States High

Speed Rail Association (USHR) is releasing her book titled Fast Trains – America’s High Speed Future.

Emy Louie has written the book detailing the advantages that high speed rail will bring to the country. As

seen abroad, high speed rail is not a new concept. Countries around the world such as Japan, China,

Spain, England and many more have invested in this form of public transportation.

“The book tells intriguing narratives from the point of view of the author as well as characters. It

arouses the imagination of readers envisioning an America with modern high speed rail moving

transportation into the 21st century” said publisher Nancy Bolts. The book tells personal stories from

around the world of people experiencing first hand high speed rail. It allows readers to imagine inaugural

ride ceremonies and the comfortable, luxurious experiences that passengers riding high-speed rail can

enjoy.

Emy Louie is the Director of Public Outreach for the USHR. This is her first published book.

Louie has also run her own radio show, taught courses in HSR, sustainable development practices,

advocacy and building grassroots movements. For more information on Louie, visit http://

fasttrains.wordpress.com/author/emylouie/.

The USHSR is a national non-profit that aims to build public, business and political support for a

nationwide HSR system. The goal is to have the entire system built by 2030. HSR will have

environmental and economic benefits for the U.S. For more information on the USHSR, visit http://

www.ushsr.com.

For media inquiries or advance media credentials, contact Emy Louie at (919) 845-8205.

# # #

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appendix b: ready-to-use pieces

Emy LouieRaleigh, NC 27609(919) 845-2471emylouie@hotmail.com

September 6, 2012

SPECIAL EVENT PLAN

About the event

We have arranged for Emy Louie to give an interactive lecture to UNC-Chapel Hill environmental and sustainability

groups on campus. The details are as follows:

Who: Emy Louie, Representatives from the University, UNC-Chapel Hill USHSR

Student run organization, local community environmental group (potentially NC

Sierra Club), UNC Environmental groups and environmentally interested students

What: An interactive speech on the importance of high speed rail and its impact on the

environment

When: September 6, 2012 at 6-8p.m.

Where: If weather cooperates: Forest Theatre, on the UNC-CH campus

If weather does not: Murphey Hall Room 116

Parking: Parking is free in Cobb Parking Deck after 5 p.m.

Directions: To Cobb Parking Deck:

1. Take Exit 273 (Hwy 54) and go west towards Chapel Hill.

2. Continue for 4 miles to top of the hill; get in the right lane.

3. Turn right onto Country Club Road and make the next immediate left at the stop light.

4. Continue down the narrow street between the cemetery and Playmakers Theatre.

5. The Cobb parking deck will be on your right.

To Forest Theatre from Cobb Parking Deck:

1. Walk back to the stoplight on Country Club Road.

2. Turn left at the stoplight onto Country Club Road.

3. Walk .2 miles and Forest Theater will be on your right.

The event

5:30: Arrive at Cobb Parking Deck at UNC-Chapel Hill

5:40: Meet sponsoring organizations at the Forest Theater to help setup

6:00: UNC HSR student group will thank everyone for coming; USHSR sunglasses given away to first 25

attendees

6:05: Attendees can serve themselves at the food and beverage table

6:25: Local environmental group will introduce Emy Louie and her background

6:35: Emy will show the simulation video

6:45: Emy will give her lecture with interactive trivia questions giving away USHSR flash drives for

responses

7:15: Sponsoring organization will begin applause and thank Emy for the wonderful speech; pledges will

be distributed and signed

7:20: Begin question and answer period

7:35: Raffle winner is announced

7:40: Meet and greet with Emy Louie and book selling; collateral distributed

8:00: Clean up

Remaining details

A table will be donated by the Union for the event. Books will need to be brought by Emy

Louie. Snacks will be donated by Mediterranean Deli and Jimmy Johns.

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