SMU Business Services is looking for a little help from the student body.
Even though this year’s flu season isn’t quite over, Marketing Manager for Business Services Chris Byrd wants to gear up for next year’s prevention campaign.
He’s encouraging students to submit public service announcements that are either 30 or 60 second seconds long focusing on flu prevention. The videos should be turned in by late April, and students are required to be involved in all aspects of production (writing, directing and filming).
Key messages for the PSA include encouraging students to get a flu shot, wash their hands, exercise good hygiene, and use hand sanitizers.
“We’d like to have this done by the end of the spring semester,” he said, because then the marketing department would be “able to just deploy our posters and video so we’re ready to roll with our campaign in the fall.”
According to Byrd, Director of Marketing Ed Ritenour was inspired by the success of the team of SMU students that won the Chipotle advertising contest and had their video play in Times Square. Ritenour suggested that SMU run a similar competition for the flu awareness campaign.
“It’s a great opportunity for students to be involved and part of the process,” said Byrd. Plus, “We have some incredibly talented students on campus.”
All submissions will be tested with the Business Services Advisory Group, or BSAC.
According to Byrd, the BSAC “advises us on any touchpoint we have with students on business services,” which includes “everything from the police department to dining.”
According to SMU’s Web site, Business Services includes everything from auxiliary services (the bookstore, conference services, dining services, Images, McFarlin, Mustang Express, postal services, campus vending and Park ‘n’ Pony), the Financial Office, police department, Office of Risk Management & Environmental Health and Safety, Procurement and Human Resources.
When producing the video, Byrd urged students to consider using humor and think of students as the primary audience. He also emphasized the importance of building on the marketing department’s current theme and look and reinforcing already existing messages.
It may sound like a tall order, but Byrd is optimistic.
“I think this … could be a wonderful mix of students working with administration to solve an issue we all have to deal with,” he said.
“The talk about the superbugs and pandemics – we have to be concerned with this.”
