PR Plan for Aaron’s

Presents

Account Supervisor:
Emelyn Theriault

Account Executives:
Yiyang Han
Grace Lechner
Wenxin Tong

Date: February 8, 2023

Contents
● Situation
– SWOT Analysis
– Media Audit
● Research
● Objectives
● Audiences
● Key Messages
● Strategy
● Tactics
● Evaluation
● Budget
● Timeline
Situation
Aaron’s Presents is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization that provides young children
with the support and resources they need to develop and implement a project that will benefit
others and help them gain valuable leadership and project management skills.

Aaron’s Presents is working with PRLab to implement a more strategic social media
strategy to maximize exposure of AP and increase engagement; gain more earned media
coverage; plan a fundraising campaign for March that targets larger (corporate) donors to
supplement donations from smaller donors reached through Facebook; and look ahead to
the June Celebration event.
Situation
The Founder’s Story

Aaron Makaio Schneider was born on June 19, 2013, at 25 ½ weeks of gestation, and lived 8 ½ days in
two Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) in Boston, MA. In this short time, he made a significant
impact on many people's lives by exhibiting his inner fortitude, his will to live, his capacity to inspire
love and compassion, and the frailty of human life.

PR Plans to Strengthen Aaron’s Story:

Aaron’s Presents believes every child should have the opportunity to positively impact others’ lives in a
way that is fun, memorable, and meaningful.

We will help Aaron’s Presents achieve this goal by reaching out to larger networks in the Greater-Boston
area to increase awareness and connect with more donors. Our media outreach and exposure will
emphasize the generosity and empowerment that Aaron’s Presents represents through its work. The
public will appreciate Aaron’s Presents for the path it puts children on at an early age, which helps them
become more productive citizens in their communities.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses

• Inspiring organizational story and • Internal newsletter and annual

mission reports on website are not recent or
• Strong belief in the youth and timely
supportive of children’s potential • Engagement with audiences on
• Clear and informative website social media is limited
• Enduring relationships with parents • Information on websites is out of
and children date
• Genuine impact stories from
children and families
• Lasting connections with foundation
supporters
SWOT Analysis
Opportunities Threats

• Engage in popular social media trends • Other similar nonprofit organizations

• Gain more media coverage of recent garner more local awareness (AP
child-led projects and post more on should seek greater coverage of its
YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn unique projects)
• Update website more regularly (at • Other organizations are better at
least one post per month) and adjust publicizing their accomplishments
visuals (poster is too large) (AP should issue more event reports
• Establish relationships with local and annual reports to emphasize its
newspaper or local media overall community impact)
• Increase network by collaborating • Other volunteer-based organizations
with local businesses have more volunteers (AP should
provide more lectures, conduct more
outreach to attract volunteers)
Media Audit: Traditional Media
2014 2017
● Andover Townsman: “Classroom connection; ● Mommy Poppins: “Teaching Kids to be Kind: Great
Student newsletter bonds middle-schoolers Resources for Boston Parents”
across district”
2018
● Dec/Jan: North Shore Children & Families
● WCVB5: “'Aaron's Presents' helps young adults who want
● The Andovers Magazine to do good”
● Nov: North Shore Children & Families ● WCVB5: “5 for Good: Merrimack Valley organization
helps kids who want to do good”
2015
2019
● April: North Shore Children & Families
● NECN: Champions in Action: Aaron's Presents
● May: North Shore Children & Families
● Feb: North Shore Children & Families 2022
● Andover Townsman: “Presents with Purpose; ● Andover Townsman: “Andover students finding 'deeper
Charity fosters acts of kindness, goodwill meaning' with volunteer projects”
among young people” ● Andover Townsman: “Sixth graders throw a party at
YMCA FINA house”
● Lowell Sun
Media Audit: Social Media
Facebook: Instagram:
@aaronspresentsgrants @aaronspresents
● 1.5K followers ● 1,296 followers
● Platform with the highest
● 854 posts
frequency of posting
● Main audience reached ● Number of posts ranges from <5 to >20 to
consists of parents, donors, and per month
partner organizations ● Used for connecting with kids
● Mostly photos of project and ● More graphs rather than pictures
events
● Not always utilizing hashtags ● Not all posts follow best hashtag and
most effectively tagging practices
● Photos and videos generally ● Not all posts have captions
receive the most engagement ● Videos and pictures generally perform
better than graphics
Media Audit: Social Media
Twitter: YouTube:
@AaronsPresents @aaronspresents3065
● 287 followers ● 35 subscribers
● 592 tweets ● Mostly project presentations
● No activity/posts since April ● No uploads since Sept. 2022
2022 ● Project videos performed better than
● Tweets are too long speeches
LinkedIn: Pinterest:
@aaronspresents @aaronspresents
● 52 followers ● 16 followers
● Includes link to website but ● No original posts but a few saved pins
has no original posts
Current Communication Vehicles
Social media platforms
● Most active on Facebook and Instagram
● Not all platforms are linked on website

Newsletters
● Most recent from 2018-2019
● Newsletters contain strategic updates, donor thank you messages and infographics

Annual Reports
● Most recent from 2019-2021
● Contains organization updates, shares highlights of student projects, and publicizes
partnerships and donations

Website
● Contains information about staff, history, media, & past projects
● Could be updated to better reflect current work and media features
Research
● Donor Demographics
What specific types of individuals and companies are we looking to attract and
partner with?
● Goals for earned media
What kinds of responses are we hoping to achieve from earned media?
● Potential competitors
What are other nonprofit organizations doing? What has worked well for them?
● Specific events happening recently
What has Aaron’s Presents been working on recently and what is the organization
working toward?
Objectives
Through its collaboration with PRLab, Aaron’s Presents will:
● Raise awareness by receiving coverage from 3 local media outlets by
May 5
● Increase social media engagement by 10-15% by posting more
interesting and timely content to get more likes, comments, and views
per post [long-term, by May 5]
● Attract larger donations by hosting events and gaining publicity by
mid-March to achieve AP’s $10K donation goal to support its summer
program campaign in June
Audiences
● Followers
– Reach new, larger groups and encourage them to follow social media
accounts
– Foster long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with loyal followers
– Leverage paid and owned media

● Local media channels

– Pitch to news outlets and channels willing to tell AP’s stories
– Maintain a positive relationship
– Via owned, shared, and earned media
Audiences
● Donors
– Strengthen current relationships and attract more corporate donors
– Reach out to donors who provide financial support like Citizens Bank and
Eastern Bank
– Receive material goods/supply donations from companies like Target and
Home Depot
– Foster a positive, mutually beneficial relationship with corporate companies
– Utilize paid, earned, shared and owned media
Key Messages
“We are always there for the children”

This message will encourage people to

follow, donate, and spread Aaron’s Presents’ stories and messages.

● The message emphasizes AP’s efforts to maintain contact with all children who participate with
the program. AP commits to supporting children whenever and however they want to get
involved in a way that does not make them feel pressured or restricted.
● Followers will be reassured when they see content showing how AP facilitates long-lasting
connections with young people and helps them develop into productive members of the
community.
● Donors will be confident knowing that they are contributing to a nonprofit organization that
dedicates its resources to the generation of a better, more sustainable future.
● The community as a whole will be eager to support and spread awareness of AP because the
organization has such a widespread positive impact.
Strategies
● Ongoing outreach – the audience responds well to consistent communication, so AP
should post more regularly and engage with followers on social media more often
● Develop new partnerships on the grassroots and community level and continue to
receive donations through smaller, online platforms like Facebook
● Share volunteer and participant stories and voices through owned platforms like
Instagram to attract more people to volunteer as mentors and encourage more
children get involved in AP’s projects
● Increased visibility – donors will be more likely to contribute if they see AP covered
by the local news and on TV and print
● Streamline social social media communications to maintain consistency of style of
messaging
● Gear website content to target multiple audiences and include newsletter to increase
credibility
Tactics
Big Idea: increase awareness of Aaron’s Presents

● News media coverage

– Research local news media and create a news contact sheet
– Contact and build relationships with local journalists and television hosts
● Social media
– Post about projects to grow awareness
– Hashtag research to grow reach
– Create a formal social media strategy that indicated when to post, what to
post on each platform, and schedule for posts
● Partnerships
– Partner with another PRLab organization for events to grow awareness
among a different audience
Tactics
#Aaronsandchildren
● Content: Using this hashtag, children can share their stories and feelings to
emphasize the impact of AP.

● Effect: The children who were involved with AP are the best storytellers, so
their stories will have a strong emotional impact on the audience and
strengthen the program’s positive image.

● Timeline: Each week the Aaron’s Presents’ Instagram account can feature a
child willing to share their experience with AP and how it has impacted them.
This will be something to which audiences look forward to each week.
Tactics
Local Media Coverage
● Content: Traditional and effective media coverage is essential to spreading AP’s
story and influence throughout and beyond the local community.
● Effect: News coverage should highlight the ways that Aaron’s Presents has
supported children and the community. Coverage can include interviews with
members from the local community who are willing and eager to share their
stories and experiences with Aaron’s Presents.
● Timeline: During the first few weeks, we will develop a media list and start
contacting those on the list. By the end of March, one or two news outlet will
cover Aaron’s Presents. By the end of April, one or two more news outlets will
cover Aaron’s Presents.
Tactics
Social media posts to fundraise for summer camp
● Content: Post on feed about children who participated in the camp last year
and include their stories to emphasize why this camp matters to them, what
they learned, and how they will translate what they learned to continue to
create good for themselves and their communities
● Effect: Increase transparency and awareness, and entice more donors and
sponsors, who will realize that their monetary contributions have an important
and lasting impact
● Timeline: Post once at the end of February or at the beginning of March to
share AP’s mission and the benefits children receive from attending the
summer camp. Children can show their appreciation by making and sending
thank you cards to donors.
Evaluation
We will evaluate the effectiveness of our PR Plan by assessing the
following:
● Social media analytics – achieve a greater number of
impressions & views on a regular basis (increase social media
engagement by 10-15%)
● Publicity – be covered by at least three local news media outlets
● Donations – raise $5,000 by the beginning of May to reach AP’s
$10,000 donation goal by the end of June
Budget

• PRLab agency fee: $300

Any additional expenses will be discussed with the client

in advance and approval will be sought once agreed
upon.
Timeline
● Create media list for local news station and print media
February ● Start contacting media for news feature
● Research local organizations for partnerships (or other PRLab clients)
● Research and develop formal social media strategy to maximize exposure and engagement
● Post on social media (3-4 times per week) highlighting student projects and updates
● Open Tiktok account
● Start planning and advertising March fundraising campaign
● At the end of February, post on social media to promote March fundraising campaign

● Continue posting on social media about projects

Continue reaching out and following up for news feature
March ●
● Continue planning and advertising March fundraising campaign
● Host fundraising campaign
● Work on newsletter highlighting projects and fundraising campaign
● Record video of current projects and post on TikTok
● Communicate with other PRLab teams/client for potential collaboration/donations

Update website to include news report and project updates

April
●
● Demonstrate fundraising success through social media and thank sponsors

● Prepare for annual celebration in June

May ●
●
Post on social media to advertise annual celebration
Invite potential sponsors and partners to engage
Questions?
Please reach out with any feedback or questions!

Account Supervisor: Account Executives:

Emelyn Theriault, Grace Lechner, glechner@bu.edu
emelynt@bu.edu
Wenxin Tong, totwx@bu.edu

Yiyang Han, yukihan@bu.edu