Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Event Evaluation:CSU Foundation Day 2015
1
Office for Students & Division of Marketing and CommunicationDIVISION
Mark O’Brien, Samantha Neal, Hannah Guilfoyle, Nik Granger, Erin Wise, Gael Evans-Barr, Roger Ansell, Matthew Hilder, Alexandra Leis
WRITTEN BY
September 2015DATE
Following CSU’s inaugural Foundation Day event on Wednesday 22 July 2015, feedback was gathered to evaluate the success of the celebration and guide the direction of future events.
Foundation Day is an annual celebration to recognise our past, acknowledge our beginnings and create awareness of who we are, what we value and where we are going. It is an opportunity to celebrate and be proud of being a past or present CSU student or staff member and recognises who we are as a community, our values, our ethos and our commitment to ‘the public good’.
The following evaluation provides an understanding how successful Foundation Day was in terms of student and stakeholder engagement in order to guide the direction and recommendations of 2016 activities.
Foundation Day Recommendations• Based on the success of Foundation Day 2015 with minimal budget and resources, it is
recommended that the University supports Foundation Day as an annual event to foster a sense of pride in our institution.
• Foundation Day 2015 was established and supported through the goodwill of the Division of Marketing and Communication, Office for Students and Student Representative Committees. To further cement Foundation Day as a major event in the CSU calendar a budget allocation of $10,000, based on 2015 expenditure, would allow for the establishment of events and greater promotion for Foundation Day 2016.
• Based on Foundation Day feedback, the event has as much prominence as major university-wide events including O Week and Graduation. In order to grow the event, assistance from the Regional Relations team will aid in boosting event engagement with the external CSU community and embody our motto ‘for the public good’.
• Utilising the experience of Foundation Day 2015, reflection and feedback, develop dedicated strategies to increase the engagement of CSU Online students and Alumni as well as a plan to increase data collection and feedback in relation to the event.
Key results• Among those participating in the Foundation Day Survey, the day was considered a
success and contributed to increased engagement and a sense of altruism with the university. In future it was recommended that more activities should be included to involve the distance online education students.
• Foundation Day provided a unique opportunity to promote CSUgive, resulting in an increase of alumni, staff and student awareness of and donations to the CSU Foundation Trust. As the dedicated day to celebrate all things CSU, there is huge potential to boost Foundation Day advancement activities in years to come.
• The ‘wear red for Foundation Day’ theme was well supported across all stakeholder groups, with many taking the opportunity to show their pride in the university by wearing red during the day.
Key results (…continued)• Foundation Day social media activity was the big winner on the day, with the
successful introduction of ‘CharlesSturtUni’ Snapchat to the suite of CSU social media channels and creation and sharing of user-generated content across all channels via the hashtag #celebratecsu. Social media provided an engaging way for all stakeholders to connect with Foundation Day and get involved in the event. For future campaigns, greater coordination with other CSU branded social media channels is required and training for administrators of CSU accounts is also recommended in order to ensure consistency of messages.
• The most valuable media coverage of Foundation Day was achieved via broadcast channels, with the involvement of Channel 7s Sunrise weather live-crosses from CSU Bathurst, presented by CSU alumni Edwina Batholomew. This coverage generated significant interest in the event and provided an opportunity to promote the strong ties between alumni and the university.
Foundation Day 2015 was a success and there is opportunity to create more engagement for students and the community in 2016
6
How is success measured?
Looking at the four key areas above will help determine the success of Foundation Day 2015
Measuring stakeholder engagementUsing survey research to evaluate satisfaction; identifying likes and dislikes and identifying the opportunities for improvement in 2016
Evaluating on campus activitiesUsing attendance as a measure of engagement and cost in relation to return on investment
1 2
Evaluating online and media activityEvaluating the number of posts and activity on social media forums and media reach
4Donations to CSUgiveIdentifying the number of donations that were made throughout the celebration period and comparing that to donation records in the previous years
3
7
Measuring stakeholder engagement through survey research
1
Measuring stakeholder engagement1
What
Foundation Day involved students, staff, alumni and other members of the community:
A 10 minute online survey was posted to CSU online forums, aimed at engaging stakeholders to complete the survey to evaluate the success of the event.
The objectives of the survey were disguised in some capacity to get a clean read on awareness and participation of the day.
The survey was designed to understand how Foundation Day was perceived among all CSU stakeholder groups.
Limitations
The results are based on those that participated in the survey, some key stakeholders may be excluded due to not being active on the forums where the survey was posted
While attempts were made to get a clean read on awareness, the survey was introduced as an evaluation of Foundation Day, which may have biased the answers of participants
Further research is required to investigate anomalies among different stakeholder groups
The survey research still provides a clear picture of the overall success of the day.
How
The 10 minute survey was posted on:• CSU Facebook pages• CSU Twitter accounts• Charlie – Your Student Voice• CSU Social • Student Portal • Message Centre • Direct email to staff• What’s New• Yammer
The survey attempted to evaluate all participants, however not all stakeholder groups were reached
A total of 109 participants completed the survey, most being current students and staff members.
Participation among the Alumni and various other external community groups are not evaluated in this this research.
The research is used to understand the success of the day among internal stakeholders.
Among those interviewed, Foundation Day was perceived to be a success
Awareness & participation in the inaugural Foundation Day event was high
Foundation Day achieved high awareness among staff and students. The event has as much awareness as O Week and Graduation events
Of those that were aware of the day 62% participated in some form
Those that were involved, 73% were satisfied with the overall event
72%
45%
33%
Awareness
Satisfaction
Participation
73%
62%
Base size: n=109
Base size: n=109
Base size: n=49Asked on a 5 point scale (Very satisfied and Satisfied results displayed in this chart)
Social media and word of mouth channels were key to promoting the day
Achieving high awareness levels was attributed to promoting the event across a suite of CSU communication channels
Social Media
Word of mouth
What’s New
Message Centre
Foundation Day poster
Foundation Day website
CSU Social
Charlie – Your Student Voice
Snapchat
Yammer
Local news
Television
Other (please specify)
Didn’t hear about it
45%37%
31%25%
22%20%
16%14%14%
8%4%
2%25%
2%
How did stakeholders find out about the day?
Alumni Direct email/email from managerFacebookHelped organise/promoteinternal communication/internal emailDivisional MeetingSRC media
Base size: n=49* Results are indicative
Foundation Day does three things:1. Creates engagement with the University 2. Teaches and reminds us about our past 3. Is an opportunity to let our hair down
Proud to be a part of CSU
Being a member of the CSU community
Celebrating CSU’s past, present and future
An opportunity to have fun
Recognising CSU’s value and commitment to the wider community
Promotion of worthwhile causes
Fund raising opportunityShowing our commitment to yindyamarra
winhanga-nha (Wiradjuri phrase meaning the wisdom to respectfully know how to live well
in a world worth living in)None of these
67%
65%
61%
45%
29%
18%
18%
16%
4%
The meaning of foundation day
Base size: n=49* Results are indicative
EngagementThe day creates a sense of engagement with the university. In the essence of human behaviour; people want to feel apart of something big and they want to feel a sense of belonging. Foundation Day builds stakeholder engagement with the university as a whole
RemembranceThe day is an opportunity to reflect on where CSU has come from and where we are going. Foundation Day is a celebration of our history and encourages people to be proud of being part of the CSU community
FunThe day enables staff and students to have fun
Wearing red
Posted to social media
Used #celebratecsu
Donated to CSUGive
Purchased CSU merchandise
Albury Foundation Day event
Bathurst Foundation Day Frolic
Dubbo Foundation Day Morning Tea
Orange Foundation Day Morning Tea
Orange Foundation Day Freebies
Orange Red Bar Night
Port Macquarie Foundation Day Morning Fun
Wagga Wagga Red Day Night
Wagga Wagga Foundation Day Carnival @ Friday Unwind
Other (please specify)
85%
27%
27%
15%
4%
19%
19%
4%
21%
8%
4%
0%
10%
10%
8%
How did stakeholders participate?
What made Orange so successful?Or is it that more people from Orange filled out the survey?
A large number of people participated in the virtual world. This is hypothesised to be key to engaging online students
Across all campuses physical participation at events was also high
Base size: n=49* Results are indicative
Most stakeholders wore red to demonstrate their participation in the event
13
What would you have done differently?
There is opportunity to build greater engagement and participation in the online environment through tailored promotion to students and wider community.
Promote it with Divisions and maybe send out some
celebratory materials to have a morning tea. Similar to
Australia's biggest morning tea, have posters, some red decorations and a collection
envelope for CSU give
More promotion through media, on the radio. Get
the local council on board by decorating the main street in red and
promoting the day. Invite our foundations
scholarship supporters to attend and to get staff
more involved.
Advertised it more and would
have done something for students and their family
I thought it was pretty good. Not many students there during the time I spent at
the morning tea, but maybe they were in lectures.
Community involvement
Greater advertisement, there were still students who did not know it was
happening
Earlier promotion
I didn't actually notice anything
different
Better on campus events
Have more interactive
stalls to engage the
students more
As an external student there isn't anything else I
could have done differently. It really is something set up for
Campus students, with no effect on me what so ever.
A big morning tea on each
campus
Have someone visiting Offices
when it starts to drag staff away from computers and be part of the event...
Organised some inter-
campus events
Get some high profile alumni
to post on social media
14
Will attend in 2016; 79%
Will not at-tend in 2016;
21%
If the event was held in 2016, most people would attend, even if they did not attend the inaugural event
Base size: n=99
15
Stakeholders would like to see more on campus activities, and more opportunities for students to engage in the day
On campus activities
Community events
Campus challenge
DE Outreach events
Alumni reunion / networking opportunity
Competitions
12%
18%
24%
25%
33%
26%
21%
35%
34%
38%
32%
40%
60%
37%
29%
26%
24%
23%
What activities would they like to see in 2016
Unimportant Somewhat Unimportant Neither Important or UnimportantSomewhat Important Very Important
Community and activities for online stakeholders are also areas where stakeholders would like to see additional activities
Base size: n=99
16
Other thoughts and Suggestions
Many think Foundation Day is a great idea and there is potential to boost the involvement of distance online students and the community
Should strive to incorporate DE students in events such as these to make them feel part of the CSU family.
Competitions with Individual prizes and/or Campus prizes
would be a great incentive for people to get involved.
An excellent initiative and one
that should become a tradition
Celebrate food and wine in the local area
and attractions to students/families. Involve student/staff
families. HOC lunch. CSU soup vans in local community Volunteer
work
Bigger budget
Preparations earlier next year we can
really build on the day and make it something everyone will want to
be involved in
As a journalism student finding out that Sunrise
would be at the university the day they came was a
bit disappointing, so future notice of fun things or
events would be helpful.
Promote it more, the first I heard of it was on the news-
that night!
Printed promotional materials would be
important.
inter-campus sporting and
academic competition to
celebrate foundation day, something that brings all campuses
together to celebrate!
DE students are in the community but people don't even know they're students,
give them something that they can share at work, home and
play that says 'I'm a CSU student and I'm proud to be one'
Put it on the calendar and let campus clubs
know in advance
Largely irrelevant to non-campus
students
Perhaps starting some entertainment on campus at 5.30 or 6 would be more likely to get more
staff attending in the evening
Better ways to include DE students
Perhaps a DE foundation hoodie photo board and
some 'postcards' from CSU with a pic and a little bit of foundation history would
help DE students feel connected and keep the foundation story alive?
17
Evaluating on campus activities2
- What events occurred on campus? - What was the engagement of these activities? - What was the cost related to these events?
Evaluating on campus activities2
What
The Foundation Day on campus activities were designed to:
• Create the atmosphere of Foundation Day
• Provide an opportunity for the CSU community to come together and feel connected
• Engage current students and staff on campus
A variety of events were developed on each campus as a way to celebrate CSU on campus and provide the opportunity for the community to come together.
Limitations
As a CSU event, reliance on SRC funding and goodwill from individual areas is limiting.
For future events, greater preparation time and a dedicated budget allocation will assist in the awareness of the events and the development and growth of the activities.
Activities undertaken with limited time and budget provided a great foundation for future events.
How
A Foundation Day working party was established to develop the concept and ideas. On campus events were developed by the Office for Students in conjunction and support from the Student Representative Committees (SRC).
Through the financial support of the SRC, as well as the Division of Marketing & Communications and some Head of Campus, the events were developed and promoted as a way to celebrate CSU on campus.
A variety of events were held across the main campuses with over 3,500 people engaging in 10 events.
On campus events were used as means to engage CSU stakeholders and celebrate CSU.
Evaluating on campus events2
Foundation Day generated significant student and staff engagement for those located on the main campuses
Albury Foundation Day event
Bathurst Foundation Day Frolic
Dubbo Foundation Day Morning Tea
Orange Foundation Day Morning Tea
Orange Red Bar Night
Port Macquarie Foundation Day Morning Fun
Wagga Wagga Red Day Night
Wagga Wagga Foundation Day Carnival @ Friday Unwind
Wagga Wagga Foundation Day BBQ
Other events held by individual areas
0 100 200 300 400 500
How many people engaged with on campus activities? What was the cost of the on campus events?
Campus Cost
Albury Wodonga $1,388
Bathurst $1,412
Dubbo $50
Orange $925
Port Macquarie $380
Wagga Wagga $6,248
TOTAL $10,403*
* Expenditure from Student Representative Committees (77%), Division of Marketing & Communication (17%) & Office for Students (6%)
20
Evaluating donations to CSU Give3
- Was there an increase in donations to CSU Give? - Who made the donations? (Alumni, Students, Staff or Community?)
Evaluating donations to CSUgive3
What
Foundation Day provided an opportunity to promote CSUgive community fundraising, which supports the CSU Foundation Trust (CSUFT).
A number of Foundation Day events were held on each campus to encourage staff involvement in the campaign.
The goodwill of these promotions and the increase in CSUgive / CSUFT was significant.
Results
CSU Albury: raised $300 from staff and students
CSU Bathurst: raised $60 and signed up five new workplace giving donors
CSU Port Macquarie: signed up one new workplace giving donor
CSU Wagga Wagga: signed up three new regular workplace diving donors
Foundation Day was a successful initiative to drive awareness of CSUgive and the CSU Foundation Trust (CSUFT)
How
Events were held on the following campuses which resulted in contributions to CSUgive / CSUFT:
• CSU Albury
• CSU Bathurst
• CSU Port Macquarie
• CSU Wagga Wagga
An email campaign was also sent to 83,506 Alumni recipients to drive awareness of the event and encourage involvement via CSUgive.
Foundation Day provided a timely opportunity to connect with CSU Alumni and promote CSUgive
Foundation Day generated significant staff and alumni interest in CSUgive with potential to boost involvement from stakeholders in future years
22
What Advancement are saying
Advancement see great opportunity to develop the Foundation Day event in the future
The Advancement team has noted an increase in student scholarship enquiries
(several months earlier than usual)
Historical/reflective social media posts were by far the most popular, with positive engagement
Interactive strategies have been discussed, such as Alumni Foundation Day ambassadors, volunteering and
competitions
The CSUFT sees great merit in this event and would like to extend the promotions
to the wider community in 2016
CSUFT would like to discuss the potential of using Foundation Day (in
part) as an annual fundraising day for the CSUFT
Advancement will aim to expand reach to alumni
and develop greater engagement
The interaction with alumni was notable, with many students
reflecting on their time at CSU
23
Evaluating online and media activity4
- How many posts to social media? - How many people used the hashtag - #celebratecsu ? - How much media coverage was gained?
Evaluating online activity4
What
The Foundation Day social media campaign was designed to:
• Capture the atmosphere of Foundation Day and share it with the CSU community
• Engage with current students and staff on social media
• Encourage and share user-generated content
• Share Foundation Day with online students, alumni and community
Social media activities aimed to introduce Snapchat as a new way of connecting with CSU, share user-generated content with the CSU community and grow CSU’s online community.
Limitations
For future campaigns, greater coordination with other CSU branded social media channels is required and training for administrators of CSU accounts is also recommended in order to ensure consistency of messages.
The social media campaign aims for the inaugural Foundation Day were met.
How
The Foundation Day social media campaign was launched on 8 July 2015.
Social media channels used included:• Facebook• Twitter• Instagram• Snapchat• LinkedIn• Storify
Stakeholders were encouraged to share photos in the lead up to and during the Foundation Day event using #celebratecsu to connect with the day.
Social media engagement reached an audience of over 132,435 during the campaign and 616 new followers were gained across all social media channels
Social media was used as a means to engage CSU stakeholders and grow the University’s online audience.
Social media reach and engagement - Facebook
Facebook was a popular and effective tool to promote Foundation Day to all stakeholders and create engagement
• 12 posts made to CSU (Charles Sturt University) Facebook page• Total reach of 103,960• 361 new Likes as a result of the posts during the campaign• 344 RSVP’s to Foundation Day Facebook event
Total Facebook reach between 8 – 23 July 2015
NB: this diagram also includes posts from this period that were not related to Foundation Day
Highest reach: Foundation Day photo album posted on Foundation Day, updated on Thursday 23 July which reached a total of 40,447
Highest engagement: video of Sunrise presenter Edwina Batholomew, calling out to Journalism students in CSU Bathurst before dawn – 17% engagement
Social media reach and engagement - Instagram• 8 posts to @charlessturtuni• 150 new followers (24% increase)• 242 Likes – average 30 Likes per photo• 7 comments
Instagram was an effective visual tool to give life to Foundation Day and associated activities
Most likes: Photo of Sunrise’s Edwina Bartholomew at CSU Bathurst with a group of students – 55 Likes
Social media reach and engagement - Twitter• 28 Tweets to @charlessturtuni• 105 new followers• 27,706 impressions• 26 retweets• 49 favourites
Twitter was a useful tool in providing real-time updates about Foundation Day in the lead up to, and during, the event
Highest engagement: 5.2%
Average engagement: 1.4% compared to 1.2% for all tweets during the Foundation Day period
Snapchat
• 52 opens for the first ever three snaps to CharlesSturtUni Snapchat account
• Foundation Day open average per snap was 251, a 483% increase
• 32 screenshots of Foundation Day snaps
• A number of students sent snaps to the CharlesSturtUni account of their Foundation Day experiences
Snapchat was successfully introduced to the CSU social media suite for Foundation Day 2015, providing stakeholders with behind the scenes access to Foundation Day activities as they unfolded
Storify
• 1,972 views of the Storify feed
Storify provided an engaging means to collate social media activity during Foundation Day via the Foundation Day event landing page
• 2 posts aimed at CSU Alumni
• Post 1: 28, 265 impressions, 51 likes, 2 comments
• Post 2: 42, 437 impressions, 74 likes
LinkedIn was an effective tool to engage with CSU Alumni and inform them of the Foundation Day events
Social media reach and engagement – Snapchat, LinkedIn & Storify
Social media reach and engagement – #celebratecsu
All Foundation Day stakeholders were encouraged to use the hashtag #celebratecsu when sharing content about Foundation Day on all social media accounts
Instagram• 85 posts featured #celebratecsu• 90% user-generated (total of 77) posts
Facebook• 89 posts featured #celebratecsu• 86% user-generated (total of 77) posts
Twitter• 89 Tweets featured #celebratecsu• 74% user-generated (total 66) posts
A large number of community members, including media outlets and Alumni, used #celebratecsu when sharing content from Foundation Day
NB: figures on ‘user-generated’ posts for all three social networks include posts from CSU-affiliated pages (e.g. CSU Alumni, CSU Print) as well as content generated organically by students, staff, alumni and community
Evaluating media activity4
What
A Foundation Day media release was distributed on Tuesday 21 July 2015, outlining event activities and encouraging stakeholders to get involved.
Foundation Day media activities aimed to generate wide spread interest in the event across the CSU campus footprint
Coverage
The Foundation Day media release generated:
• 6 media enquiries
• 22 media mentions
• 194 online views
Media coverage included print, online and broadcast media outlets, covering local and regional media markets within the CSU campus footprint.
The Foundation Day media release provided valuable support for the event.
The most valuable media coverage was achieved via broadcast channels, notably six Sunrise live-crosses from CSU Bathurst, presented by CSU alumni Edwina Batholomew. This also resulted in national coverage of the event and resulted in additional online coverage
Thank you.
31
