Home Matters

Brick-By-Brick

Table of Contents

Background...................................................................1

Campaign Overview......................................................1

Primary Research..........................................................3

Secondary Research.....................................................3

Key Messages...............................................................4

Goals, Objectives, Strategies, & Tactices......................5

Budget...........................................................................9.Timeline.........................................................................9

Conclusion...................................................................10

Appendix....................................................................A-1

BackgroundMother Teresa once said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” AdVancePR was inspired by this principle within the framework of the PRSSA Bateman Competition for Home Matters®. Our campaign entitled “Brick-by-Brick” represents the building blocks or the stones that can lay a foundation or create a ripple toward a stronger, more well-informed community in Idaho Falls. Idaho Falls is the largest city in Eastern Idaho. According to the state census, in 2013 its population was estimated at 58,292.The city serves as a hub to all of eastern Idaho and much of western Wyoming. Due to its positive economic consistency, high quality of life, and proximity to world-class outdoor recreation, it’s often said to be one of the “best places to live.” However, there’s always room for improvement. There’s little-to-no awareness of Home Matters and about 15% of the population living below the poverty line.

During this campaign we used three main “bricks” to start building the foundation for greater awareness of homeownership issues and other matters of concern in the community. Our first brick was partnering with Habitat for Humanity® and reaching baby boomers and the community as a whole. This provided an opportunity to bring awareness to the Home Matters movement while furthering a worthy cause. Our second brick was bringing the Home Matters messages to the largest college campus in Idaho Falls. There aren’t many college students in this city, but those who are, often live with their parents. We saw this as an opportunity to engage them in a dialogue of financial and homeownership preparation.

Our third brick was to bring awareness to the number of foster care children in Idaho Falls who need support. We brought awareness to this issue through a fair we held at the public library and people took steps toward becoming foster parents. Just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, the community’s awareness of important housing and community issues will also have to be built “brick-by-brick.” Through events we’ve conducted and messages we’ve shared our campaign has laid this foundation toward action.

Campaign OverviewAdVancePR had three major focuses throughout the campaign: supporting Habitat for Humanity, capitalizing on the importance of home ownership, and promoting foster care. Partnering with Habitat for Humanity and announcing it to the community through news releases and social media outreach was a great opportunity to highlight the importance of a strong and serviceable community. Talking to college students about the importance of home ownership, and working with local foster care organizations, were points that our primary and secondary research showed to be important to address during this campaign.

The first part of our campaign was collaborating with Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls for the dedication of its home built. The objective established for this event was exceeded, as we increased awareness by 100% among the baby boomers in attendance and recruited three of them as new volunteers. We also were able to sign up two new college students to volunteer for the next Habitat for Humanity project.

The second part of our campaign was centered on highlighting the importance of preparing for home ownership. The impact of the event located at the University of Idaho-Idaho Falls campus exceeded the goals we had set and allowed us to show college students the importance of early preparation for owning a home.

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Finally, the third part of our campaign was to work with the Foster Care Division of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. The Foster Care Awareness Fair had a big impact because it was thoroughly covered by different news outlets and the attendance goals were exceeded. A few people who attended the event signed up for Foster Parent training sessions and qualified to become Foster Parents.Situational Analysis

StrengthsHome Matters • Covers a variety of areas that promote strong communities and affordable housing • National movement that can be implemented on a local level • Solution to real-life problemsIdaho Falls • Affordable housing • High home-ownership rates • High average income • Strong and caring communities

WeaknessesHome Matters • Ambitious and broad, thus making it difficult to tackle problems in a straightforward way • Lack of awarenessIdaho Falls • Fairly high level of poverty: misdistribution of wealth • No local Home Matters presence

OpportunitiesHome Matters • Expansion to cities where there is no local representation • Partnership with more non-profits throughout the countryIdaho Falls • Blank canvas for Home Matters • Shaping of Home Matters’ message • Partnering with local non-profits to spread awareness

ThreatsHome Matters • Broadness limits people’s level of engagement • Branding doesn’t stick in people’s minds because it is so broad • Competitors with more focused purpose can attract more peopleIdaho Falls • Competition with other non-profits that are well-established • Limited opportunities for collaboration with local businesses

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Primary ResearchIn-Depth Interview: Lisa Farris, Grants Administrator for the City of Idaho Falls.

Lisa oversees the needs of non-profit organizations in the community. Due to her experience, she was a great source of information. We discussed different areas that the Idaho Falls community was struggling with. Lisa also connected us to the people overseeing relevant organizations to find out additional information.

In-Depth Interview: Karen Lansing, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Idaho Falls

Karen shared with us how there is a need for community members to attend Habitat for Humanity home dedications because it brings the community together and raises awareness of the need for homes in Idaho Falls. She also discussed how there is a need in Idaho Falls for more students to volunteer to help build homes. She said that the hours for volunteering are flexible and asked us to help make this known to college students.

In-Depth Interview: Katherine McDermott, Family and Children Services Supervisor Over Foster Care, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare

Kathy shared that Idaho has about 1350 children in foster care in Idaho Falls. She said that there are many misconceptions about what you need to qualify to be a foster parent and how many people don’t realize that you can be single, in college, don’t have to be well off, etc. She explained that she wanted the community to learn more about how to be a foster parent and/or how to support local foster kids. Karen felt that sharing this information with the community would be beneficial.

Secondary ResearchOur secondary research consisted of 20 sources as well as sources provided to us by the Bateman Competition. Our research provided us with the information we needed to share relevant information to our different target audiences as well as to give us a better understanding of the current housing situation, homeownership, financial tips and other information we shared on social media as well as in our fliers and other materials we handed out at our three events. These were some of the significant findings that shaped our campaign:

Idaho Falls Housing and Demographic Statistics

Idaho Falls is ranked fifth on the Most Affordable Cities in America and the cost of living is below the national average. (see Appendix A-4.) which means housing costs aren’t a major problem for this area.

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Along with other housing statistics, we learned that the homeownership rate in Idaho Falls is67% and is higher than the current national homeownership rate of 64%. For our campaign, this means that we’ll continue emphasizing the need for homeownership (as opposed to renting) for young families and for college students who will be future homeowners or who may be currently renting.

Foster Children in Idaho FallsThe Idaho Department of Health and Welfare revealed that nearly 1350 children are in foster care in the state of Idaho and that there are hundreds of foster care children in Idaho Falls.(See Appendix A-3.)

National Housing StatisticsFrom the resources provided to us from Bateman, we found great statistics to persuade our audience of the need to join the Home Matters movement. Included in these studies was a survey that concluded that 58% of Americans said that affordable housing to rent or buy is challenging. 70% of Americans also believe that we’re in the middle of a housing crisis. This is just a sampling of some of the findings we used to craft our messaging through various platforms.

Key MessagesWe approached our messaging with the “see” “think” and “do” approach. We wanted our audience to see information, think about it and ideally, do something about it. Our core message for our campaign is that home should matter to the community as a whole because it is the heart of society and provides a solid foundation for families to grow thrive and succeed. Thus, we are pushing the message that homeownership is important and that it’s an issue in our country that requires awareness and action in individual communities.

Key Message 1: Everyone Deserves a HomeThis message is geared toward all three of our target audiences. The Home Matters mission is to ensure that everyone has a safe, nurturing environment. We want people to see the value in owning their own house and making sure every child has place they can call home. Having community support is also crucial.

Key Message 2: Home Provides a Solid Foundation for Future SuccessWe want our secondary and tertiary audiences to know that home is a great indicator of future success. It provides stability and a way for them to succeed as members of their community. Home truly is the heart of society and provides a solid foundation for the future of a family.

Families are the nucleus of society and if we wish to improve society, we must start with the home. Home is where children can find love and comfort as well as have their physical needs met. Our secondary research reveals that too many children in Idaho Falls are without a permanent home, and we want the public to know that this can have a detriment effect on society and the future of these children.

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Key Message 3: Home Can be a Reality for All

We want college students and young parents to know that owning a home can be a reality when taking advantage of the right resources. We want to introduce them to Home Matters resources and provide them with useful information so they can make steps toward homeownership. AdVancePR wants to bring awareness to the fact that there are hundreds of children in Idaho Falls where home is not their reality, and as a community, we need to change this.

Goals, Objectives, Strategies and TacticsGoal: Our goal is to create greater awareness of the Home Matters Movement and encourage the community to come together and support others in having a home.

Target Audience 1: Local Baby Boomers Ages 51-69One of Home Matters target audiences is baby boomers, and so we sought to include them as one of our target audiences on a local level. Most baby boomers already own homes and are therefore in a better position to support the community and Home Matters initiatives. This can be done through volunteer work, non-profits or monetary support. Baby boomers also tend to have greater influence in their communities because they’re established.

Objective 1: Increase Home Matters awareness by 20% among baby boomers, and recruit 3 new Habitat for Humanity volunteers by February 28, 2015.

Strategy 1: Collaborate with local Habitat for Humanity to participate in their 31stdedication.

Tactic 1: Contact local Habitat for Humanity and help them organize the home dedication and see how we can partner with them in this event.

Tactic 2: Create a news release and send it to local news stations and newspapers to advertise the event. (See Appendix A-13.)

Tactic 3: Share the event on our Home Matters Idaho Falls Facebook page in order to increase awareness of our local campaign as well as the event itself.

Tactic 4: Ask local popular vendors, such as Chick-fil-A®, Kiwi Loco® and Orange Leaf®, for donations in order to hold a raffle for those who sign up as a Habitat for Humanity volunteer.

Tactic 5: Contact a videographer to film the event and capture interviews with key attendees.

Tactic 7: Share the video on social media to create greater awareness for both Habitat and Home Matters and how they have similar goals and objectives. (See Appendix A- 27 for video.)

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Tactic 8: At the home dedication, present the Wulf family with a housewarming gift in the name of Home Matters to show that it supports home ownership and community efforts toward this goal. The Wulf family consists of Patti and her children, who were in a difficult housing situation before turning to Habitat for Humanity. After a year of hard work, their home is now ready for them to create new memories and take the next important steps in their lives.

Tactic 9: Set up a Home Matters informational booth at the dedication to initiate a dialogue about the organization. This will also be a place to hang out volunteer forms for Habitat for Humanity to promote community involvement in housing initiatives. Objective 1 Outcome: EXCEEDED!

At the dedication, we increased awareness among baby boomers by 100%. None of the attendees

had heard about Home Matters before. Kathy, the local representative of Habitat, introduced us to all attendees, and we had the opportunity to talk to all people present about the movement’s mission. We were also able to recruit 3 new “baby boomer” volunteers at the event and a couple college students who came to sign up.

Target Audience 2: Local University of Idaho-Idaho Falls Students ages 18-35Second, we wished to target local college students who attend the University of Idaho-Idaho Falls. This is the only traditional college campus in Idaho Falls with 2,000 traditional students on campus. For many college students, purchasing a home is something to be thinking about now to establish credit and good financial habits while they are young. This is why we thought it was appropriate to this audience in a dialogue now will affect their ability to own a home in the future.

Objective 2: Get 50 impressions from University of Idaho-Idaho Falls students about HomeMatters and homeownership tips.

Strategy 1: Hold an information day at the University of Idaho-Idaho Falls campus.

Tactic 1: Contact the Student Activities Director at University of Idaho-Idaho Falls to get permission to have a booth at its Student Union building lobby—a place that students frequently pass by.

Tactic 2: Set up an information booth about Home Matters at the school for two hours in order to create impressions as students pass by.

Tactic 3: Gather first-time homeownership tips and understanding credit report tips from the Home Matters national partner, NeighborWorks®

Tactic 4: Share this research we gathered in the form of an infographic for students to keepand reference. On these handouts we had information directing them to Home Matters and NeighborWorks for more information. (See Appendix A-20.)

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Objective 2 Outcome: EXCEEDED!

Within the two hours that we set up our Home Matters booth, we had 62 impressions and 3 people who actually stopped to pick up the handouts.

Target Audience 3: Local young parents, ages 24-32Finally, we want to target young and stable parents. Young parents are still getting on their feet and many are only renting or still trying to become financially stable. While these parents are young, many of them have started a family of their own, and so having their own place is something they value. Young parents are also at the stage where they’re growing their families and becoming a foster care parent or helping foster children in some way might be more realistic for them.

Objective 3: Engage the community, particularly young parents in a conversation about becoming foster parents or at least finding ways to improve the lives of foster children. Attract 30 people to our event and get 3 people signed up for foster care training.Rationale: When talking to city officials, our primary research revealed that the biggest way our campaign could help was informing the community, especially young moms, in how they can help foster children since this is a growing problem in Idaho Falls.

Strategy 1: Partner with local non-profits to host a Foster Care Awareness Fair to inform the community, especially young moms/parents about Home Matters, the options they have with foster care or helping a foster child in their community

Tactic 1: Contact organizations that deal with foster care, such as Together We Rise and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare in order to get a variety of booths and provide our community with the most relevant information.

Tactic 2: Contact local Public Library in order to get a room for the event. We concluded that the public library was a great setting to hold the event since moms frequently go here with their children and it’s a public setting that gets a fair amount of traffic.

Tactic 3: Order “care packages” from Together We Rise to showcase how people can help put these together for foster children. This educates moms on other ways they can help foster children, besides becoming a foster parent themselves. (See Appendix ...)

Tactic 4: Set up a coloring station for kids to draw what “home means to them” while their parents visit the booths. This will create a family-friendly environment and furthermore communicate the Home Matter message of the importance of home.

Tactic 5: Distribute news releases to attract attention from the media in a variety of forms. Write and send out News Releases to announce the event.

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Tactic 6: Interview with local news channel a day before the event to announce the event andinvite the community to attend. (See Appendix A-15.)

Tactic7: Prepare more fliers to have at our Home Matters booth about homeownership and statistics to appeal to young parents who may be renting or who do not yet own a home.

Tactic 8: Use our in-kind donations from local businesses for the raffle at the end of the fair, for people to win prizes. We did this so as to motivate people to linger longer at our event and to generate more interest in our fair and in coming to our booth to learn more about Home Matters.

Tactic 9: Have a video from Together We Rise and the Idaho State Department of Health and Welfare playing in the background so attendees can learn more about these organizations and be emotionally drawn into the cause and to make the connection that Home Matters supports not only homeownership, but every child having a home and a community that supports them.

Objective 3 Outcome: EXCEEDED!

There were 50 people who attended our event and learned more about each of these three organizations. There were 5 people who signed up with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to start the training to become foster parents. Children were engaged as well with the coloring station.

Objective 4: Create a social media presence on Facebook to distribute messages about our events and the Home Matters movement. Our objective is to obtain 200 likes on Home Matters Idaho Falls Facebook page.

Strategy 1: Create a Facebook page for Home Matters Idaho Falls and share it with local community members, specifically local college students as well as Idaho Falls mom group pages.

Tactic 1: Launch the Facebook page and plan a schedule of posting.

Tactic 2: Share with our college-age friends and mother-age women.

Tactic 3: Create event posts to invite people to our event and re-post our fliers and other relevant topics every day after lunch.

Tactic 4: Create news releases for both events (see Appendix A-13.)

Tactic 5: Send out news releases to the following local news channels: Post Register, Local News 8, East Idaho News Group, and 590 KID

Tactic 6: Share event on Local 8 News online community calendar

Tactic 7: Interview with Local News 8 the day before the Awareness Fair (see Appendix A-15, A-28.)

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Tactic 8: Interview with Local News 8 at the event

Objective 4 Outcome: EXCEEDED!

We obtained 211 likes on our Facebook page. Using Facebook metrics, we were able to gauge our reach for each post. Based on these metrics, our average post reached 116 people. This means that we reached about 45% of our fans with each new message, flier, event ad, etc. (see Appendix A-28.)

BudgetCash Expenditures:

Library Room Rental: $25.00Together We Rise: 2 Sweet Cases $52.00Gift Basket Items: $51.08Balloons: $15.39Cookies $22.19Miscellaneous (tablecloth, crayons, napkins): $11.59Alphagraphics printing estimate: $108.35 50 pages, 25 double colorVideo: $20.00

Total: $285.60

In-kind donations:

Kiwi Loco: $15 in gift cardsOrange Leaf: $56.00Chick-fil-A: $ 20.00Printing: $50.00Video: $480.00

Total: $621.00

Timeline(See appendix A-30.)

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Conclusion Our “Brick-by-Brick” campaign was planned and executed in a month and a half, and for such a short time period, we were able to increase awareness of the Home Matters movement and engage in a dialogue with our audiences, which led to action on their part. This awareness was created not only through our events, but by social media impressions as well as news coverage in multiple mediums. We obtained 211 likes on our Facebook page, with an average post reach of 116. With articles printed in the daily local newspaper, we obtained 26,000 impressions. Additionally, the news coverage on Local News 8 provided coverage for the entire Southeastern Idaho region, going as far as Jackson, Wyoming and Twin Falls, Idaho.

While the number of people attending our events weren’t as high as we initially hoped, this campaign focused on the quality of the messages and the variety of audiences targeted. Due to the lack of Home Matters presence in Idaho Falls, the “Brick-by-Brick” campaign had a positive impact on all the reached individuals and impacted the community in a tangible way.

We believe that our efforts in the community have left a positive impact and left an impression of why home matters. Our events set a precedence that can be replicated and expanded upon and we provided opportunities to introduce Home Matters and how its initiatives can be implemented locally. It is now in hands of the citizens of Idaho Falls to cause a ripple effect in their community to bring about the further improvements they deem necessary.

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Appendix

A-1

http://www.growidahofalls.org/

A-2

http://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/Children/AdoptionFosterCareHome/tabid/75/Default.aspx

A-3

http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/cities/economics/most-affordable-cities-america/

A-4

http://www.macfound.org/press/press-releases/housing-challenges-real-many-americans-finds-2014-how-housing-matters-survey/

A-5

http://money.cnn.com/gallery/news/economy/2014/06/16/american-dream/

A-6

http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/09/news/economy/america-economic-mobility/

A-7

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/06/21/324030986/crunched-by-costs-sacrificing-to-stay-in-home-sweet-home

A-8

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jewel-asks-americans-why-housing-matters-to-inspire-a-new-song-and-raise-awareness-for-the-benefits-of-public-housing-256173471.html

A-9

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/the-american-dream-isn-t-as-dead-as-it-sounds-152802749.html

A-10

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3031638/fund-this/this-texas-professor-is-turning-a-dumpster-into-the-worlds-ultimate-tiny-home

A-11

https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/ahar-2013-part1.pdf

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A-13

A-14

A-15

http://www.localnews8.com/video/fair-to-help-raise-awareness-about-foster-children-saturday/31535454

Post Register Article

A-16

http://www.eastidahonews.com/2015/02/foster-care-awareness-fair-idaho-falls/

A-17

http://boise.suntimes.com/boi-news/7/105/57402/foster-care-awareness-fair-is-today-in-i-f

A-18

http://heyevent.com/event/448472368640023/home-matters-habi-tat-for-humanity-dedicate-a-new-home

A-18

https://www.facebook.com/togetherwerise

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A-20

A-21

A-22

A-23

A-25

A-26

A-27

Image with Wulf family at their home dedication.

A-28

http://www.localnews8.com/video/students-raise-awareness-for-children-without-homes/31898514

Possible EventAdVance PR did not carry out his event due to time restraints but we wanted to develop the idea for future campaigns.

Home Matters Art Auction and ContestThe Idaho Falls School District will be participating in an art Auction to raise money for Idaho’s foster kids. Children kindergarten through high school are welcome to participate. The auction will be held at ______________. The art will answer the prompt “ Home Matters To Me Because________” Local vendors __________ are invited and will be donating a percentage of the proceeds to the charity. We are also inviting ________ organizations to share information about how to help and get involved with foster students in Idaho. Our goal is to raise awareness and funds for children who don’t have guar-anteed homes, like most of us take for granted.

All Proceeds Go To Nonprofits Home Matters and Together We RiseThere are around 2000 foster kids in Idaho. Out of the 2000, 10% of these kids are waiting for adop-tive families. The nonprofit organizations Home Matters and Together We Rise use it’s resources to help foster kids feel at home with their foster-families by providing necessities.

Four Simple Steps to Enter:Create an art piece that falls within the submission specifications located at the bottom of this page. Attach the second page of this handout to your art creation. Take a picture of the art piece and post it to the Home Matters Facebook Wall. Vote for your favorite pieces by liking the picture. The art piece with the most likes will win a prize at the auction. Our Face-book link is Submit your art piece by dropping it off at your school’s main office. It will be picked up by the auction volunteers there. Come to the art auction and bid on your favorite piece! All of the proceeds will go to the two charities Together We Rise and Home Matters.

Submission Specifications:Theme: Home matters to me becauseSubmission Deadline is ______________Art piece must have a title That follows “Home matters to me because _________”Contestant may use any art media (marker, crayon, paint, collage, textiles, etc.)Page two of this handout should be attached to the art, filled out with child’s information and a short narrative describing the piece.

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Contest Application

Remember Deadline is ____________Name of Applicant-artist: _______________________________________Title of Art Piece:Address:Age category:( ___) Elementary K-5 (___) Middle 6-8 (___) High 9-12Applicant’s Age:______Name of Parent or Guardian:_____________________________________Signature of Applicant: _____________________________________________Signature of Parent Guardian:_______________________________________Who should we contact at the local housing agency regarding this piece?Name: ______________________________________________Email: ______________________________________________Phone: _______________________________________________

Description of My Art Piece:

A-30

January

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February

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