The project
I’m working with a communication department event management team to develop the publicity campaign for the Visual Society end-of-semester showcase. This semesterly event involves over 100 visual communication students displaying projects they’ve completed over the course of the semester. I’m serving in a dual-role, first as the society’s representative and subsequently the consultant for the event management team. I’m also playing a large role in developing and executing the publicity campaign for the event.
Event team meetings
I participated in the event team’s initial planning meeting. We all brought ideas and expertise to the table and started creating a great plan for how to execute the event. I was able to provide a history of how this event had been run remotely for the past year and the publicity efforts the society had undertaken in the past. Roles were determined among the group and I was able to lay out some of my preliminary plans for publicizing the event.
Develop theme
We discussed a theme for the event by beginning with the aims of the event and how we want people to feel. We explored a lot of options for the theme, and narrowed it down to a couple key components: christmas, retro, photography, vintage. We discussed visuals, refreshments, decorations, and publicity materials that could fit into this theme. We settled on “Snapshot of Christmas” and I started sketching out some concepts alongside another talented designer.
Begin publicity outreach
With the team, we began developing a strategy for publicity and started laying the groundwork for publicizing the event. An event organizer contacted the school’s newspaper, The Scroll, and a reporter got in contact with me. I coordinated the drafting of a press release and scheduled an interview with the reporter where I’ll be sharing information about the event.
Moving forward I’ll be spending the next several weeks working alongside other designers to create publicity materials for the event to submit for approval to the University Relations office.