Description
Electronic versions of Paper and Presentation submitted via Canvas to Professors by 4 p.m. on October 19, 2023.
3-4 page paper. Papers are expected to be of high quality and will be graded on content, organization and presentation of key points and strategies in a pitch to industry leaders (“two minute elevator speech”). All written work is to be typed, double-spaced, with a 12-point font and one-inch margins.
PAPER TOPIC: You are a Cause Marketing consultant and you have been tasked with developing a cause-marketing campaign partnering the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy with a corporate organization. The strategy needs to include both a pitch and a clear plan for how the cause-marketing campaign partnership will be successful and meet the needs of both organizations. The initiative should be strategic, taking into consideration current existing relationships (i.e. Washington Nationals and its partners) and desired outcomes. Draft a 3-4 page “concept paper” to be presented to Executives of the Academy (played by Professors Sclafani and Fanning). Your paper should articulate the mission of your program, the specific desired outcomes, costs and the strategies you will employ to achieve those outcomes.
PRESENTATION: In Class on October 19, you will present your concept. Prepare no more than four PowerPoint slides.
You will give a pitch – an “elevator speech” no longer than two minutes, where you will communicate the most persuasive and illustrative elements of your concept verbally to the class. Two minutes will be the cut-off, and we will use a timer. Your goal in this portion is to practice fluency in conveying important ideas concisely and in a way that grabs the attention of the listener and includes key elements of the strategy and intended outcomes.
Guidance for your paper
The sections in your paper should include:
Introduction: Who are you? What is your organization? Define your community and its needs?
Concept: Cause Marking Campaign? Organizations? What is your idea? How will it benefit your organization?
Target Audience: What group of people will benefit most? Why? What value do they have to your organization? Who are your key stakeholders?
What corporate entity will you partner with? How does their target audience and brand complement your cause and target audience?
Execution: What steps will you take to bring this concept to life? What forms of media will you choose? Why? What is your message? What is your call to action? How much will your program cost and how will you pay for it? What’s the return?
Conclusion: Why will this work? How will you measure success?
It is a valuable skill to write concisely. The short page limit is designed to challenge you to make a crisp and compelling written argument. Make the most of each and every word. You are encouraged to draw from the readings and class discussion, but you are also highly encouraged to present innovative approaches to your task. Spelling errors, grammar errors, incomplete sentences and general poor writing will significantly impact your grade. Multiple rounds of proof-reading and editing are highly encouraged.
Guidance for your “Pitch/Elevator Speech”
While great concepts can take many pages to explain in detail, in the “real world” sometimes you only have a brief moment – the time it would take to ride in an elevator from the lobby to the penthouse of a skyscraper – to entice an executive to allow you to pursue the idea further and give you full attention. The presentation should be brief, informative and most importantly, compelling. The goal of the pitch/elevator speech is to leave the listener knowing just enough and wanting to pursue more information. The pitch is not the whole concept, but the core of the idea. You will get two minutes to address the class and Academy Executives (Professors Sclafani and Fanning). Draft it, rehearse it and then tailor it to convince us. Make sure to consider the following:
What is the problem/need and how/why do you have the best answer to solve it?
How does it meet needs of both organizations?
Why it will be successful?
What is your competitive advantage – your “hook”? (…why should your concept be selected?)
What is your takeaway/ask to who you are pitching?
How passionate are you about your pitch?
No more than four PowerPoint slides
