Student Veterans of America Campaign Proposal

Student Veterans of America
PROPOSAL // LANDMARK PR // DECEMBER 2015
Opportunity and Approach
In the past, we have witnessed a perception of

the Broken Veteran. Teachers, administrators,
campus communities, and other civilians are
largely unaware of the positive impacts veterans
can and do make in regards to their educational
careers.
This is a moment of wonderful opportunity. As
more than a million service men and women
end their military careers and return to civilian
life, education will be at the forefront of their
transition.
We are Landmark PR and we have the mindset
of creating possibility. Our campaign, titled The
Road Ahead, will allow us to work with Student
Veterans of America to foster a positive learning
environment for veterans across the country.
Lets get started!
Table of Contents
Landmark PR
Summary of Problem
Research
SWOT Analysis
Secondary Research
Primary Research
11
12
14
16
Planning
Goal
Objectives
Publics
Key messages
Spokesperson
Communication Theory
21
22
23
24
26
27
28
Implementation
Strategies and Tactics
Timeline
Budget
31
33
56
61
Evaluation
63
Our company
Our company
Mara Dworkin, President
Mara has a background in consumer and hospitality PR and has experience in media relations. When she is
not at work, you can find her binge watching Netflix or hitting in the gym.
Kendra Fernandes, Account Executive

Landmark PR
Landmark PR is a full service agency located in Washington, D.C.
Started in 2015 by five University of Maryland graduates, LPR prides
itself on its attention to detail and individual approach to every client.
In the past, LPR has created campaigns for several local and national
organizations, and continues to expand its reach.
Kendra has experience in sports, fashion, hospitality and entertainment PR, along with additional work in
marketing and promotions. Outside of the office, shes likely quoting movies with a slice of pizza in hand.
Megan Landau, Campaign Strategist
Megan Landau has experience in public relations and marketing for non-profits, agencies, start-ups and
financial firms. When shes not working, you can find her dreaming about all of the places she hopes to travel.
Sophia Vo, Research Director
Sophia takes special interests in both non-profit events and event planning. Outside of work, Sophia enjoys
watching movies and TV shows, exploring new restaurants and listening to music.
Makeda Solomon, Creative Director
Makeda has experience in public relations and event planning for non-profits, student affairs, start-ups and
the arts. Outside of work, Makeda enjoys relaxing with a cup of tea and her favorite sketch book.
6 / LANDMARK PR / PROPOSAL
Summary of Problem
PROBLEM STATEMENT:
Veterans returning to school feel unaware

and isolated while adjusting to civilian life.
Summary of problem
Student Veterans of America is looking for a way to change perceptions
about veterans, increase awareness of veterans on college campuses
and in communities, and increase the support and networks for
these deserving individuals. Our campaign is focused on creating
an environment on college campuses around the nation that will be
supportive and inviting for student veterans of all ages and demographics.
Research
SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
o Positive national reputation

o Extensive peer-to-peer network for veterans
o Employees that hold firsthand experience and advocate
for student veteran causes
o Powerful corporate partners (Google, Microsoft, Prudential)
o Legislation that aids the organizational mission
o Diverse representation of veterans across nation
o Lacks strong connection to university students, staff and faculty on many

campuses
o Weak presence in smaller communities and community colleges
o Low level of awareness for organization and mission among civilians
o Fairly new organization (Est. 2008)
o Lacking approachability by uninformed publics
Opportunities
Threats
o Many campuses with room for student group development and expansion
o High volume of student veterans in the Maryland state school system that can
jump start the program
o Prominent ROTC programs at universities and community colleges
o Desire from student veterans to become more informed about resources
o Ability to change the veteran narrative
o
o
o
o
o
Lack of interest or knowledge from student body/organizations

Not a pressing issue for university officials- lack of involvement
Lack of funding and help from state officials
Veterans have busy schedules and may not be able to attend campus activities
Veterans may feel lost and confused in a new setting that keeps them from
getting involved or poses a threat to the campus (PTSD)
Seconary Research

To begin our research, we first looked at SVAs
online communications platforms. We found that SVA is
very active on their social media accounts and uses these
methods to encourage engagement with their publics.
We looked through the website, clicking on different tabs
and reviewing the material they posted. This gave us a
good idea of who they are as an organization and what
information they have already shared. We researched
SVAs mission and their current and previous programs.
It gave us a good overview of the entire organizations
goal and a look at what SVA chapters at a variety of
universities and colleges are doing. We were then
able to relate their mission and programs to frame our
approaches to the problems student veterans face when
transitioning to civilian life.

After looking at the website, we looked at the
social media efforts of SVA. We first looked at the
Twitter account and saw that they are very active on
their accounts: retweeting students, starting hashtags,
posting photos, and tweeting consistently and regularly.
When looking at their Facebook page, we saw that they
had roughly 14,300 likes and were very active with their
posts. We also briefly looked at their LinkedIn, Google+
and Instagram. They are lacking followers on YouTube,
Google+ and Instagram, but on LinkedIn they have a solid
following and are generally active on there.

Secondary Research

To successfully address the right campaign to our
target audience, we conducted secondary research on
characteristics of todays student veterans. According
to the Department of Veterans Affairs, student veterans
or service members are racially and ethnically diverse,
and compared with non-veteran/civilian students, they
are older, more likely to be male than female, and more
likely to represent the first generation in their families to
attend a college or university (Kim & Cole, J. 2013). The
VA Campus Toolkit, created by the National Center for
PTSD, also highlights some key findings addressing the
characteristics of todays student veterans and amount of
those who are benefited from GI Bills.

Our team also found that for a veteran, making
the transition from military life to college life can be
especially difficult. Beyond the stresses of the classroom,
veterans must cope with a host of other issues, from
anxiety disorders to simply feeling like they fit in. Ten
issues affecting the men and women whove gone from
the service to campus: Post-Military identity, making
every day-life decision, stress/anxiety disorders, campus
engagement, feeling safe, paying tuition, relating to
non-veteran students, boredom, and physical disability
(Wiener-Bronner 2010).

A brief used data from the 2012 National Survey
of Student Engagement (NSSE), an annual survey of
students enrolled in four-year universities, to assess
how student veterans/service members perceive their
integration on campus. In general, NSSE data are

revealing as to student veterans/service members
preferences and their allocation of time, in addition to
demographic characteristics that can in part explain
differences in their engagement in college and university
life and education. Although their engagement is
strong in some areasespecially in activities related to
courseworktheir engagement in co-curricular activities
and other areas that form college and university life is not
as strong as that of their non-veteran/civilian peers (Kim &
Cole J. 2013).
Resources. The university provides a specialized website,

which provides both online and on campus resources
for student veterans to utilize in their transition to the
UNC campus. On the homepage of this site, there is
a detailed description explaining how the university
values its student veterans as a vital component to
their campus. The description then goes on to explain
how the site is designed to help students help them
transition into campus life from their past military duties.
By assuring their students veterans of how valued they
are on UNCs campus, this description provides a more
open welcoming to these students to have a more

From an article on Washington Post, our team
comfortable transition to a college campus. The website
found that veterans feel less supported than their peers
offers an array of resources for student veterans to take
on college campuses and feel more comfortable in the
advantage of, including a resource team directory, links
workplace than they do in an undergraduate classroom.
to important online information (e.g. military education
This article also highlighted ways colleges could help
benefits), veteran-targeted campus events, and a list
their student veterans to feel welcome on their campus
of student veteran-related campus organizations and
by giving them credits for their time overseas, being more clubs. UNCs efforts to integrate have been recognized
aware of housing plans, gaining understanding of their
by multiple, local news sources, such as WUNC and
time in the military, and other proactive measures. This
WNCN. UNCs success serves as an example of how the
article helped our team understand what most student
accessibility of student veteran programs at other schools
veterans could do with their post-service benefits so we
have effectively generated coverage and impacted
could tailor a plan that make their college experiences
the integration and involvement student veterans on a
interesting and worthwhile (Johnson 2010).
college campus. This research helped in the creation
of our campaigns goal, objectives and implementation

As another source for our secondary research, we
and taught us what resources and approaches reach our
studied other universities successful student veteran
primary public, student veterans.
programs. One universitys program that stood out to us
was the University of North Carolina Charlottes Veterans
Primary Research

After conducting our secondary research, we looked at our findings and discussed what areas of
information we were missing that would be help in gaining a better understanding of who student veterans
are, and what their needs are on campus. We came up with a number of methodologies that would provide us
with a better understanding of the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats of SVA.
We conducted the following methodologies:
-Observations: Observed Veterans Day activities on UMDs campus and on social media
-Reddit: Posted 2 discussion questions on Student Veterans of America subreddit and the Veterans subreddit
-Survey of Veterans: Surveyed 28 veterans in an online survey
-Survey of civilian students: Surveyed 81 people in an online survey

To begin our primary research, we started by observing activities on campus during Veterans Day on
November 12th. We wanted to view the different activities UMDs campus participates in so that we may get
an idea of how campuses and students celebrate Veterans Day. We observed very few campus activities, but
did notice that President Wallace Loh sent an email to the student body celebrating a fellow UMD veteran,
Captain Florent Groberg. He also invited students to come to a remembrance service in the Memorial Chapel
that day. Besides these observations, we noticed few on campus activities that involved SVA.

Our second method of primary research was using the online forum, Reddit. We posted a question in
both the Veterans and SVA subreddit. In a week, we received more than 15 responses that detailed student
veterans feelings regarding going back to school. We asked the following question in both subreddits:

If you have gone back to school, what has been your biggest challenge with returning to school?
(e.g. lack of on-campus support and resources)
16/ LANDMARK PR / PROPOSAL
Primary Research

Our responses showed three overall themes: frustration, isolation, and success. We found that many
veterans were frustrated with the lack of support and understanding in universities. They said their teachers
and administrators fail to understand their busy schedules and PTSD symptoms. They also responded that
they are frustrated with the young student body and their lack of professionalism in class. Stemming off
these responses, we also found that some veterans feel isolated on campus. They feel as though no one
understands them and that there is no help for them on campus. From frustrated and isolated, we also found
that there were a few responses that showed thriving veterans. They spoke of their successes and their
excitement for the future. Overall, these responses helped us to establish profiles for different veterans we
would like to help.

Along with the discussion question, we also posted a link to a UMD Qualtrics Survey that ask a
number of questions specifically about how veterans interact on their campuses. We received responses
from 11 different universities. We received 28 responses to our 29 question survey that gave us a deeper
understanding into how student veterans feel on their campus. Majority of our participants were male and
between the ages of 23-32 and lived between 4-6 miles away from campus. Our results showed an interest
in more opportunities for student veterans to get help or assistance on campus, but less of an interest to join
clubs or activities with other students. Our results also indicated that many veterans felt their teachers were
unresponsive to their needs and their situations and this hindered their success in school.

After surveying student veterans, we sent out a survey to students on their understanding and
knowledge of student veterans on campus. We sent a 15-question survey to 81 participants through UMD
Qualtrics Survey Software and received a wide range of answers. We found that most students knew very
little about student veterans and the issues they deal with everyday. Many said they feel disconnected to
veterans because most veterans are older and already have children and jobs. They cant relate and therefore
do not take the time to look for veterans in their classes.
Primary Research
Pre-Campaign Survey
Prior to our campaign, a pre-test will be sent out to student veterans on all target campuses in order to
survey the current attitudes of student veterans. This survey will assist us in creating unique campaigns for
each campus based on their needs. The survey will be administered to each individual campus 1 month
prior to the start of the campaign on that campus. These results will be used later on in the campaign during
the evaluations stage. The survey questions will be based on a 5-point Likert Scale, ranging from Strongly
Disagree to Strongly Agree.
Scale
1= Strongly Disagree | 2 = Disagree | 3 = Neutral | 4 = Agree | 5 = Strongly Agree
Pre-test
1. I think my administrators and teachers are understanding of my schedule and needs as a student veteran
2. I feel comfortable using campus resources
3. I fully understand the GI Bill and its benefits
4. I struggle to find ways to balance my home, school and work life
5. I enjoy going to school here and feel as though I belong
Planning
Objectives
Ensure that 40% of veterans who identified as isolated or frustrated in a

pre-test respond with strongly agree when asked about campus resources in
post-test.
Improve student veterans communication with administration and teachers by
40% as evaluated by the student veteran post-test.
GOAL:
To create a favorable environment

for veterans to succeed academically,
financially and socially
Ensure that 75% of civilian campus and community members on and around 15
target campuses feel aware of veterans in their community within three months
of the final visit.
Increase SVAs appearance on campus by 60% within three months of
campaign.
Generate coverage of campaign activities in 3 prominent media channels per
week during the 15-week bus tour.
Receive 800 visitors per week on The Road Ahead website throughout the 8
month bus tour.
Publics
Veteran Profiles
Primary
Secondary
o Student veterans
o Family members who are benefiting from the GI Bil
o Civilian campus community

o Teachers and administrators
Moderating
o Legislators
o Veteran agencies
Intervening
o Traditional and social media

Our first primary public is student veterans. Through our research, we created three profiles of different kinds of
student veterans that could be identified based on their wants, needs and problems. These profiles are explained on
the following page. In addition to student veterans, our campaign focuses on family members who are benefiting from
the GI Bill. Benefits that can be transferred to spouses and children include compensation, education and training, life
insurance, pension, vocational rehabilitation and employment. Educating and informing this public is very important
because knowing how to navigate the bill and its benefits is no longer an individual need, but one that affects families.

The secondary publics we identified are the non-military campus community and campus administrators. The
non-military campus community is an important piece of our campaign because in our research we found that Isolated
and frustrated veterans felt a disconnect with their civilian peers, which can be attributed to a lack of awareness and
education about student veterans. Additionally, the campus administration is a crucial part of student veterans time
at universities. Our research showed student veterans feel frustrated or misunderstood by faculty, and neglected
and overlooked by counselors and other personnel. By informing this public, we hope to change the environment for
student veterans in the classroom, and to make returning to school a smoother, more comfortable change.

Our intervening publics, traditional and social media, are important because they will help carry the messages
of our campaign on to local and national sources. Together, the media coverage we receive as well as the media
we produce on our campaign website will help our moderating publics, legislators and veteran agencies, to see that
veterans are not broken; instead, they are impactful members of campus communities.
Frustrated Veterans
Isolated Veterans
Thriving Veterans
Frustrated veterans are those

who are concerned with the lack
of support and assistance offered
to them by their schools. Many
feel as though their administrators
lack understanding of their busy
schedules or competing time
commitments. These veterans also
feel some frustration toward other
students in their classes.
Many respondents in our primary

research shared that they felt lonely,
misunderstood, or ostracized by their
peers. Some suffered from PTSD,
while others simply felt removed
from the campus community and
social life. Many of these student
veterans felt that their campus lacked
resources that would help them to
overcome these issues and adjust
to life in college. This profile does
not imply that these veterans are
crippled by mental health problems,
but rather that they could be thriving
more with better care, outreach and
help. Isolated veterans have the
opportunity to grow both socially and
academically.
Thriving veterans are those who

adjust well socially and academically.
These veterans are aware of GI Bill
benefits. Many of the students in this
profile are younger, meaning they
have less commitments outside of
school and therefore more time to
navigate campus resources. Others
thrive due to their knowledge of the
GI Bill and how this legislation can
be used to benefit themselves, their
spouses, and their children.
Many of us are slightly older and

our time in the service has given us
some maturitythis resulted in a lot
of frustration from me dealing with
people with different priorities
learning how to deal with normal
people again in that environment.
Reddit user
I got one of two reactions [about
my PTSD]: 1) if you miss class it will
be held against you regardless,
or 2) Please dont shoot up the
schoolwithout actually saying it, but
implied.
Reddit user
I feel invisible and like a pariah. I

dont fit in. I cant relate to kids, they
cant relate to me. I hate it. The last 3
years have been miserable for me. I
cant wait until its over.
Reddit user
Ive been on active duty since 98

and earned 2 masters degrees.
By agreeing to serve an additional
4 years, I was able to transfer 36
months of the GI Bill between my
3 kids. Both my wife and I went to
school and graduated debt-free. Its
important to us that our children can
do the same. Having an advanced
education means they can enter
a profession they love and can
succeed in. The Post 9/11 GI Bill is
giving our family that opportunity.
Reddit user
Key Messages
Spokesperson
THEME:
The Road Ahead for Student Veterans

You drive your own success
Student veterans have the opportunity to receive an education and pursue
a new course in life. Taking advantage of academic and social opportunities,
educating yourself about benefits, and forming understanding relationships with
administrators and peers can guide this journey.
Learning how to navigate a new map
Student veterans are often not familiar with civilian life at colleges and universities.
These new maps are hard to navigate without the proper resources and support.
The campaign and its tactics will help these veterans learn how to move forward,
and learn their best course.
Our national spokesperson will be SVAs acting president and CEO, Jared Lyon. Lyon will not be
traveling with the Road Ahead bus tour, but will serve our promotional and national media-related
needs. Although trust in CEOs as spokespeople can be lower than other individuals, Lyons
profile is one that many student veterans can either identify with or aspire to. Lyon is a veteran
of the U.S. Navy and has many accomplishments in his post-military career. While completing
his associates degree in business administration at Brevard Community College, he worked as
an electronic systems administrator. After working several more jobs, Lyon returned to get his
bachelors degree in social science at Florida State University where he served as president
of an SVA chapter and a social fraternity. Lyons story encompasses the kind of veterans we
hope to see down the road. He applied himself academically, both at community and traditional
colleges, as well as socially.
Communication Theory
Situational Theory of Publics

Developed by professor James Grunig of the University of Maryland, College Park, the situational theory
of publics defines that publics can be identified and classified in the context to which they are aware of the
problem and the extent to which they do something about the problem (Social Media & Public Relations
Theories, 1).
`The key variables in this theory are problem recognition, constraint recognition, level of involvement,
information seeking and information processing. Problem recognition is the extent to which individuals
recognize a problem (Social Media & Public Relations Theories, 1). In this case, student veterans would
have high problem recognition as our primary public, while civilian students and administration likely
have low problem recognition. Constraint recognition, or the extent to which individuals see their actions
limited by factors beyond their own control, is once again high in student veterans, especially those
profiled as frustrated and isolated (Social Media & Public Relations Theories, 1). Frustrated veterans see
the administration as a limit or roadblock to their success, so they feel discouraged and incapable. Level
of involvement measures how personally relevant a problem is for an individual. A higher involvement
increases the likelihood of individuals attending to and comprehending messages (Social Media & Public
Relations Theories, 1). Student veterans and their families have the highest level of involvement as the primary
publics, but professors may feel a slightly higher level of involvement than other students due to their role in
educating and grading student veterans.

Information seeking is active communication behavior. These individuals look for information and try to
understand it when they obtain the information (Social Media & Public Relations Theories, 1). Student veterans
in the thriving profile are likely the most successful at information seeking, while isolated and frustrated
veterans could be either less involved or less successful at it. The campaign hopes to make more of the
publics active information seekers. Finally, information processing is passive communication behavior. These
publics do not look for information, but they will usually process information that comes to them (Social Media
& Public Relations Theories, 1). We can assume that the majority of civilian students fit this description, but it is
hoped that the campaign moves them to be more active in information seeking.
Implementation
Strategies
The Road Ahead
1. Generate national buzz about the lives of student veterans

2. Motivate GI Bill recipients to take full advantage of their opportunities
3. Encourage those publics who interact with GI Bill recipients to be

attentive to the lives of student veterans
Strategy 1: Tactics
Generate national buzz about the lives of student veterans

1. Use a 30-week nationwide bus tour titled The Road Ahead to interact with
a diverse range of veterans
2. Create a website that showcases the challenges, successes and
opportunities of GI Bill recipients at their respective schools through blog
posts, photos and videos
3. Create accounts for The Road Ahead on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to
share similar content that is shared on the website
4. Write news releases about the activities of the bus tour
STRATEGY ONE: TACTIC ONE
STRATEGY ONE: TACTIC TWO
We will implement a 30-week nationwide bus tour in order to interact with a diverse range of student veterans.
During the tour, we will visit 15 campuses, spending 2 weeks at each campus. The campuses we visit will represent
the many types of schools veterans attend, including traditional universities, community colleges, and trade or
vocational schools. The bus tour will be run by 3 full time SVA staff members: One program director and two program
coordinators. These three staff members will travel cross-country on the bus.
We will create a website for The Road Ahead campaign that showcases the challenges, successes and opportunities
of GI Bill recipients at their respective schools through blog posts, photos and videos. The website will look similar to
Pinterest: There will be one board for each we visit as well as one board for each public we are targeting. Each board
will serve as a central place to learn about the initiatives of the tour.
Nationwide Bus Tour
In our research, we learned that across the nation, there are very low awareness rates about the lives of student
veterans. We hope that the bus tour will help us to garner national attention about the lives of student veterans as we
move across the country.
The Road Ahead Website
In our research, we learned that veterans carry a Broken Vet image. The website will focus on the positive initiatives
of our tour and the positive impacts that student veterans have on their campuses and in their communities.
STRATEGY ONE: TACTIC THREE
STRATEGY ONE: TACTIC FOUR
We will create accounts for The Road Ahead campaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These channels will
share similar content that is shared on the website, including the blogs, videos and photos.
Along with our own social media and website, we plan on using traditional and online media channels to get our
message across to our national public. We will be sending out news releases and tour info to national publications
and TV networks as well as local channels. We will be sending out press releases and tour info to local newspapers,
magazines and bloggers near each target campus prior to our tour bus entering each state. We plan to use a broad
range of media outlets to reach the range of publics our campaign applies to.
The Road Ahead Social Media Channels

We chose Facebook and Twitter because through our social media audit, we found that these channels are already
popular among veterans. We chose Instagram as a more visual tool to share photos and short videos about our
campaign activities.
News Releases to National Media Channels
Sample Media List

TV:
Fox News
ABC
NBS
CBS
Blogs:
Concerned Veterans of America
Vantage Point (US Department of VA)
TheVeteransSite.com
Transitioning Veteran
Women Veterans Rock
Publications:
U.S. Veterans Magazine
American Veteran Magazine
Veterans of Foreign Warsa
Washington Post/ After the Wars
Military Times
Veterans News Now
Veterans Voices Magazines
Strategy 2: Tactics
Motivate GI Bill recipients to take full advantage of their opportunities

Current student veterans and active service members:
1. Appoint at least one student veteran ambassador per school
2. Create a partnership between the bus and each schools counseling center
3. Host workshops that allow student veterans to address their challenges with
relatable peers
4. Host workshops that educate student veterans about the benefits of the GI
Bill and encourage them to fully take advantage of the bill
Family members who benefit from the GI Bill:
5. Write briefs for family members of veterans that educate them about the
benefits of the GI Bill and encourage them to fully take advantage of the bill
6. Host Bright Futures events that highlight the potential of the children of
veterans who are benefiting from the GI Bill
STRATEGY TWO: TACTIC ONE // PUBLIC: CURRENT STUDENT VETERANS
STRATEGY TWO: TACTIC TWO // PUBLIC: CURRENT STUDENT VETERANS
In the planning stages of the campaign, the SVA will release applications in order
to find at least one Student Veteran Ambassador per target campus. After being
chosen, the ambassadors will participate in online training sessions with SVA
staff and the other ambassadors. SVA staff will help the ambassadors to plan,
market, and implement the campaign initiatives on their respective campuses.
Each ambassador will help to bring a local focus to the national campaign.
Ambassadors will earn a $500 stipend for their work.
Before arriving on each campus, the SVA staff and student ambassador will create
a partnership with the schools counseling center. If there are no counselors at
the school who are familiar with veteran issues, SVA staff members will connect
them with training programs to learn more about this specific type of counseling.
The partnership will ensure that during the two weeks when the bus is on campus,
the counseling center will have appointment slots reserved for student veterans
who need mental health services. These appointments will serve as intake
consultations, with the hope that veterans will continue using the counseling
center after the bus leaves.
Student Ambassador Program
In our research, we learned that 57 percent of veterans would apply for an oncampus job if their campus offered these jobs specifically to student veterans.
The responsibility level and stipend associated with this position makes it
comparable to an on-campus job. In addition to offering these job-like benefits
to ambassadors, the position will help to strongly empower at least one student
veteran per campus.
Mental Health Partnerships
In our research, we learned that 43 percent of surveyed veterans have desired

mental health services within the past year, however, only 17 percent of veterans
have used their campus counseling center. We hope this partnership shows
student veterans that they have the option to use counseling services on their
own campus.
STRATEGY TWO: TACTIC THREE // PUBLIC: CURRENT STUDENT VETERANS
STRATEGY TWO: TACTIC FOUR // PUBLIC: CURRENT STUDENT VETERANS
The Road Ahead will sponsor one Veteran Life Workshop at each target campus.
This workshop will help veterans to come together to discuss the similar
challenges they face. At the beginning of the workshop, three group leaders
will stand up and describe their experiences as students. One group leader will
represent the frustrated profile, one the isolated profile, and one the thriving
profile. These profile titles will not specifically be announced, they will simply be
described. Veterans will be asked to form groups depending on which profile they
most identify with. During the group discussion, the veterans will be able to share
their concerns as well as any helpful tools or strategies they have found to deal
with their challenges. After the groups discuss, all workshop attendees will come
together to share important points from their respective group.
The Road Ahead will sponsor one GI Bill Workshop at each target campus. Prior
to the workshop, the SVA staff and the schools ambassador will work together to
identify the best GI Bill-related resources that the school and general community
has to offer. In addition, the workshop leaders will present general information
about the benefits and opportunities associated with the bill. All of this information
will also be posted in a blog post on The Road Ahead website under the
respective schools board.
Veteran Life Workshops
In our research, we learned that most veterans are not interested in joining
clubs or organizations on campus. However, our research also showed that
many veterans feel alone in their problems. This workshop idea stemmed from
the veterans desires to unite with relatable peers without taking on the time
commitment of joining a club.
GI Bill Workshops
In our research, we found that many student veterans have trouble navigating the
GI Bill. This workshop will give veterans advice on how to fully take advantage of
the bill and to overcome any challenges associated with the bill. The blog post will
provide the same information to student veterans who were not able to attend the
workshop.
STRATEGY TWO: TACTIC FIVE // PUBLIC: FAMILY MEMBERS WHO BENEFIT FROM THE GI BILL
STRATEGY TWO: TACTIC SIX // PUBLIC: FAMILY MEMBERS WHO BENEFIT FROM THE GI BILL
The Road Ahead will create GI Bill briefings that are relevant to each community
that the bus tour targets. Prior to arriving on campus, the SVA staff and the
schools ambassador will work together to identify the best GI Bill-related
resources that the general community has to offer. In addition, the briefings will
explain the ways veterans can extend the bills benefits to family members. These
briefs will be made available on The Road Aheads website, and hard copy briefs
will be available throughout the two-week visit so that student veterans can bring
them home to their family members.
The Road Ahead will host two Bright Futures events: One at our first school,
University of Maryland, and one at our last school, University of Southern
California. These events will highlight the potential of the children who are
receiving transferred GI Bill benefits from their veteran parents. The events will
offer food, drinks, and recognition for the children.
GI Bill Briefings
One of the overall campaign priorities listed in the SVA briefing was to ensure that
the families of veterans are informed consumers of the GI Bill, and we think this
briefing method is an effective way to convey this information to family members.
Bright Futures Events
The SVA briefing mentioned how children with transferred benefits might be more
motivated to achieve in primary or secondary school if they have what amounts
to a partial or total college scholarship. The briefing continued to explain how it
follows that their prospects of getting into college and their general well-being
could be improved. We think the Bright Futures events, which will honor children
at a young age, will add to this positive cycle of events.
Strategy 3: Tactics
Encourage those publics who interact with GI Bill recipients to be attentive to

the lives of student veterans
Civilian members of the campus community:
1. Invite members of the campus community into the bus to view a Student
Veteran Gallery
2. Encourage members of the campus community to participate in a social media
campaign about the lives of student veterans using #TheRoadAhead
Teachers and school administrators
3. Host workshops that educate the staff and administrators of target campuses
about the challenges of student veterans
4. Encourage leaders of SVA clubs to start a monthly newsletter at their respective
schools that will be sent to teachers and administrators
Future employers of student veterans
5. Create videos and write blog posts that highlight the successes of employed
veterans in the most popular industries for veterans
STRATEGY THREE: TACTIC ONE // PUBLIC: CIVILIAN MEMBERS OF THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
STRATEGY THREE: TACTIC TWO // PUBLIC: CIVILIAN MEMBERS OF THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
The Road Ahead bus will function as a Student Veteran Gallery. When the bus
arrives on campus, the gallery will be opened up to any member of the campus
community who wants to learn more about student veterans. Prior to the
campaign, the SVA bus staff will develop the photos, videos and pieces of writing
that will be included in the gallery.
After civilian members of the campus community experience the Student Veteran
Gallery on the bus, they will be encouraged to participate in a social media
campaign using #TheRoadAhead. The tweets, Instagrams, Facebook posts and
other social media posts using this hashtag will serve as reminders about the
positive impacts student veterans are making throughout the country.
In our research, we found that in general, civilian members of campus

communities have very low awareness levels regarding veterans on their
campuses. For example, 91 percent of civilian students who we surveyed have
never heard of SVA, 64 percent are not aware of veterans on their campus, and
80 percent rarely or never interact with veterans on campus. In addition, 53
percent said they have heard of the GI Bill but dont have a good understanding of
it, while 28 percent have never heard of the bill. We hope the gallery will increase
general awareness about student veterans so that the campus community will be
more comfortable for them.
We know that not all members of the campus community will enter the Student
Veteran Gallery, so the social media campaign will serve as a way to disseminate
this important information to other members of the community.
Student Veteran Gallery
#TheRoadAhead
STRATEGY THREE: TACTIC THREE // PUBLIC: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS
STRATEGY THREE: TACTIC FOUR // PUBLIC: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS
The Road Ahead will sponsor one Teaching Student Veterans workshop on
each target campus. This workshop will allow teachers and administrators to
come together to learn about the challenges student veterans face and the
opportunities their school has to offer to struggling veterans.
During the bus tour, SVA staff members will meet with members of each schools
SVA club and they will encourage each club to create a monthly Teaching
Student Veterans newsletter that will be distributed to the schools teachers and
administrators. The newsletters would highlight campus and community programs
that are available to veterans, as well as teaching methods that are conducive to
the challenges student veterans face. The newsletter would be in the hands of the
SVA club on each campus, which would allow this tactic to continue following the
end of the bus tour.
Teaching Student Veterans Workshops
In our research, we learned that the majority of veterans feel that their teachers
are very unresponsive to concerns related to finances, time and availability,
children, mental health, and other jobs or careers. Many teachers are simply not
educated or aware about the challenges veterans might face, and this workshop
will help administrators and teachers to come together to find solutions for these
problems.
Teaching Student Veterans Newsletters
STRATEGY THREE: TACTIC FIVE // PUBLIC: FUTURE EMPLOYERS OF STUDENT VETERANS
Successful Veteran Blogs and Videos

Before the bus arrives on each campus, the student ambassador will identify at
least one successful recent graduate who is working in a popular industry for
veterans. These industries include business, computer technology, firefighting
and more. When the bus arrives, one SVA staff member will go to the workplace
of the successful veteran to gather information for a blog post or video about the
veteran. This blog post or video will be featured on The Road Aheads website
and social media channels.
The SVA briefing mentioned employers as one of the secondary audiences of the
campaign. We hope the videos and blog posts about successful working veterans
will inspire positive thinking about veterans in the workforce, therefore shattering
the Broken Veteran image that student veterans currently carry.
Campaign Timeline
Bus Tour Map
Sample Timeline
Sample Timeline
Sample Timeline: University of Maryland

-Planning

-July 2016

-UMD student veterans apply for ambassador position

-August 2015

-SVA chooses ambassador

-Ambassador participates in webinar and other online planning sessions

with SVA and other student ambassadors

-August/September 2015

-Ambassador markets the program on the UMD campus, assists SVA in

securing event spaces, assists SVA in making connections with existing

campus groups, etc.

-Invitations sent for Bright Futures event
Implementation (Weeks of Sept. 12 and Sept. 19)

-See implementation timeline to the right
Evaluation

-Post-test survey released week of December 19
Budget
Evaluation
Evaluation
Post-Campaign Survey
Following our campaign, we will conduct a post-test survey at each individual campus in order to evaluate
our campaign. The survey will be administered 3 months following the visit on each individual campus. This
will provide us a chance to look at how awareness and attitudes of student veterans have changed after the
campaign. The survey is based off of the questions asked during the pre-test. The survey questions will be
based on a 5-point Likert Scale, ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree.
Scale
1= Strongly Disagree | 2 = Disagree | 3 = Neutral | 4 = Agree | 5 = Strongly Agree
Post-test
1. I feel that my administrators and teachers are more understanding of my schedule and needs as a veteran
2. I feel more comfortable using campus resources
3. I understand the GI Bill and its benefits better now
4. I enjoy going to school here and feel as though I belong
5. I think our campus is more aware of student veterans on campus
6. I learned better ways to balance home, school and work life
Evaluation
Evaluation
Preparation
The last three months of the campaign will be the time when we reflect on our campaign and its outcomes
and collect responses from our publics and participants for future reference. We will also determine if we
addressed the right problem as identified through our primary and secondary research. We will evaluate if our
campaign elements including budget, staff, timing, messages, materials and channels were the best fit for the
campaign.
Implementation
We will evaluate how well we used our online communication resources such as blogs, videos, photos
websites, social media and press releases to reach our target audience and to announce the nationwide bus
tour. A reliable way to measure the impact of the campaign is to monitor the amount of engagement on the
Road Ahead website and from followers social media accounts. This will give a quantitative measurement.
For a qualitative measurement, we will monitor what people are saying about us from the target campuses
and look at posts people write on SVAs social media pages. We will also look at responses to and stories
from the local media channels. During this phase we will count our media placements to see if we achieved
coverage in 3 prominent media channels per week during the 8 month road trip, or whether we exceeded or
fell short of projected objective. We will also look at the attendance of our events across campuses the bus
visited and compare it to our objective of motivating administrators and traditional students to be more aware
of student veterans.
Impact
Our team will evaluate if we achieved or exceeded the results that we established at the start. We will see
if the campaign met the objectives of encouraging student veterans to take full advantages of available
resources on campus and motivating administrators and civilian students to be more attentive to their student
veterans. A personal evaluation method would be to ask our participants and publics about how they heard
about SVA services on target campuses and to record their response. We will also be sending out the postcampaign survey questions to participants and followers.
Preparation:
Did we conduct enough thorough research prior to the campaign?

Was our budget big enough for The Road Ahead Bus tour?
Did our timeline work effectively?
Did the channels we use successfully reach our target public?
Did we have enough employees involved in the road trip?
Implementation:
Were we able to educate our publics on the benefits of the GI Bill and campus resources?
Did we increase awareness and change attitudes from civilian students and campus administration about
student veterans on college campuses?
Impact:
Did opinions change among student veterans?

Did we create an environment that makes student veterans feel more comfortable on campus?
Did we increase awareness of student veterans on campuses nationally?
Did we improve understanding of student veterans needs on college campuses?
Sources
Cate, C.A. (March, 2014). Million Records Project: Research from Student Veterans of America. Student
Veterans of America, Washington, DC.
Johnson, J. (November 2010). How can colleges help student veterans? Washington Post.
Johnson, J. (November 2010). Veterans Who Go Back to School Want More Support. Washington Post.
Kim Y. and Cole J. (December 2013). Student Veterans/Service Members Engagement in College and
University Life and Education. American Council on Education and National Survey of Student Engagement.
Queen, B., & Lewis, L. (February, 2014). Services and support programs for military service members and
veterans at postsecondary institutions, 2012-2013. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National
Center for Education Statistics.
Radford, W.W. & Wun, J. (April, 2009). A profile of military Service Members and Veterans enrolled in
postsecondary education in 2007-2008. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for
Education Statistics.
Social Media & Public Relations Theories. (2010, June 14). Retrieved December 15, 2015, from http://
simplyevolve.com/social-media-public-relations-theories/
Steele, J.L., Salcedo, N., & Coley, J. (November, 2010). Service members in school: Military Veterans
Experiences using the Post 9/11 GI Bill and Pursuing Postsecondary Education. RAND Corporation and the
American Council on Education. .
Wiener-Bronner, D. (November 2010). 10 Issues Affecting Student Veterans. The Huffington Post.
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Student Veterans of America

PROPOSAL // LANDMARK PR // DECEMBER 2015

Opportunity and Approach

In the past, we have witnessed a perception of

Lets get started!

Mara Dworkin, President

Kendra Fernandes, Account Executive

Megan Landau, Campaign Strategist

Sophia Vo, Research Director

Makeda Solomon, Creative Director

Veterans returning to school feel unaware

o Positive national reputation

o Lacks strong connection to university students, staff and faculty on many

Lack of interest or knowledge from student body/organizations

integration on campus. In general, NSSE data are

Resources. The university provides a specialized website,

16/ LANDMARK PR / PROPOSAL

Ensure that 40% of veterans who identified as isolated or frustrated in a

To create a favorable environment

o Civilian campus community

Frustrated veterans are those

Many respondents in our primary

Thriving veterans are those who

Many of us are slightly older and

I feel invisible and like a pariah. I

Ive been on active duty since 98

The Road Ahead for Student Veterans

Situational Theory of Publics

The Road Ahead

1. Generate national buzz about the lives of student veterans

Generate national buzz about the lives of student veterans

STRATEGY ONE: TACTIC ONE

STRATEGY ONE: TACTIC TWO

Nationwide Bus Tour

The Road Ahead Website

STRATEGY ONE: TACTIC THREE

STRATEGY ONE: TACTIC FOUR

The Road Ahead Social Media Channels

News Releases to National Media Channels

Sample Media List

Motivate GI Bill recipients to take full advantage of their opportunities

STRATEGY TWO: TACTIC ONE // PUBLIC: CURRENT STUDENT VETERANS

STRATEGY TWO: TACTIC TWO // PUBLIC: CURRENT STUDENT VETERANS

Student Ambassador Program

Mental Health Partnerships

In our research, we learned that 43 percent of surveyed veterans have desired

STRATEGY TWO: TACTIC THREE // PUBLIC: CURRENT STUDENT VETERANS

STRATEGY TWO: TACTIC FOUR // PUBLIC: CURRENT STUDENT VETERANS

Veteran Life Workshops

Bright Futures Events

Encourage those publics who interact with GI Bill recipients to be attentive to

In our research, we found that in general, civilian members of campus

Student Veteran Gallery

STRATEGY THREE: TACTIC THREE // PUBLIC: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS

STRATEGY THREE: TACTIC FOUR // PUBLIC: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS

Teaching Student Veterans Workshops

Teaching Student Veterans Newsletters

STRATEGY THREE: TACTIC FIVE // PUBLIC: FUTURE EMPLOYERS OF STUDENT VETERANS

Successful Veteran Blogs and Videos

Bus Tour Map