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INTRODUCTIONThe story of TexasMedia is rich and diverse, complex, and can’t simply be lumped up into the mere accomplishments of our program. Instead, it is defined by the stories of the people and media professionals we produce and send out into the world.

The TexasMedia student team set forth this year to define a way to share these stories with the world and create an online manifesto that gave credence to the professionalism and leg-acy of the TexasMedia program. These ideas collided and finally congealed into the thought tank in the following pages.

This document should serve as your guide to understanding the history of the TexasMedia program in the department of advertising, how the 2011-12 student team arrive at our cur-rent plan of action and relationship with The Richards Group (TRG), and our road map for documenting and continuing the legacy of this incredible program.

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TIM

ELIN

E

UT is the first University to of-fer an “Advertising & The Inter-net” course, giving students the first objective look at the world of digital media

The TexasMedia Program starts under Gene Kincaid, Elizabeth

Tucker & Lisa DobiasFirst TexasMedia website cre-ated to connect students within the program and showcase the program’s accomplishments

Student-led team works to showcase the TexasMedia pro-gram, creating a full social pres-ence on Facebook & Twitter

TexasMedia partners with The Richards Group to create this digital home and showcase this top-notch media program.

TexasMedia showcase site falls off because of lack of stainabil-

ity and departmental central-ization; Advertising.Utexas.edu/media webpage created to house the media program

online

Team is launched to create a showcase website to push the TexasMedia program into the

21st century

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THE MISSIONThe TexasMedia program is the nation’s most comprehensive media-centric school of thought, educating tomorrow’s media professionals today. The Stories of TexasMedia web-site will showcase the stories of TexasMedia through the programs work, accomplishments, and people of this premiere program.

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PROJECT OVERVIEWThe Stories of TexasMedia site exists in a decentralized array of various promotional tools and teams for the Department of Advertising & Public Relations and the College of Com-munication as a whole. There are three key areas/teams to note as the website progresses forward and the site looks to advance and propel its reach forward.

ADVERTISING.UTEXAS | The departmental site is headed by Nick Hund-ley and Andy Greer. This team is responsible for housing all of the major-specific information and serves as the landing page for all prospective and current Advertising & Public Relations students. The website uses Droopal community management software to manage all of the content and layout. This is a streamlined system similar to Wordpress, but is less flexible.

TEXASADGRAD.COM | AdGrad/PRGrad is the department’s intra-net-working tool, where students both past and present can go to reconnect, post and house student portfolios, and post career opportunities with the hopes of recruiting a Texas alumnus. The new TexasAdGrad.org will be op-erational Fall ‘12 This site is under the direction of Gene Kincaid and uses standard HTML, CSS, and SQL coding to manage content and interaction.

TEXAS ADGRAD SOCIAL MEDIA | The Texas AdGrad Social Media team is the promotional and engagement arm of AdGrad, working to engage Ad-verting/PR students with the industry and opportunities on social networks including Facebook, Twitter, and the departmental website. This team is under the direction of Gary Wilcox.

THE STORIES OF TEXASMEDIA | The Stories of TexasMedia exists to show-case the accomplishments and updates of the prestigious program, remi-nisce about the past of the program and drive to opportunities for alumni to connect with the program, and create media-centric conversations specific to the interests and needs of TexasMedia students.

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AUDIENCESPEOPLE WHO ARE AWARE OF TEXASMEDIA: (1) Current Students (2) TexasMedia Alumni & (3) Faculty

CURRENT STUDENTS: Current students of TexasMedia have completed the Introduction to Media course taught by Lisa Dobias receiving a B or better in the class and applied into the program. Because there is limited availability in the TexasMedia sequence, not all applications are approved. Each cohort consists of 30-35 students every semester. In general, students are juniors and seniors and they have committed to complete 9 hours of focused advance media studies.

Needs met by the website: These students will receive updates about the program. Be-cause there are several course being taught, this website will serve as a central hub for them to receive updates about speakers, events and statuses of other students. Announcements about internships and jobs via TexasAdGrad will show them the utility of the program and give them an understanding of where TexasMedia students are applying their skills.

TEXASMEDIA ALUMNI: These are students who have completed all required courses and have graduated from the College of Communications at The University of Texas.

Needs met by the website: Alumni will be able to reconnect to the program through the website. They will be able to read and review what clients the latest teams are working on and reconnect to a program that gives them pride. Alumni will be able to share their stories and update current students, faculty and other alumni of their accomplishments. The stu-dent led teams will reach out to alumni and through the website they will be able to contact the team to generate new and exciting stories to share. The website will give validation to the work that the alumni did during their studies.

FACULTY: These are members of TexasMedia, College of Communication and The University.

Needs met by the website: Faculty of TexasMedia, The College of Communications and of The University of Texas will be able to share and read about the accomplishments of the program and its students. They will be able to announce speakers, projects and courses that pertain to the program. All faculty will be able to connect to media students through the website by providing relevant content to the website.

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PEOPLE WHO ARE UNAWARE OF TEXASMEDIA: (1) Industry Professionals & (2) Prospective Students

INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS:Industry professionals are looking to validate our prestige and prospective students are looking to see what to expect from the program. They have potential heard about the program through co-workers or prospective employees and are looking for more information about the program

Needs met by the website: Through the website they will be able to understand more about TexasMedia other than what courses are required. The website will serve as a showcase and give a voice and point of view that is unique to TexasMedia and the students that go through the program. The website will show industry professional why TexasMedia students are superior than other programs and show the unique value it offers its students.

PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS: Students within the College of Communication and the university are seeking information about the TexasMedia program and sequence. They are seeking more than a syllabus for the courses; they want to know how the program will serve them.

Needs met by the website: The website will showcase the type of work and the level of qual-ity that would be expected of them. Here they will understand what kind of assignments and work they will produce during their courses. The website should make them excited to apply and show them why TexasMedia is an amazing program.

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When exploring user experience, hosing, and web structuring options for TexasMedia, the team deliberated and evaluated every avenue available to make its decision to pursue a rela-tionship with The Richards Group (TRG). The following statements evaluate each web host-ing/design platform and what conclusions were drawn.

COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION WEBSITE:

The team spoke with ITS in the College of Communication to host and service our desired website.*

Due to budget constraints they cannot host or build a new website. Any a new webpage, or website, will have to use the chosen layout of the department. Stated best by IT, “You can paint the walls but you can not move them.”PROS:• Full ITS support from within the college. • Secure and back-end maintenance free• Easy to update contentCONS:• Can’t change the layout/design (currently a blog feed on right hand side of page.)• Confined to approved ITS widgets and gadgets• Have to schedule site build on ITS’ time frame• Current Department of Advertising layout does not conform to our needs

CONCLUSION:Because we cant control the design look and feel of the website, we opted to go with another option for our website. The College’s ITS team has been extremely supportive and responsive to our needs and questions, but they do not have the power nor man-hours to provide us with a website based on a look and design we desire at this time.

WHY TRG?

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UNIVERSITY ITS BLOG WEBSITE - ADMIN@BLOGS.UTEXAS.EDU OR HELP@ITS.UTEXAS.EDU

• Currently the only platform ITS supports for student organizations is through the UT blog plat-form. Support of Wordpress 3.3.1. Currently they support 49 themes and 6 plugins/add-ons. –

• FeedBurner: adds a sidebar widget to easy customize and display your FeedBurner subscribers stats RSS button

• FireStats: statistics plugin for WordPress • Flickr Gallery: use easy shortcodes to insert Flickr galleries and photos (and videos) in your blog• Maintenance Mode: adds a splash page to your blog that lets visitors know your blog is down for

maintenance• Sociable Zyblog Edition: automatically add links on your posts to popular social bookmarking sites• Akismet: spam comment filteringPROS:• Full ITS support for software patches and virus/hacker/security protection• We can design the site based on the limited amount of customizations offered• Can appeal for additional add-ons, but they must be tested by security before approved, email admin@blog.utexas.edu for more informationCONS:• Limited to 10MB, any additional space would have to be hosed on webspace and linked to site• Layout offered are limited and lack a showcase feel

CONCLUSION:While hosting a website on UT servers requires little maintenance and IT support, the current creative and space limitations lead us to believe it would be easier to explore other options.

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PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RICHARDS GROUP (TRG):

In October of 2011, the TexasMedia team approached Cheryl Huckaby, a TexasMedia alumni and Clickhere/The Richards Group media head. The team worked alongside and proposed a collaboration with TRG’s team to create and assist in educating students to sustain a viable home the TexasMedia program. TexasMedia saw this as a huge benefit because the team could tap into TRG’s resources and knowledge of building and designing websites as well as the digital landscape to complete this vision.

WHAT THE TEAM ASKED OF THEM:• Design a website from scratch using WordPress framework• Create a user experience architecture based on content determined by the student team• Collaborate with a way to promote the website and what to call it

WHAT THEY ASKED OF THE TEAM:• Web Design Brief• Written Proposal• Creative Brief• Populated buckets of Editorial Content

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Web Developer: THE RICHARDS GROUP Client: TEXASMEDIA Product: THE STORIES OF TEXASMEDIA ______________________________________________________________

WHAT: • A centralized website that brings together current and potential students with lead ers in the industry and academia in order to showcase and document the legacy of TexasMedia• Encapsulate the professionalism and candid nature of our rigorous program• Use rich media and the stories of our current students, alumni, and outside industry professionals to give a tangible representation that this sequence produces:Media will include:• video interviews with TexasMedia alumni and students• questionnaires from alumni and industry professionals• visitor blogs from industry professionals, professors, or students • departmental, industry news and announcements

WHO:The site should speak to four key community groups:1. Industry Professionals: Former TexasMedia students and people working in me dia across the globe. This group will help formulate content for the website (i.e. blogs and video interviews)2. Alumni: Former TexasMedia students interested in sharing their experiences and exploring the current progress of the program. Alumni will be able to read and share the stories of TexasMedia and connect with the student-led content team to share their own stories3. Current & Prospective Students: A place to showcase the accomplishments of their work, add validity to their work beyond the classroom, and give an insight of the caliber and nature of work in media to industry professionals looking to gain a bet ter understanding of the TexasMedia program.4. Faculty: a place to showcase the school of thought from the minds that lead and steer our program forward with content created by the student-led content team

WHY & WHEN:• This site will give TexasMedia an outward voice on a global scale to propel our pro gram forward• People are looking to gain a greater understanding on the TexasMedia program and the impact that our students have on the industry at large.• Visitors will come – and come back – to this site because it will offer an unparalleled way to stay connected to the stories of TexasMedia:

WEB DESIGN BRIEF

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• A way for alumni/industry professionals to stay up-to-date with TexasMedia’s prog ress• A way for students to keep tabs on the media industry at-large and get departmental announcements

WHAT (OBJECTIVES):Hard• Top-level “Stories of TexasMedia” site logo design and branding for the TexasMedia program• Visual Style Guidelines and Branded Templates for story content• An operational showcase site, including digital design, architecture and coding in Wordpress format

Soft• Brand lift of the TexasMedia program• Visibility of new agency-academia partnerships, specifically with The Richards Group• Renewed excitement of the TexasMedia/Texas Advertising program

HOW• This site diverges from departmental or professional networking sites which focus on promoting academic and professional opportunities (i.e. http://advertising. utexas.edu , www.adgrad.com) • This site exists to showcase the stories and accomplishments of the TexasMedia school of thought and graduated industry professionals• The TexasMedia program is the nation’s most comprehensive and top-ranked media concentration, producing roughly fifty knowledgeable media professionals every year.• The TexasMedia program continues to push the industry envelope and its students provide fresh young ideas from excited soon-to-be professionals

WHERE• Student-led content team will promote the site’s launch to current and former TexasMedia students via email marketing, on-campus media, and social media. • Student-led team will create online editorial content calendar to steer the site for the 2012-13 academic year.

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WHAT (PARTNERSHIPS):• Advertising.Utexas // this site will link out to the advertising department for prospective students looking at majoring in advertising where appropriate information is housed • Texas AdGrad // this site will work to connect current and former TexasMedia students by linking specific articles, profiles, and content to connecting Texas AdGrad professional network pages, as well as include a main button on the home page to link out to AdGrad

HOW MUCH• Richards Group: Site Design, UX, and branding for the Stories of TexasMedia• TexasMedia: Student committee of 4 workers at 10hrs/wk to manage content and story development

BILL OF MATERIALS (B.O.M.)• Site Branding & Logo Design• Visual & Web Style Guidelines• User Experience architecture and coding (Wordpress)• Initial Content Upfront (videos, blogposts, photos, stories, etc.)*

FULFILLMENT:Phase I:TRG to deliver:• Branding & Logo Design (TRG, July 2012)• Visual & Website Style Guidelines (TRG, July 2012)TexasMedia to deliver:• Consulting input on design and look and feel (TexasMedia, ASAP)• Monthly content goals for site longevity (TexasMedia, March 2012)Phase II:TRG to deliver:• Wordpress developed site for beta-testing (TRG, August 2012)TexasMedia to deliver:• Content upfront for initial soft launch (TexasMedia, May 2012)

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CREATIVE BRIEF

     

 

 

WHO IS THE TARGET? People who are aware of The Stories of TexasMedia: Current Students, TexasMedia Alumni, Faculty • Coming to the site to stay up to date with the program • These people are actively involved in the world of media. They are/were involved with the University of Texas • These people all feel a connection to the program by being a part of or an alumnus of the program. They are interested in what

others from the program are doing and the current success of the program. People who are unaware of The Stories of TexasMedia: Industry Professionals, Prospective Students • Coming to the site to learn about the program • These people have heard of the program but need to be informed of what the program does. • Industry professionals are looking to validate our prestige and prospective students are looking to see what to expect from the

program.    

WHAT DO THEY THINK/FEEL/DO RIGHT NOW?  People who are aware of The Stories of TexasMedia: Current Students, Texas Media Alumni, Faculty • They feel that the TexasMedia is a top notch program and have an interest in the success of others from the program to validate

that notion. People who are unaware of The Stories of TexasMedia: Industry Professionals, Prospective Students • They have heard of the program and gain more information about the program • Does the program live up to the standards that the groups above claim it is    

WHAT THOUGHTS OR ACTIONS DO WE WANT THEM TO HAVE?  People who are aware of The Stories TexasMedia: Current Students, Texas Media Alumni, Faculty • Feel a sense pride and share in the success of the program (by seeing their work and successful graduates) People who are unaware of The Stories TexasMedia: Industry Professionals, Prospective Students • Have an “ah-ha” moment at the realization that the professionalism of the program lives up to everything they have heard

about.    

WHAT IS THE MAIN THOUGHT OF THIS CAMPAIGN?  • Showcase the stories of TexasMedia through the programs work, accomplishments, and people  

WHAT SHOULD THIS TARGET CARE ABOUT?  TexasMedia  is  the  leading  academic  program  educating  tomorrow’s  media  professionals.  • First  program  to  integrate  digital  media  into  its  curriculum    • Program  graduates  in  senior  level  positions  across  the  globe:  The  Richards  Group,  Mediavest,  OMD,  McgarryBowen,  Carat,  Millard  Brown,  

Digitas,  Group  M  • Students  gain  real  world  client  experience  in  the  class  room  • An  honorarium  of  the  department’s  top  students  both  past  and  present  who  want  to  stay  connected  with  our  legacy,  see  our  successes,  

and  be  a  part  of  our  continued  stories    

WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO KNOW TO GET STARTED?  The site will contain 3 main content sections. These sections will include: HOME PAGE (/home) • Intro Video/Stories Section • Showcase of Latest Stories ABOUT THE PROGRAM PAGE (/about) • Professor Bios • Story of the Program: timeline of the milestones of the TexasMedia program STORIES PAGE (/stories) • Full reel of blog entries in chronological order (see editorial calendar*)    

THOUGHT KICKSTARTERS  souppeddler.com // Matches the Austin vibe, simple and eclectic motif gnosh.co.uk // Has kitschy, hand rendered feel offscreenmag.com // Think of this as a news portal where we will post work with a tangible feel 826seattle.org // Think of the homepage as our dashboard, where you can see everything at a glance and take deep dives by clicking on links and as a news portal (i.e. one lead story and four smaller featured stories on landing page)    

WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO KNOW TO GET STARTED?  • See attached sample content • Types of content in stories: picture, video, text, slide share    

ANYTHING WE SHOULD AVOID?  While the site will contain current and archived stories, this is not a news site. We anticipate 2-3 articles/content pieces per month  

PROJECT TITLE: The Stories of TexasMedia

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: A wordpress site for the Texas Media program at UT Austin

PRIMARY TEXASMEDIA CONTACT: Lisa Dobias, dobias@mail.utexas.edu

PRIMARY AGENCY CONTACT: Cheryl Huckabay cheryl_huckabay@richards.com

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WHAT ARE THE STORIES?The Stories of TexasMedia exists to showcase the thoughts and projects that distinguish our students. This is not a newspaper and the content found on the site should have a universal voice, devoid of media-partisanship and/or ulterior motives. Keep “excellence” in mind - the website should show how our program and its members excel in the classroom and the field. Content should not be posted unless it has been approved by the group and visuals should be professional and of the highest quality.

Assign content to everyone in the group. Because there is a diverse type of content needed for the website, every member should expect to have at least 1 piece to post a week. Outlined below are the types of content relevant for the website.

All content can be divided into three separate and distinct buckets: (1) Alumni & Industry Professionals, (2) Student Work, & (3) TexasMedia News & Work.

1. ALUMNI/INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALSCONTENT: alumnus showcases, biography/soundbites, Q&A’s, where-are-they-nows

Our goal is to provide a connection point for Alumni to reconnect to TexasMedia and to show Industry professionals what TexasMedia is about, our thought process and the work we produce.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTS: These are either short articles or full interviews speaking to the topic of the month (preferably) or the student’s connection/experience to TexasMe-dia.

Q&A/BIOGRAPHY & SOUND BITES: In a quick phone question-and-answer or live interview, the questions asked in this style will be contextual and based on how the inter-viewee responds to previous questions. The Biography story outlines an alumnus’ ac-complishments, including awards they received or stand out campaigns they were apart of. This format will show the reader the progression of the alumni’s career and should be used for more seasoned alumni. Remember to do your homework before the interview to avoid wasting time.

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ALUMNI SHOWCASE: These are focused articles on an event or an award the alumni won. Make sure to capture an updated photo/video of the alumni and mention the year they graduated. You may ask other questions during your interview, if you have time, in order to use the responses in other features.

WHERE ARE THEY NOWS?: These posts should showcase recent - or event distant - graduates of the program. Try to locate their original class photo from the digital records to highlight the student and capture a current photo for contrast. These posts give a scope of the history and heritage of this program.

INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS: This is an opportunity to show an outsider’s point of view on our program. You can inquire if they know any TexasMedia’s graduates and what makes them standout. Team members can also get stories about how they found their profession and highlight the various job and roles within an agency. This can be valuable information for prospective and current student to better understand the industry, trends within agencies and industry standards.

2. STUDENT WORKCONTENT: student blog showcases, POV explanations, other assignments

Check with Lisa while formatting the editorial calendar to make sure there are no other projects to highlight throughout the semester other than those mentioned. Due to possible legal issues, we do not recommend posting pictures of the final books to the website.

STUDENT BLOG SHOWCASE: Lisa requires that all of her advance students maintain a media-centric blog. The blog will collectively display pieces that Lisa selects from the 377 class. This story can give visitors a peek into the thought-tank of TexasMedia students and give students a thought collec-tive. These should highlight the high caliber of student work and the diversity of thought that exists amongst these matriculated students. The format of these pieces is very flexible and should be deter-mined by the content teams and leading faculty.

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POV’s: Lisa assigns at least 2 POV projects in her Advance class towards the beginning of each semester. The POV post reflects and highlights the relevancy and tangibility of the Ad-vanced Strategies class. Start by gathering in the POV brief for that specific piece. You might want to interview Lisa and get her thoughts on why she chose the particular piece of news. Because the POV’s are usually an opinion piece with support, try to focus on the dichotomy of responses that you would naturally expect from an assignment like this. These write-ups should include a copy of the work, relevant photos of the client, and any other relevant information necessary for the audience to understand these - typically - highly complex as-signments.

OTHER ASSIGNMENTS: The team should not limit themselves to just these recurring projects. See if it is relevant to post entire projects or initiatives, as well as what new indus-try trends are impacting new cohorts as they enter the sequence. Always remember: get full names, permission, and contact information before every interview.

2. TEXASMEDIA NEWS & WORKCONTENT: course presentations, advanced work & news, TAG trips, “must-reads”

INTRO MEDIA (345J) FINAL PRESENTATIONS: Typically awards and winners are announced around the last class day. To stay relevant, these stories must be posted before you leave for break.i. Arrange to attend at least one introduction class the day of a presentation to capture media students on film presenting, video or pictures. The video or picture will be used to accompany articles about the client and project assignment, or other relevant stories about the introduction class.ii. Attend every introduction’s class last class day for presentation awards and winner announcement. It is your responsibility to photograph each winning group/person, gather their name, major and contact information.iii. Try to interview majority of the winners onsite. Lisa gives varying awards, like for best speaker. It is important to turn these stories around quickly, so due as much work as you can while attending the class. In our experience, following up via email has not proven to be an expedited process.Content should feature video clips or photos of final project presentation, be accompanied by interviews of the winning groups and students (which could also be shown in video for-mat or picture/story form), and should include an overview of the assignment.*

*If we do not have approval to document the exact client name due to privacy, you should describe the type of business, city and overall budget. For example: small pet-food supply store, Chapel Hill, N.C. with a bud-get of $85,000 for the calendar year of 2012.

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ADVANCED STRATEGIES TEXASMEDIA: It is important in the approval process of your calen-dar you meet with Lisa and figure out her scheduling plans for the Advance Media class. Her format is always adapting and this class will provide you with many pieces of content, so you need to know when they meet, their deadlines and what projects she plans to give them.

News snippets and blurbs: These posts can be short sentences or quotes about exciting news. They should be relevant and changed often because they contain time sensitive material• Team members should be in contact with Lisa at least once a week; she will be the main source of news and information about the new cohort. • All TexasMedia student achievements are newsworthy (i.e. internships, jobs, milestones, etc.)• News should include the intro and advance client announcements; you must get client approval before posting any information related to Advanced Strategies project information• NSAC project team or other TAG lines competition, stickle award winners, unrestricted endowment nominees.-Most of this news comes from the Department, but could feature a TexasMedia student or be noteworthy on the site• Speakers for Intro into Media, Advance Media or Digital, plus the room location and time.• Highlight media firms visiting during career week.• Linking to AdGrad stories or Department features on alumni.• Internship and Job placements for current TexasMedia students (Student Name, location, agency name, and, if you know, position/client name)• You should go to Lisa’s Advanced and Gene’s Digital class to inquire about TexasMedia graduates who interned over the break or/and currently interning in Austin.

Advance Media Presentations:Though the projects vary every semester, the advance class will present at least one major assign-ment. Like the introduction class, it is important to showcase how the class approach the project, give an assignment overview and announce the winner. Questions asked to the advance class should vary some, because these are seasoned media experts. Their opinions and point of view is what the website should showcase.

TAG TRIPS & EVENTS: Historically, Gene and Lisa have been a faculty advisor for the Dallas and Chicago TAG trips. These trips are an excellent source of interviews and video material of alumni and TexasMedia content if current students are attending. The team should coordinate with TAG officers to find out when the trips are occurring, who is the faculty advisor and attempt to locate students at-tending. Though you would not be required to attend them, you should coordinate with faculty and students and try to recruit a content generator on the trip. Once locating a generator, you should contact alumni that will be working at the agencies the group is visiting in order to set up times for the interviews. If you cannot locate a reporter, you can conduct the interview via email or phone, and ask the faculty advisor to take their photo.

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SUGGESTED BOOKS TO READ: Reading lists are a great way to communicate the excellence of TexasMedia to outsiders, prepare pro-spective students and keep current students ahead of the curve. Read-ing lists can be generate through:• Interviews• Online Industry new• Faculty• Advance class polls• Team generatedThey are a great way to get new faculty involved into the website, or get industry professionals a topic to share on. These lists can be archived and should be updated at least once a semester but can be updated as frequently as once a month.

INTERNSHIPS: Internships offer a unique way to generate multiple types of stories. • News blurbs-when students confirm a internship, you can post what agency, what city, who the client is and what is there role• In-Depth Interviews- Upon completion of the internships, cur rent TexasMedia students can share information they learned with other students as well as show industry professionals how important these positions are to students.

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EDITORIAL CALENDARTEXASMEDIA EDITORIAL CALENDAR PROJECT OWNERS: CASSANDRA WEBB KEVIN WARD PATRICK WHITE  

 cassiefwebb@gmail.com kward08@gmail.com patwhitet@gmail.com    

Overview: all editorial content for the TexasMedia site will be categorized into four distinct buckets aimed at hitting our varying audiences:

• Alumni/Industry Professionals: showcases, Q&A’s, where-are-they-nows, etc. • Student work: featured blog entry showcase of students, individual class assignments, etc. • Texas Media Work/Projects: national client announcements, class project winners, etc.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY “Points of View” Title: Alumni Showcase Description: Q&A or interview style post featuring a

TexasMedia alumnus to discuss being a media professional and the media landscape from a TexasMedia lens.

Title: POV Showcase Description: First-semester TexasMedia students will be featured for their thought-leading work on the first “POV” assignment for specified client(s).

Title: Books to Read Description: Per semester book suggestions for TexasMedia students and alumni, with blurbs from the recommenders discussing big themes and why it’s a good book.

 

MARCH “SXSW & Big Work” Title: Alumni Showcase Description: : Q&A or interview style post featuring a

TexasMedia alumni to discuss their roles in the media landscape and what they’re looking forward to most from SXSW this year.

Title: National Client Announcement Description: Post explaining the Advanced Strategies National Client and the project that they will be working on (contingent on client/partnership approval)

Title: Introductory Client Announcement Description: Post telling the story of that semester’s Introduction to Media project, the client, and the big goals

 

APRIL “The Work, The Work, The Work” Title: National Client Presentations Description: Story on the client presentations for the

Advanced Strategies course, describing the teams, overall approaches (contingent on client approval) to showcase the hard work of the teams.

Title: Intro Presentations Description: Story on the presentations for the Intro course, describing the teams, overall approaches (contingent on client approval) to showcase the hard work of the teams.

Title: Advanced Strategy Blog Showcase (3) Description: showcase of (3) Advanced Strategy students. Entries will highlight the students and discuss a blog post for their “thought leadership” in the classroom.

 

MAY “The Next Generation” Title: Project Winner Announcements Description: Story showcasing the winning Advanced &

Introduction class projects: including team photos, plan and presentation highlights and a viewable PDF of the winning Intro plan book

Title: New Media Cohort Showcase Description: Story highlighting the newly accepted cohort of media students for the TexasMedia sequence: list of names and highlights from Prof. Dobias on the new group

Title: The Next Generation of Media Professionals Description: TexasMedia graduating senior showcase. Blurb style post for participating seniors to say where they are off to after graduation and be featured on the site

 

 

 

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OCTOBER “Big Things Ahead” Title: National Client Announcement Description: Post explaining the Advanced Strategies National

Client and the project that they will be working on (contingent on client/partnership approval)

Title: Introductory Client Announcement Description: Post telling the story of that semester’s Introduction to Media project, the client, and the big goals

Title: Alumni Showcase Description: Q&A or interview style post featuring a TexasMedia alumnus to discuss being a media professional and the media landscape from a TexasMedia lens.

 

NOVEMBER “The Work, The Work, The Work” Title: National Client Presentations Description: Story on the client presentations for the

Advanced Strategies course, describing the teams, overall approaches (contingent on client approval) to showcase the hard work of the teams.

Title: Intro Presentations Description: Story on the presentations for the Intro course, describing the teams, overall approaches (contingent on client approval) to showcase the hard work of the teams.

Title: Advanced Strategy Blog Showcase (3) Description: showcase of (3) Advanced Strategy students. Entries will highlight the students and discuss a blog post for their “thought leadership” in the classroom.

 

DECEMBER “The Next Generation” Title: Project Winner Announcements Description: Story showcasing the winning Advanced &

Introduction class projects: including team photos, plan and presentation highlights and a viewable PDF of the winning Intro plan book

Title: New Media Cohort Showcase Description: Story highlighting the newly accepted cohort of media students for the TexasMedia sequence: list of names and highlights from Prof. Dobias on the new group

Title: The Next Generation of Media Professionals Description: TexasMedia graduating senior showcase. Blurb style post for participating seniors to say where they are off to after graduation and be featured on the site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER “Welcome Back” Title: Summer Internship Recaps Description: Story showcasing TexasMedia students’ summer

internships, including a list of where our students worked and highlights of specific interns.

Title: Alumni Showcase Description: Q&A or interview style post featuring a TexasMedia alumnus to discuss being a media professional and the media landscape from a TexasMedia lens.

Title: Books to Read Description: Per semester book suggestions for TexasMedia students and alumni, with blurbs from the recommenders discussing big themes and why it’s a good book.

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HOW TO POSTThe team should take a strategic approach to each story as determined by which content bucket their particular story falls into; however, each and every post should maintain a universal voice that echoes the values and imperatives of The Stories of TexasMedia.

THE VOICE OF THE STORIES OF TEXASMEDIA:

1. Pride: this is a showcase site. All posts should carry a voice of “We Are Texas” – this program is producing tomorrow’s media professionals today, and we’re having fun along the way. All content pieces should reflect the light-hearted fun and serious business that has characterized the Texas-Media program for more than a decade.

2. Accuracy: don’t elaborate or assume information when writing a post. Every fact should be double-verified.

3. Thoroughness: always elaborate. There’s nothing worse than not giving your audience the infor-mation they want. Ask the important questions in an interview or dig in to find the single most important part of an assignment or project.

4. Personality: This is not a non-partisan news source – it is great to let each story have a personality to it. This personality will inherently be dictated by the stories of each member of the TexasMedia program as it evolves. Ensure that every story echoes these stories and accomplishments

When tackling a story, the team should work in a four step process to produce, review, and post con-tent for the TexasMedia site:

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Before beginning, the team member should present their content idea and theme to the team at one of the weekly meetings with at least a three-week lead time to allow for necessary planning. Idea & Proposal information should include:

• Title of the Story/Idea (Name of the Interviewee)• The topic of discussion• Any key insights or relevant news that make this story important

The Draft & Approval will mold to the particular type of story each member of the team from each content bucket. Each bucket’s content pieces have specifications for posting, outline below:

I. ALUMNI & INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS: Interviews/Q&A’s/Sound Bites/Videos

Once a story is approved by the TexasMedia team, the writer should contact the alumni or industry professional to set up an interview; interviews can be text-based Q&A’s or interviews, and video inter-views or soundbites (either professional or iPhone candid snapshots). Questions and launch-points for these posts include:

Q&A/ ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW• Do you remember what client you worked on in either of your Media classes? • What was your favorite TexasMedia experience in school? • How did TexasMedia prepare you for your career? • What message you want to give to new students in media who are thinking about the sequence?• How has the industry changed since you started your career?• What has been your favorite client/campaign to work on and why?• What about TexasMedia prepared you for your career?• What did you learn in TexasMedia that helped you in your career?• What are your expectations of TexasMedia graduates? especially compared against other graduates?

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BIOGRAPHY/SOUNDBITES/VIDEOS1. Review the alumni’s LinkedIn or biography page on their company’s website as a good starting point to gather questions for the interview.2. Good starting questions i. When did you discover that your current position is what you desired? ii. What job or mentor had the most impact on your career? iii. Which job/title did you have when you won, if any, industry awards or recognition?3. Follow-up at the end for some sound bites for the article. Ask them any of the questions listed above in Q&A format or these: i. What is the hottest new media currently? ii. What is a book that every TexasMedia student should read? iii. Name 3 websites you check daily iv. What current campaigns do you think are innovative? v. What current TV campaign do you think is cleaver? vi. What current online campaign do you think is smart?

II. STUDENT WORKPOV’s, Student Blogs, etc.

Once a story is approved by the TexasMedia team, the writer should arrange with the lead professor for that course (Lisa or Gene) to gather intelligence on the nature and parameters of the individual assignment or the highlighted blog*. Keep these key parameters in mind when formulating stories for Student Work:

*Blogs are not submitted until the last day of the semester; all blog highlights must occur at the begin-ning of the subsequent semester

POV ASSIGNMENT:• Why is it relevant? What impact will whatever is happening from this study have on the larger world of media?• What are some of the key latent news pieces that you can include to make this story more tangible to an outsider? Does it relate to something that might have happened in the past (i.e. Pepsi Superbowl ad spending versus ad-spending in a downturned economy’s impact on company appearance)• What are some of the outcomes that happened? There is a diverse wealth of knowledge in our students – highlight some of the contrasts in opinions

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STUDENT BLOGS: • Who is the student? Where are they from? What is their cohort semester? Do they have an interesting job/internship coming up?• Highlight the overall mood of the blog: the central theme, idea, point-of-view, etc.• What are some of the best posts from this student and what were they about?• Why was this student chosen to highlight?*

*Requires Professor input

III. TEXASMEDIA NEWS & WORKProject & Work Showcases, Internships, & “Must Reads”

Once a story is approved by the TexasMedia team, the writer should arrange with the lead professor for that course (Lisa or Gene) to highlight relevant and important information from that particular project, star student, or book. It is important to keep key factors in mind when formulating the story.

PROJECT & WORK SHOWCASES• Arrange to attend at least one introduction class the day of a presentation to capture media students on film presenting, video or pictures. The video or picture will be used to accompany articles about the client and project assignment, or other relevant stories about the introduction class.• Attend every introduction’s class last class day for presentation awards and winner announcement. It is your responsibility to photograph each winning group/person, gather their name, major and contact information.• Lisa gives varying awards, like for best speaker. It is important to turn these stories around quickly; complete as much work as you can while attending the class by getting snapshots of award winners. Email is not a proven follow-up method for opt-in communication, so get them face-to-face while you can.

Example question for Intro (345J) winners might include: • How is this project unique compared to other project you had to complete for school? • What was the most challenging part of the assignment for your team? • How have your thoughts on media planning changed since you completed this project? • What is something you learned from this project that you wish you had known before you started?

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STUDENT INTERNSHIPSStudents in the program are constantly landing high-profile and hard-to-get internships; the group member should meet with these students to get their perspective on their experience or what they are looking forward to. Questions might include:

• What client did you work on?• What programs/tools/resources did you get exposure?• What tools did you learn in TexasMedia that were invaluable to you during your internship?• What was the most valuable piece of information or advice you learned from your experience?• Do you have a better idea of what role you want to play in an agency once you graduate?• What surprised you the most about the industry/your company?

“MUST-READS”Must-read posts should dive into the dynamics and significance of a book to the TexasMedia world; focus on key excerpts or reviews from other students, professors, professional sources. Always in-clude a statement or Q&A from the faculty/staff-member or student who referred the book. Questions might include:• What made you pick up this book? Did someone recommend it to you? If so, who?• What was the biggest takeaway you got from reading this?• Has this book impacted your lens on the world of media? If so, how?• Why would recommend this to members of TexasMedia?

Once a draft is complete, a printed and digital copy should be delivered to the team no later than 1 day prior to the next TexasMedia team meeting. This ensures that the other group members can proofread for bias, typos, and any other errors in the post.

At the meeting, the writing group member should show their post with any rich media attachments to the group for final approval. From here the group should unanimously decide whether or not it is ready for posting.

Posting is largely determined by the User Interface of the Wordpress site, and will be finalized through continued discussions with The Richards Group (TRG).

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EDITORIAL CHECKLISTEDITORIAL CONTENT CHECKLIST

UPFRONT INFORMATION: POST TITLE: [Title of Post]

TENTATIVE POST DATE: [What Date will this post go live?]

POST OWNER: [Name of Writer]

NOTES: [Any notes to give a shapshot of this post at first glance

CONTENT BUCKET (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY FOR SITE TAGGING PURPOSES): Alumni/Industry

☐ Q&A (Text-only) ☐ Sound Bite ☐ Interview ☐ Video (iPhone) ☐ Video (Professional) ☐ Other:___________

Student Work

☐ Blog Showcase ☐ POV Discussion ☐ Other:___________

TexasMedia News

☐ Project Announcement (345J / ADVANCED) ☐ Project Presentation (345J / ADVANCED) ☐ TAG Trips & TexasMedia Events ☐ Internships & Career Announcements ☐ Other:___________

STORY OUTLINE: Please outline the topic of discussion of this post in two-to-three sentences. Also include any specific questions you plan on asking if this is an interview/Q&A: STORY APPROVAL: Approved? Y ☐ N ☐ Faculty Signature: Student Signature: When this document is signed and your draft is complete, please copy & paste your story as well

as links to any/all rich media (photos, videos, etc.) for final approval

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MOVING FORWARDAs the new Student Executive Team takes control of The Stories of TexasMedia, the main goals should center around three major areas of focus:

1. Site Launch2. Populating Content Pieces3. Social Media & Promotion

(1) The new student team should work closely with Kincaid and Dobias to ensure that the partnership with TRG is solidified, and that design/production for the site is completed for an August hard-launch and the start of the 2012-2013 long semester. This launch date, while soon, will afford TRG enough time to develop a working Wordpress template as well as give the TexasMedia team ample lead time to create content upfront for the site’s launch during the first week of class.

(2) As the relationship with TRG strengthens, the TexasMedia team should make concerted efforts over the summer to brainstorm, draft, and finalize content pieces for posting to the site when it is complete. In addition to developing content upfront, the team should con-sider expanding the editorial calendar based on seminal events that emerge as the academic year progresses.

(3) Finally, this showcase site will house the immense accomplishments of the TexasMedia program - but it can’t promote itself. Consider taking ownership of the TexasMedia Face-book Fanpage* and Twitter accounts* to help promote the release of each new content piece on the website. Additionally, consider cross promotional ads through AdGrad.org/.com to help get TexasMedia alumni to visit the website. This promotion will ultimately drive the necessary traffic and help build clout within the Texas Advertising community.

As you take on this project, do not forget to always have fun with everything you are doing and experiencing. The reason this program is so fantastic is that it is a school of thought that produces tomorrow’s media professionals today and teaches its students how to have fun while doing it. Good luck!

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PROFESSOR LEADS

GRADUATE ADVISOR

STUDENT EXECUTIVE TEAM (SEC)

Gene Kincaid | Gene serves the role as “project manager” and course coordinator for the 2011-2012 team. Gene has worked alongside Lisa Dobias to ensure product and content deliverable deadlines are met, and has served as the IT/Tech touch-point person because of his expertise in the field. (g.kincaid@mail.utexas.edu)

Deborah “Debbie” Williams | Debbie serves the role of client and project manager liason for the Student Executive Team. Debbie helped organize - in conjunction with Kincaid - content deliverable timelines, schedule important meetings, and manage expectations for all members of the team. (deborahwilliams.adgrad@gmail.com)

Cassandra Webb | Cassandra is a fourth-year Advertising and Economics student who serves on the SEC as a content developer and direct client contact for TRG. (cassiefwebb@gmail.com)

Kevin Ward | Kevin is a fourth-year Advertising student who serves as a volunteer on the SEC as a rich-media content developer for the site. (kward08@gmail.com)

Patrick White | Patrick is a fourth-year Advertising student who serves as the SEC’s formatter and content developer. (patwhitet@gmail.com)

Lisa Dobias| Lisa serves the role of “client” and advisor for the 2011-2012 team. The Stories of TexasMedia is Lisa’s brainchild and 2011 was the turnkey year to making this website a reality. Lisa has served as a touchpoint for site parameters, partner-ships, and content development. (dobias@mail.utexas.edu)

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