2010 Census PR Plan

THE
REAL
WORLD
Created by:
The University of Texas at Arlington
PRSSA 2010 Bateman Team
Presented to:
2010 Census
Rebekah Karth I Kathelin Buxton I Elizabeth Edwards I Emily Suied I Rebecca Strong

Executive Summary 1
The Situation 1
Situation Analysis
Uncensored: Pre-production 2
Research
The Cast 2
Target Audiences
The Script 3
Key Messages
Drama and Advice in "The Diary Room" 3
Challenges and Opportunities
Dynamics 4
Objective 1
Objective 2
Objective 3
Objective 4
Keep'n it Going 10
Conclusion
Appendix
Research
Media
Handouts, Fliers, Posters, and Pics

THE
REAL
WORLD
"Individual commitment to a group effort, that is what makes a team work,
a company work, a society work, a civilization work." - Vince Lombardi
Here in the "Real World" we continue to move forward with the support and funding necessary to make our community thrive and
prosper. The 2010 Bateman Team at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) proudly presents the "Keep'n it Real" campaign.
While you are here, get tuned to the pre-production (uncensored research), meet our cast (our target audiences), the channels (the
dynamics of our objectives and strategies) and the wrap up (the execution of our campaign) followed by "Keep'n It Going" our plan
to continue the relationship between the U.S. Census and the American public.
By creating our "Keep'n It Real" campaign, we were able to connect the dots and close the gap between hard to count audiences,
including main marketing targets like college students, and the economically disadvantaged members of the greater Arlington
community, encompassing more than 151,000 households.
At UTA, more than 28,000 students come to the heart of Arlington for higher education. Until recently, a majority of the students
were oblivious to the civic process of counting themselves in the U.S. Census. Our "Keep'n it real" focus allowed us to establish
relationships and partnerships to help create awareness about the census by distributing a creative mix of media messages. Through
our research, we determined the conflicts between the younger generation's usage of technology and our government's processes of
message dissemination, causing the message to be missed by some youth. We established ourselves as the official census campus
ambassadors otherwise known as "The Street Team" which allowed us to engage students as educated peers on the process.
We engaged in emerging tactics such as buzz marketing to reach students all over the campus. Since traditional media has declined
in catching the attention of younger generations, we felt it necessary to incorporate popular new marketing tactics on campus. With
our street team we were able to inspire word of mouth marketing with universal messages about the U.S. Census. To suit the current
mindframe of college students on our campus we created a marketing mix of viral videos, social media and online interaction. Using
new converging technology allowed us to employ traditional marketing tactics that traveled around campus distributing many of
our buzz marketing messages such as "It's Coming" (our initial mystery message).
By taking advantage of new social elements such as popular social networking sites, we created a Web site, a Facebook page and a
Twitter page. We also developed an opportunity to play "telephone", encouraging students to use word of mouth to help spread our
key messages to their peers, and further into our target audience.
You are cordially invited to tour The Street Team's "Keep'n it Real" plan of action to bridge the gap between a vitally important
government process and the American public, the future of America in a converging of technologies generation.
Excutive Summary
"We got a lil' situation here." According to the United States Census Bureau there has been a declining mail response rate of census
questionnaire forms since 1970. It was not until the 2000 census, with the employment of an integrated marketing communication
plan and strategic partnerships, that this rate was reversed, bringing the total return rate to 67 percent of the United States popula-
tion. We were stunned to find that more than 30 percent of individuals residing in the U.S. do not fill out and return their census
forms, leaving us even more shocked to learn that college students are at the top of the list for low mail respondents.
The college student demographic across the country is considered one of the "Hard-To-Count" (HTC) segments of the population,
making them a prime audience for census marketing efforts. In a university setting, gaining students' attention among the plethora
of other information thrown at them from every angle is no easy feat.
We stepped out into the real world of UTA to learn how students best receive information, to find out what makes them tick as
consumers, and began our plan to motivate and educate them about the U.S. Census. Our focus groups, interviews and surveys
found that many students were aware of or had heard of the census, but the majority of those had never filled one out before, or had
very little knowledge about its overall purpose.
Our research showed that the best way to get college students to act was through fun, humorous and relatable messages. The 'Keep'n
it Real' campaign team sought to engage our audience as advocates for the census and equip them with the tools to help us spread
our message. We drew our creative insight from current pop culture trends already appealing to students, and used mediums they
were already participating in, making it easier to transition from print to web and out to the "Real World."
The Situation
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Uncensored: Pre-Production
To get a better snapshot of the individuals in and around the UTA campus we researched lifestyle characteristics, demographic
information, behavior trends, and consumer habits. We also referenced scholarly journals, institutional data and observed familial
characteristics of different segments of the population to better grasp the needs of our cast.
 Secondary Research:
o Hard-To-Count Research:
 Thirty-two percent of residents in the 76010 zip code, encompassing part of the UTA campus, stretching to
the east, have less than a high school education, 12 percent of households are single mothers, 23 percent of
residents earn less than 25 thousand in annual income and 57 percent are renters, all of which categorize
them in the economically disadvantaged segment, classified as hard-to-count by the U.S. Census. (A3-4 )
 Fifty-nine percent of Arlington Independent School District (AISD) students are eligible for the free and
reduced lunch program, nearly 85 percent of elementary students are eligible in every school in the 76010
zip code. At Thornton Elementary 96.19 percent of students are eligible, making it the highest in this area.
(A5-6)
 According to faculty and staff at Thornton Elementary school the most effective way to reach the parents is
through paper hand-outs or fliers and messages delivered to the students, to pass on to parents. (A6)
 According to research, many immigrants do not count themselves due to lack of knowledge and fear of
safety of their families and themselves. (A36-37)
o Youth/Student Research:
 How to reach students, information posted on the Internet needs to be made easily accessible to the student
audience and delivered through a means they are familiar with using and have already invested time into.
(A38-50)
 More than 40 percent of students use the internet as a daily source for news, more than 36 percent of
students turn to their campus newspapers, making these two mediums the most popular means of
gathering news among students. (A13)
 Sixty-five percent of 13 to 24 year olds agree that an advertisement is more memorable if delivered in a
humorous manor. (A14)
 Primary Research:
o Student Interviews/Focus Groups: (A15-17) (A33-34)
 Most students that live on campus get their information from posters or fliers in the residence halls.
 Most students get their information from their peers, either through word of mouth or via Internet social
media outlets.
 Eighty-one percent of students believe that parents will count them on their census forms, and they will not
need to fill one out on their own.
 Prior to the Keep'n it Real campaign many students perceived the census to be lengthy and overly time
consuming
o Survey Findings: (A18-22)
 Sixty-one percent of students surveyed find health care in their community to be of great importance, 85
percent are concerned with future employment opportunities, 55 percent are concerned with the
distribution of federal funds in their community, and 75 percent find tuition and loan monies to be of great
impact to their lives.
 Less than 15 percent of students surveyed have experience in filling out a census form, and are aware that
the census is only ten questions.
 Sixty percent of students did not know that the census was required by law and that there is a fine for not
filling out the census.
The Cast
 Primary:
o 3500 UTA undergraduate students living on campus and in campus housing (A10)
o Parents of UTA students living on campus and in campus housing
 Secondary:
o All remaining UTA students
o UTA faculty and staff
o College town UTA project directors (A27)
 Tertiary:
o Elementary students at Thornton, that are members of the economically disadvantaged population segment. (A5-6)
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The Script
 UTA undergraduate Students
o The census cannot be filled out online, it must be mailed back no later than April 1, 2010 to avoid a visit from
census takers
o A fine of up to $100 can be incurred for not filling out a census form.
o census data is used to determine more than $400 billion in federal funding for education, health care, employment
opportunities, and other community projects.
o census data are used to determine locations for retail stores, schools, hospitals, new housing developments and
other community facilities.
o The census is fast, easy and must be filled out in blue or black ink.
o Students should be counted where they live and sleep most of the time. If they live away from home, parents should
not include them on their questionnaire.
o Individual census questionnaires will be delivered to on-campus housing in April and May 2010. census takers
coordinate with Residence Life and Housing Staff to distribute and collect these questionnaires.
 UTA Faculty and Staff:
o Students should participate in the census because it is important to the UT Arlington campus and community
 Parents
o Students should be counted where they live and sleep most of the time. If they live away from home, parents should
not include them on their questionnaire.
o Individual census questionnaires will be delivered to on-campus housing in April and May 2010. census takers
coordinate with Residence Life and Housing Staff to distribute and collect these questionnaires.
 Elementary Students
o The census is confidential, funding that will impact low-income schools is determined by census data.
 College Town, UTA
o census data is used to determine more than $400 billion in federal funding for education, health care, employment
opportunities, and other community projects.
Drama and Advice in "The Diary Room"
 Challenge: Eighty-one percent of the UTA student population are commuter students, not including first year freshmen
students, who are less likely to be aware of or involved in campus events and activities. (A9)
 Opportunity: No classes are scheduled from 12:00 p.m to 1:00 p.m on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, designated as
the 'Enrichment Hour', allowing for an optimal time to reach the majority of students in high-traffic areas that are present
on campus for our "Fastest to Fill Out the Census Race" event and informational booth. (A10)
More than 70 percent of first-year freshmen students live on campus, and represent the majority of students who
participate in weekend campus events, allowing outreach at the homecoming basketball game to be a prime opportunity to
reinforce our messages with this key audience. (A9)
 Challenge: In our preliminary planning we encountered a lack of resources to garner community partners to implement
potential campaign objectives.
 Opportunity: We were able to partner with a campus and community wide campaign at UTA, "College Town, UTA."
Through their efforts to reach out to community businesses and partners, we were able to piggyback on their efforts. This
made it possible for us to reach local businesses and partners and better distribute our messages to our publics with a
liaison mediating our efforts. (A27)
 Challenge: It is rare to come across anything that cannot be done via the Internet in this age of technology, creating a barrier
for information to be distributed offline. This is a difficult concept for many students to understand, when everything they
have learned has had web capabilities except for this. We had a difficult message trying to explain that the census is not
available through email or online submission to sections of society so well versed in technology and computer jargon.
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 Opportunity: Sometimes the best practice is "hands on experience". We wanted to create an opportunity for students to get
hands on experience filling out the census. This further reinforces the message that the questionnaire cannot be filled out
via the Internet, but rather by the traditional means of paper mail-in form. By using the Internet to our advantage we
planned to reach out to students through social media and by email received on their computers and mobile devices,
informing them of the census, as well as providing them with the actual form in their hands to get the necessary practice.
The Internet helped us spread the message to a wider audience through a means that students are already used to and
comfortable receiving their messages from. Messages were kept simple and easy to navigate to, avoiding deterring users
because of clutter and confusion. (A38-50)
 Challenge: Timing of the campaign was not on our side due to other campus events. February is "Career Month" at UTA
and as a result they had a number career preparation events for us to compete with for students time and attention.
Originally plans of a census booth at the Maverick Activities Center (MAC) conflicted with the career fair. UTA Career
Services and the MAC was also unwilling to allow us to have a booth at the career fair or outside of the building to
coincidence with their event.
 Opportunity: We took took sour lemons and made sweet lemonade. UTA homecoming week is also in the same timeframe,
which allowed us to reach a dynamic range of students, including parents. In fact, we were able to determine a better
location to hold our census information booth and event race (during the campus scheduled 'Enrichment Hour'). With our
grassroots support (the department of Apartment and Residential Life in the University Center) we were able to reserve a
booth near the food court, during lunch, on the day of the Homecoming parade from 10:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. This allowed us
to reach a wider ranged audience than would have been hit during our originally scheduled event and in the process we
culminated an important partnership with a vital campus department to better distribute our messages. (A12)
 Challenge: The Arlington community and UTA fall right in the middle of the metroplex thus competing for two major city
newspapers (The Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News). We are often overlooked by both papers, with
most college news coverage going to schools with a more prevalent university like Texas Christian University (Fort Worth),
Southern Methodist University (Dallas) and UT (Austin). UTA is a public university, not held to the same classification as
the other universities due to its reputation as a commuter school with no football team or school spirit, deeming us less
credible in terms of academics and athletic news regularly covered by the media, putting us on par with community colleges.
Other campus events presumed to be of greater importance taking place during our campaign (Homecoming and Career
Month),made it difficult to attract our own campus newspaper, The Shorthorn.
 Opportunity: Our unsuccessful attempts with traditional media in the past turned us to build our strengths with a social
media platform. This would allow us to reach our target audience, UTA students, most effectively, as well as continue to
build on the community partnerships already existing at UTA. The Internet helped us break through the media barrier and
get our message out to the Dallas/Fort Worth direct market area in more than just a traditional print or broadcast format.
We continued to push the importance of the census campaign to traditional media, but spent most of our efforts on Internet
outlets as that was where visibility was the greatest to our target.
Dynamics
 Objective 1: To inform 40% of UT Arlington students living on campus of census benefits, significance and guidelines by
February 28, 2010.
o Strategy 1: Reach out to campus opinion leaders
o Rationale: Word of mouth marketing and peer to peer collaboration is the most effective means of communication
for the college student. Based on our student focus group, students retain messages delivered from their peers with
higher esteem than those delivered through other media. Our presentations served as a direct means of educating
students on the reality of census facts and benefits of participation by using influential members on the UTA
campus as advocates for our campaign. (A17)
 Tactic 1: Campus Opinion Leaders. A presentation took place at the February Interfraternity Council (IFC)
meeting, where we shared our key messages with opinion leaders of each Greek Life organization on
campus, representing more than 25 percent of undergraduate students. We planned a short presentation
explaining our campaign plan including websites, social media outreach and information booths, that took
place during UTA's homecoming week. We invited council members to partake in the initiatives and help
bring awareness to the students on campus.
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 Tactic 2: Hand Me Downs. Presentation to the Director of Residence Life. Meeting with the director of
residence life allowed us to culminate a partnership with the residence halls and campus apartments,
overseeing more than 1,680 students living in campus residence halls and more than 1,585 residents living
in campus apartments. Messages were able to be directly "handed down" to residential directors of each
living area, for distribution to students residing in them. (A10)
 Tactic 3: I Heard It Thru The Grapevine. Presentation to Resident Hall Association (RHA) at their
meeting. RHA represents the primary governing body for all events and activities that take place and
involve the students that live in the halls. An announcement was made at the first February biweekly
meeting, asking representatives to inform students in their halls of the important census information and
benefits. By presenting to this group, we were able to reach an audience outside of typical campus
messaging and more effectively highlight how it directly affects those who live on the UTA campus.
 Tactic 4: Mr. UTA. Presentation to UTA Homecoming King and student body immediate past president.
The UTA homecoming king is a member of Greek life, and student governance, serving as a major opinion
leader on campus. By presenting to a student spokesperson, held with high regard, we were able to deliver a
message that would be well received by the campus through word of mouth dissemination.
o Strategy 2: To capture the attention, by informing all UTA students, faculty and staff, of significant census
information.
Rationale: A central message keeps students informed, by creating our identity for the U.S. Census campaign we
were able to brand ourselves around campus, providing students with one location to receive messages, and avoid
clutter of receiving different information from multiple sources. According to our student surveys nearly 90 percent
of students had heard of the census, but less than a quarter of those surveyed were unaware of how it affects
federally funded services and their local community. (A18-22)
 Tactic 1: Development of "Keep'n it Real" messages. After researching that the best way to reach students
was through humor and sarcasm we crafted four specific messages: "It's Coming: Census 2010", "Be Found
or Be Fined", "Get Your Piece of the Pie", "10 questions, less than 10 minutes" and finally "We Can't Move
Forward Until You Mail It Back." (A78-81)
 Tactic 2: "Distributing a Message". Our messages were placed throughout campus in high traffic areas
including inside classrooms and on computer work stations to maximize visibility, as well as inside
residence halls on campus where research shows that most students living on campus get there information
from. The goal was to strategically distribute key information via posters, flyers and candy handouts. An e-
mail was sent to all residents of Kalpana Chawla Hall informing students about the census process, defining
steps filling it out sending it back, as well as highlighting our key message that parents would not be
counting them on their forms. (A55, A78-81)
 Tactic 3: Census Sweets. Catching the attention of students with candy bars, snacks and black pens to
students with strategically placed census facts and the government census link. We distributed the goodie-
handouts in classes and all over campus grounds. By giving out items with messages about the census by
hand, students received the information from someone involved in the campaign who could answer any
immediate questions concerning the census. The pens provided them with a marketing piece they could
take with them and use as a reference when their census forms arrived. (A87)
 Tactic 4: "Check out the Census" Presentations. Members of Bateman's Street Team partnered with staff
and faculty to provide indepth presentations of the 2010 census history and process to classes around the
UTA campus. By being able to speak directly to students we were able to distribute our messages to pass on
to their friends. At the end of the presentations we invited students to put their new found knowledge to use
and join us at our event sponsored by UTA PRSSA. We gave students the weblinks to follow up for more
information {www.utacensus.com and www.2010census.gov}. (A92-93)
 Tactic 5: Grassroot efforts. Building a foundation of core supporters was our initial goal. We wanted to
build up a group of dedicated supporters by reaching out to the university faculty and staff to help
distribute and reinforce our key messages to students. The Street Team informed faculty and staff about the
5

campaign and enlisted their help in ensuring that other students would know about the census via in-class
announcements, e-mail, fliers and encouragement of students to attend the census event. Census
information was distributed through the campus wide faculty e-newsletter, MavWire, informing all faculty
and staff of the www.utacensus.com and the www.2010census.gov websites, to direct students to follow up
for more information. Information regarding the event was also distributed via the campus wide student e-
newsletter, The Trailblazer. (A74-75)
o Strategy 3: Reinforce key messages to UTA students and professors
Rationale: How we presented our key messages to UTA students and professors was key to achieving retention.
We found that students are more receptive and retain information better when presented through medias they use
and with frequent repetition of key messages. By keeping up-to-date with social media trends and creating fun and
humorous takes on our messaging, we believed this would reinforce our key messages. We repeated our messages
through various mediums to create behavior modifications. (A38-50, A15-17)
 Tactic 1: "Keep'n it Real" at www.utacensus.com. Our focus was to create a website where students felt
comfortable coming to get follow information, key messages that were on campus throughout the week, our
viral video, and events details. Viewers were encouraged to post comments about the video and navigate the
website to educate themselves on the simple process of filling out their own census forms. Students and
professors were directed to the website by the follow up messages on all our distributed handouts and
signage. This was one of our most important elements in our campaign because we could constantly update
it with more information and track the number of requests made for our website. (A92-93)
 Tactic 2: "The Real World: UTA." In a short video we did a parody of the "The Real World" from MTV. It
was a parody episode localized in the Arlington area and to our university with the 2010 census as "The
Situation". With humor we addressed many of the questions on the census form in the video. We posted
and linked to the video frequently on all of our social media sites, messages and events. We had the video
on the home page of our website throughout the entire campaign, as well as posted in on our YouTube
account. We wanted a big viewing audience but had a goal of 300 views of the video on our YouTube page.
(A - CD)
 Tactic 3: Keep'n it Social. Using social technology to attract the attention of students. We created
a Facebook and a Twitter account to distribute awareness and continue reinforcing our key messages. The
focus of this was to update our popular social sites almost daily with census facts, links to our website, links
to the 2010 census website, uploaded pictures from events and of our fliers, as well as links to our video.
We encouraged feedback from viewers by posting interactive and engaging questions or statements. We
wanted a huge friend base and following but set a basic goal of 100 followers on Twitter and 200 fans on
Facebook. (A94, A96)
 Tactic 4: Keep'n it Fresh. By "Keep'n it Fresh" we generated media coverage with census news and our
campus events, from campus news mediums such as the Shorthorn, Trailblazer, and Mavwire. We planned
to advertise the census event through school newspaper inserts, faculty and student outreach, website and
social media to invite students to participate. By continuous coverage and the use of different mediums, we
hoped to reach the most number of students possible about our event. (A70-73)
 Tactic 5: Parental Control. We planned to reach parents of on-campus undergraduate students at the
Parent and Family Center meeting and the Homecoming game. We educated the parents of students that
lived on campus about their students filling out their own census and why not to count them on the ones
they receive. We educated them on the process and how they shouldn't count their students because they
live on campus most of the year. (A85)
 Objective 1 Outcome: Success
Through our outreach to campus opinion leaders we were able to reach 100 percent of students living on campus or in
campus apartments. The Director of Residence Life showed great interest in our campaign and helped us distribute our
messages to all residence halls and apartments. Our census event was located in a high traffic area of the University Center
(UC) during one of the busiest weeks of the year, Homecoming week, on the same day as the UTA career fair, open to
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university students and alumni. The booth remained staffed by the Bateman Street Team during enrichment hour in the
UC, our campus equivalent to a student union. This is the highest traffic time in the UC with no classes taking place during
this period. We estimated between 900 and 1000 students passed by our booth and more than 200 students stopped to
inquire more about the census. We distributed more than 500 census treats with facts to students, helping us to surpass our
goals for Facebook fans and views on our YouTube video. We were unable to gain the number of desired Twitter followers
we had hoped to achieve. However, in our student interviews, we found that Twitter was the least used social medium
among UTA students, so this did not hinder our message distribution. We were able to directly reach nearly 5,000 students
through in person interaction, generate more than 9,350 unique hits to our website, gain 58 Twitter Followers and 550 fans
of our Facebook page. This covers more than 50 percent of the UTA total student population. (A - screen shots)
 Objective 2: To dispel common census misconceptions among students during the month of February
o Strategy 1: Provide a place for students to get information about the census and have questions answered.
Rationale: Students need a place that they can go to get information about the census that is convenient to them.
Many college students will not go out of their way to ask questions about unknown subjects. This is why we needed
to create an information booth in a convenient area and time for students to access, bring the information to them.
Nearly 90 percent of students surveyed have never filled out a census before, and do not know how to. (A18-22)
 Tactic 1: Census Information Booth. Our information booth was placed in a high student traffic area in the
University Center. The main purpose of the booth was to educate students about how to fill out the census
form and the benefits it would bring to their school and community. We invited Dallas census bureau
representatives, Kim Murphy and Frances Fass, to attend the event and give students more information
about how to fill out the 2010 census form and the importance of doing so. We were also able to help field
any questions that the students, parents or UTA faculty and staff may have had. We designed a brochure-
like poster board with information about the census and played our "Real World: UTA" parody video.
Snacks and candy with census facts stickered to them were attached. We asked reps to take the stress out of
filling out their census forms with census logo stress balls, containing the www.2010census.gov Web site
link. (Refer to Objective 1, Strategy 2, Tactic 3). (A86-91)
 Tactic 2: Homecoming Appearance. A secondary census information booth was set up during the
homecoming basketball game. We partnered with the Parent and Family Center booth and handed out fact
sheets geared towards parents to educate them to encourage their students to fill out their census forms.
Parents had the opportunity to get information for not only their students but themselves. (A85, A87)
o Strategy 2: Foster awareness about census form timeliness, length and Internet inaccessibility.
Rationale: There are major misconceptions among college students that the census takes too much time to fill it
out and that the questions asked are difficult to answer. We developed different tools to help squash those rumors
and set the students straight. (A33-34)
 Tactic 1: "Keepin' It Going." Our "Keep'n it Real" messages were distributed all over campus. (Refer to
Objective 1, Strategy 2, Tactic 1)
 Tactic 2: "Practice makes Perfect." We developed a mock census form with a commitment contract for
students to sign and return to us at our "Fastest to Fill Out the Census Race" event. Students who pledged
their commitment and returned their practice form were entered in a raffle to win a $25 Visa gift card.
Practice forms were distributed to students on campus, in classes, online and at our census information
booth by members of the Street Team and our grassroots supporters (UTA faculty and staff). At our
information booth, we had additional practice census forms that students could fill out. The practice census
had a commitment contract at the bottom, where students pledged to fill out the real census form in March
and mail it back by April 1, 2010. The commitment form allowed the students to take home a copy of the
practice census and get acquainted with the form. (A82)
 Tactic 3: "Fastest to Fill Out the Census Race." This event was designed to allow students the chance to
race each other to see who could fill out the census forms the fastest. We printed out oversized census' and
posted two forms side by side. Our focus was to show students that the census takes less than 10 minutes, in
our case less than a minute, to fill out, accurately and legibly. The student who filled out the census the
fastest won a $50 Visa gift card and was featured on our Facebook and twitter pages. (A86-91)
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o Strategy 3: Target campus residents and inform them of their responsibility to fill out the census.
Rationale: More than 70 percent of students living in residence halls are first-year students who thought their
parents would be counting them on their census form and would not need to fill out a census on their own. Many of
the students interviewed, who didn't live at home with their parents, incorrectly assumed that parents would count
them on their forms. We took this opportunity to educate students about the census and inform them of their
responsibility to fill out their own form. (A9)
 Tactic 1: "Distributing a Message." (Refer to Objective 1, Strategy 2, Tactic 2)
 Tactic 2: Census Sweets. (Refer to Objective 1, Strategy 2, Tactic 3)
 Tactic 3: "The Real World: UTA." (Refer to Objective 1, Strategy 3, Tactic 2)
 Tactic 4: "Keep'n it Real" at www.utacensus.com. (Refer to Objective 1, Strategy 3, Tactic 1)
 Tactic 5: Keep'n it Social.(Refer to Objective 1, Strategy 3, Tactic 3)
By making students aware of the questions on the census we were able to familiarize students with the process and raise
awareness of census facts. Our information booth on campus allowed us to guide students through the census form process
on their own time, question by question. In our post event survey we found that an average of 75 percent of the students
who took the survey knew the truth about the misconceptions after our campaign commenced. Eighty-one percent of
students surveyed rated the census as "easy" to fill out and 18 percent rated it as "average" difficulty. Through messages
from different directions, including parents we were able to reach students in a way that they could relate to, and get the
messages to stick in their heads.
 Objective 3: Increase student participation in the U.S. Census by five percent in the month of February
o Strategy 1: To engage students living on campus in an activity where they can practice with the real form.
Rationale: We wanted to give students the opportunity to get hands on experience with the real census forms they
will see in March. Instead of constantly telling students how fast and easy it is to fill out a census form, we wanted
to show them. By getting a hands on experience we anticipated that this would change and effect UTA students
behaviors. Nearly 90 percent of students surveyed had no experience with census forms, providing the perfect
opportunity to get them their fix before the real thing arrived. (A18-22)
 Tactic 1: Commitment Collections. During our "Fastest to Fill out the Census Race" event we asked
students to stop by and return their commitment forms, where we collected pledges to complete the official
census. We wanted to drive people to our booth to allow us to engage them and educate them further about
the census. To entice students we offered a raffle prize, each form returned was put into a drawing for a
$25 Visa Gift Card. Our goal was to collect 100 student commitment forms.
 Tactic 2: "Practice Makes Perfect." Distribution of practice census forms to all students. (Refer to
Objective 2, Strategy 2, Tactic 3)
Giving students a hands on experience with the census form before the official form was sent was a key objective to
changing UTA student behaviors. We distributed the form to 100 percent of the students living in residence halls on
campus, in various classes and all individuals who visited the information booth. We exceeded our goal of the number of
commitment forms collected from students, with 115 forms returned. In our post event survey we asked the students if they
were going to fill out their own census form and mail it back and 100% of the students answered yes.
 Objective 4: Extend census information to the Arlington community and UTA partners and supporters, especially in the
hard-to-count areas
o Strategy 1: Solidify partnerships with community organizations and supporters and ensure they understand the
benefits and significance of the census.
Rationale: We wanted to create a partnership with College Town UTA so we can distribute information to local
business partners that would catch the attention of community members and college students in the area that
would be unable to reach through campus efforts alone.
8

 Tactic 1: Paint the Town Red, White and Blue with the College Town, UTA. The department of University
Communication and Community Relations developed a program to reach out to community partners and
create support for UTA students and campus programs. We culminated a relationship with department
director Amy Schultz to effectively reach all 41 businesses with the census information and messaging via
social media and print.
 Tactic 2: Partner with the Arlington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. We reached out to the Arlington
Chamber of Commerce to collaborate with them on creating an action plan to work with the local Hispanic
community. Part of this tactic was to reach out to local ESL classes in the community that provides night
classes at local elementary schools. We also aimed to reach naturalization classes, in effort to educate
Hispanic individuals about the census process, its confidentiality and benefits to their kids schools and local
community.
 Tactic 3: Partner with UTA Parent and Family Center (PFC). The PFC serves the parents of students in
helping their children achieve academic success at UTA. We partnered with this organization and met with
parents during the annual PFC meeting to inform them of important census information, and how their
children are affected. This served as a direct means to distribute our message that parents should not count
students on their census forms, unless they live at home with them the majority of the time. We distributed
paper hand outs with key information and touch points of where to find more facts about the census. (A85)
o Strategy 2: To inform elementary school students in the HTC area of the importance of their parents filling out the
census.
Rationale: We want to reach students in this area because their families are some of the most not likely to be
counted due to demographics in our research.
 Tactic 1: Distribute information to Thornton elementary school to inform students about the census. The
Bateman Street Team planned to go to Thornton Elementary because it is located in the 76010 zip code,
which has a high Hispanic population and the zip code extends into part of the campus and out of all the
schools in the zip code it had the highest percentage of qualified students for the free and reduced lunch
program at 96.19 percent. The thought was to reach at least five classes of elementary students with
information about the census and give students materials they could take home, which were census themed
coloring books. (A83-84)
o Strategy 3: Create awareness for the U.S. Census through local media.
Rationale: Students still recognize traditional media, such as the campus news or local news, as the most common
way they gather their daily news, despite the growing trends in social media and accessibility of information over
the Internet. Students agreed that the majority of their hard news is obtained via newspaper or other traditional
formats, proving that the most effective means for us to distribute our key messages to local and campus media
would be through these outlets.
 Tactic 1: Hit'n it Home. Create media pitch and news inserts for UTA media. (Refer to Objective 1, Strategy
3, Tactic 4) (A54, A78-81)
 Tactic 2: Front Page. Create news release with information about the census. We distributed news
materials to local media. (A52-55)
 Objective 4 Outcome: Mixed Results
We were able to get 18 traditional media impressions, five of which were covered in the Dallas/Fort Worth direct market
area. This helped us reach and surpass our goal, with a little help from the Associated Press coverage, gained from the
attention brought to our Real World video. (A56-76)
9

Officials from the Census Bureau went to Thornton Elementary school in our place. We had difficulty coordinating with the
school director and gaining permission to partake in class activities with the students. The census representatives attended
meetings with parents, informing them about the census and why it is important, answered questions, and left information
on how to get a temporary job with the census. Census workers also left coloring books, pens, and pencils for the students.
We felt that continuing to pursue this effort this was not a good use of our resources and time.
The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was very unresponsive to our multiple meeting requests throughout December and
January, and had very little interest in developing a partnership with UTA students and their census efforts. We sent
approximately 20 email requests and placed more than 10 phone calls to reach the chamber, but with time constraints and
other plans to be put into action we scrapped this opportunity and began to pursue other venues to reach our audiences.
Keep'n it Going
By "Keep'n it Real" we were able to produce a progressive campaign that embodies our technologically savvy generation. Essential
concepts of the campaign were produced to encourage the continuation of this civic process by "Keep'n It Going".
After identifying students lack of knowledge about the census process (due to knowledge barriers, inexperience with census forms
and the governments minimal use of technology), we were able to dispel misconceptions, gain commitments and educate students,
as well as other hard to count public groups.
The production of our "hands-on experience" campaign equipped students with the knowledge, the experience and the commitment
to participate in the 2010 U.S. Census. UTA students now understand the process of filling out the census, the significance of
community funding determined by census information and the importance of mailing it back before April 1, 2010, by allowing us to
bring the messages straight to them through comfortable means of communication.
In our final shoot, the Bateman Street Team wrapped up the show learning that it takes more than just simple messages to educate
and motivate the masses, more particularly college students. By creating the "Keep'n It Real" campaign, we produced a grand finale
of not only raising awareness but also modifying past attitudes and encouraging behavior changes.
Keep'n it going is a pledge made by students to participate in the 2010 census, future census counts and continuing their
relationships to better their communities for decades to come.
By signing here you are pledging your commitment to filling out your census form accurately and mailing it back by April 1, 2010.
10

2

City of Arlington Zip Code Map
Source:
City of Arlington, Texas; Community Development and Planning. (2009).
City of Arlington's Statistics. Retrieved from www.arlingtontx.gov:
http://www.arlingtontx.gov/planning/statistics_zipcodemap.html
UTA

3

Zip
%Some
High
School
%LessThan
9thGrade
Education%
Sum
FemaleHouse
holdswChildren
NoHusband
FemaleHouse
holdsNo
Childrenor
Husband
%Income0-
5K
%'Income5-
10K
%Income
10-15K
%Income15-
20K
%Total
Income
under
20K%Hispanic%Renter%Vacant
Total
Households
7601014.3517.6431.9924545597.093.865.566.5823.0947.1157.5311.8919498
7601111.3111.5822.8911852884.213.115.536.9619.8139.5366.5513.1512418
760149.827.4217.2413693662.911.332.163.039.4327.5838.7911.9511697
760186.633.6810.3110012660.890.120.20.982.1923.177.6810.1912481
760156.45.0411.446182112.761.62.222.479.0520.5539.0312.376791
760026.353.710.054141210.520.030.050.911.5121.893.0713.537626
760136.293.479.7612294765.353.014.395.1517.919.243.3610.0215153
760126.185.1611.347912912.531.62.793.8710.7921.2529.2211.2210567
760014.863.978.837732001.430.40.730.983.5419.3810.079.7810735
760174.12.556.6514374391.120.871.492.135.6117.0222.4810.1918020
760063.942.045.987452451.91.462.322.968.6419.6666.7312.2314513
760163.651.845.497983141.860.450.611.013.9314.5212.598.5511748
EducationInThousands

4

Source:
Experian and Buxton Consumer Analytics, City of Arlington, Texas. Market Lifestyle Characteristics Analysis of
Consumer Psychographics. December 2009
2651 S. Polaris Dr., Fort Worth, Texas 76137
http://www.buxtonco.com/about_buxton.asp

5

Source
Taaffe, Jan, Arlington Independent School District Secretary of Public Information. 76010 Free and
Reduced Lunch Report. 8 January 2010.
52%
8%
40%
Student Reduced or Paid Lunch
Eligibility Status in
Arlington Indepent School District
Total Students: 63680
Total free (33292)
Total Reduced (4887)
Total Paid (25501)

6

76010 Elementary Schools Free and Reduced Lunch Report
School Name Total Enrolled Total Free Total Reduce Total Paid Percentage %
Carter JHS 844 726 63 55 93.48
Hutcheson JHS 700 569 58 73 89.58
Berry Elem. 819 650 54 115 85.96
Blanton Elem. 643 540 61 42 85.96
Crow Elem. 626 529 44 53 91.53
Rankin Elem. 760 660 55 45 94.08
Thornton Elem. 787 725 32 30 96.19
Johns Elem. 1075 920 59 96 91.07
Knox Elem. 595 479 60 56 90.58
Anderson Elem. 672 603 29 40 94.05
Source
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
NumberofStudents
76010 School Free and Reduced Lunch Data
Total Enrolled
Total Free
Total Reduced
Total Paid
94.05
85.96 85.96
93.48
91.53
89.58
91.07 90.58
94.08
96.19
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
94
96
98
Percentageofstudents
Students Receiving Free or Reduced Lunch

7

Taaffe, Jan, Arlington Independent School District Secretary of Public Information. 76010 Free and
Reduced Lunch Report. 8 January 2010.
Demographic Trends - All Students
(Fall Semester 2009)
2009
Characteristic N %
Total Headcount 28,085
Classification
Freshman 4,244 15.1%
Sophomore 3,722 13.3%
Junior 5,082 18.1%
Senior 7,594 27.0%
Degreed 728 2.6%
Undergraduate Total 21,370 76.1%
Master's 5,746 85.6%
Doctoral 969 14.4%
Ethnicity
Black 4,084 14.5%
Native American 154 0.5%
White 13,069 46.5%
Hispanic 4,623 16.5%
Asian 2,856 10.2%
International 2,805 10.0%
Unknown 494 1.8%
Gender
Male 13,192 47.0%
Female 14,893 53.0%
Source:
University of Texas at Arlington, Institutional Research, Planning & Effectiveness
Student Life Data, Fact Book. Retrieved from http://www.uta.edu/irp/factbook/index.htm

8

University of Texas at Arlington Fall 2008 University Profile
Source:
University of Texas at Arlington, University Profile 2008. Office of the Provost.
http://www.uta.edu/provost/newfaculty/docs/NFO%2009%20-%20Online-University%20Profile.pdf

9

Source:
University of Texas at Arlington, Institutional Research, Planning & Effectiveness
Student Life Data, Common Data Set 2008-2009. Retrieved from www.uta.edu/irp/common_data_set
http://www.uta.edu/irp/common_data_set/2008-2009/F.StudentLife.pdf

10

Department of Apartment and Residence Life
Total Residents: 3265
Source:
University of Texas at Arlington, Apartment and Resident Life
Organizational Chart 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.uta.edu/studentaffairs/residence-life/get-to-know-us
Enrichment Hour Resolution
Resolution 93-31
''Enrichment Hour''
Authored by: Jayson Byrd
Sponsored by: Angela Orr
Date Submitted: 1993-09-13
Date Considered: 1993-11-09
Committee: Student Affairs
Action: Passed in General Body
Result: 21-0-0
Remarks: IMPLEMENTED
Whereas: Many people take advantage of enrichment hour to have organizational meetings; and
Whereas: People who are members of more than one (1) organization experience a weekly conflict.
Be It Therefore
Resolved
That:
Enrichment hour be extended to include Mondays and Fridays from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm; and
Be It Further
Resolved
That:
The University consider rescheduling classes that occur during this time.
Source:
University of Texas at Arlington Student Congress. "Resolutions Database." 1993.
<http://www.uta.edu/studentgovernance/sc/database/resolution.php?resnum=93-31>.

11

Types of Freshman Interest Groups
A Maverick Scholar is a student who actively participates in a Freshmen Interest Group or “FIG.” A
Maverick Scholar can be any new UT Arlington Student who chooses to join together with other
new freshmen who share the same major or area of interest. These students share a common class
schedule, participate in co-curricular programming, develop lasting friendships, and interact
regularly with a Peer Academic Leader and a Faculty Mentor. Typically, our Maverick Scholars
earn a GPA that is a half a grade point higher than UT Arlington freshmen who do not join a
Maverick Scholars group and enjoy lasting friendships.
Types of Maverick Scholar Freshmen Interest Groups (FIGs)
Currently there are three different types of FIGs at UT Arlington:
Example Class Schedule
Residential FIGs
 Group 15 to 25 students together based on their academic major or interest and enroll them in the
same common course schedule of three or more classes
 Reside in Kalpana Chawla Hall in a particular area / learning community based on a particular
major, discipline, or common interest
 Develop community through Freshmen Seminar coursework, in-hall programming, social
activities, study groups, and peer and faculty mentorships
 Embedded and active in the larger KC Hall Learning Communities
Classic FIGs
 Reside anywhere on or off the UT Arlington campus.
 Develop community between through Freshmen Seminar coursework, social activities, study
groups, and peer and faculty mentorship.
Fusion FIGs
 Half of the group resides in reserved spaces in KC Hall, while the other half of the group live
anywhere on or off the UT Arlington campus
 Develop community through Freshmen Seminar coursework, and limited access to KC Hall for
social activities, study groups, and peer and faculty mentorship
Source:
University of Texas at Arlington Student Success Programs. "Types of Freshman Interest Groups." 2010.
<http://www.uta.edu/uac/maverickscholars/types-of-freshman-interest-groups>.

12

Homecoming Schedule of Events
Written by The Shorthorn
TUESDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2010 04:37 PM
Monday, Feb. 22
6 p.m. Decorate in the Dark, meet in the University Center Palo Duro Lounge
Tuesday, Feb. 23
3 p.m. Paint Your Ride with Maverick Pride at the Arlington Hall circle drive
8 p.m. Golf Cart Decorating, Lot 40 east of the UTA Bookstore
Wednesday, Feb. 24
Noon Boom at Noon, University Center mall
Noon Golf Cart Parade immediately followed by Pep Rally, Central Library mall
7 p.m. Men’s Basketball vs. Lamar and Homecoming Court Introduction, Texas Hall
7 p.m. New Member Showcase, Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council, Greek Row
Thursday, Feb. 25
7 p.m. Homecoming Step Show, Texas Hall
8 p.m. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, Rosebud Theatre
Friday, Feb. 26
Noon Spirit Friday, University Center Palo Duro Lounge
7 p.m. Student Leader Alumni Reception, University Center Carlisle Suite
9 p.m. The Bash, University Center
11 p.m. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (special engagement showing
during The Bash), Rosebud Theatre
Saturday, Feb. 27
10:30 a.m. Military Science Hall of Honor, University Center Palo Duro Lounge and Rio Grande
1 p.m. Reuniting Nurses at UTA, Smart Hospital
1 p.m. Maverick Parent and Family Association Meeting, University Club
2 p.m. Shorthorn Alumni Meeting, Student Publications Office
2 p.m. Tailgate and Chili Cook off, Trinity Hall parking lot
2 p.m. Come Back and See the MAC, Maverick Activities Center
4 p.m. Women’s Basketball vs. Sam Houston State, King and Queen Coronation at halftime,
Texas Hall
8 p.m. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, Rosebud Theatre
Source: http://www.uta.edu/studentaffairs/homecoming/
Source
University of Texas at Arlington, The Shorthorn. "TheShorthorn.com." 23 February 2010.
<http://www.theshorthorn.com/content/view/18890/134/>.

13

Where do students get their information regarding political and social issues?
Source:
University of California, Los Angeles; Student Affairs Information and Research Office. (2002).
Civil Engagement Data. Retrieved from www.sairo.ucla.edu:
http://www.sairo.ucla.edu/CSAD/Civic%20Engagement/Where%20do%20students%20get%20their
%20information%20regarding%20political%20and%20social%20issues.pdf

14

Humor in Ads Have Highest Recall Among Youth
Contacts: Kathleen Gasperini
Kathleen@labelnetworks.com; +310-745-3005
For Immediate Release:
October 27, 02003—Key research findings show that humorous advertising ranks as the most memorable type of
ad among 13-24-year-olds, according to the North American Youth Culture Study produced by Label Networks, Inc.,
the youth culture marketing intelligence and research company known for obtaining authentic research from hard-to-
reach global markets. Of the 1,868 young people surveyed in face-to-face interviews from 48 markets in North
America as part of Label’s omnibus study on the youth market, 65% said what makes an ad most memorable to them
is if the advertisement is funny. Females ranked humor at 67% compared with males at 63%. The Study also ranks
other memorable aspects young people look for in ads and why, plus advertising and purchasing influences, and
spending patterns in various categories. “While it’s widely known that the youth market is elusive and savvy to
advertising, they are not necessarily opposed to all ads,” says Kathleen Gasperini, Vice President of Label Networks.
“Young people often said they consider ads as short forms of entertainment. Creativity, Real to My Lifestyle, and
Irony were among the top expressions they used to describe what they look for in effective advertising intended for
them.” By age, advertising influences shift. Young people between the ages of 13-15, followed by 18-20, rank humor
with higher percentages than other age groups. Based on Label’s psychodemographic Traits, or personality profiles
from responses to specific behavioral questions also in the Study, the majority of 13-17-year-olds are “Seekers”
characterized as enthusiastic, compulsive consumers motivated by experiencing new things. Humor is an effective
advertising method for reaching Seekers. Seekers are also noted for spending a comparatively high portion of their
allowance or part-time job money on clothing—especially accessories—which can change their look in an instant
without wiping them out financially. Seeker characteristics indicate they love being with friends, crave comedy or
horror movies (females preferring horror to males) and scary rides. They absorb information extremely fast and seek
the “story” or point of an advertisement in short-bite cadences. While results of the Study indicate key results of likes
and dislikes in ads, it also makes clear why young people are so savvy to advertising and marketing targeted at them.
They can quickly turn off campaigns that smack of insincerity to their lifestyle. The most devastating side-effect of off-
target ads is brand backlash, whereby young people not only dislike an advertising campaign, but become repulsed by
the brand producing it because, in their minds, the brand so obviously “doesn’t get it.” For more information about
advertising likes and dislikes from the youth market results from Label Networks’ North American Youth Culture
Study 2003-‘04, or additional information, sample pages, or questions, please contact Label Networks at (310) 745-
3005; or email info@labelnetworks.com. Sample pages may be viewed at www.labelnetworks.com.
Source:
http://www.labelnetworks.com/press/press_10_27_03.php
About Label Networks:
Label Networks, Inc. is the leading youth culture marketing intelligence and research company covering the most
trendsetting subcultures in the world. Label was launched in 2000 to bridge the gap between companies trying to
access the youth marketplace and the lack of useful, authentic research about the fast-changing landscape. Label
created new methods to gain constantly fresh quantitative and qualitative data about the youth marketplace
accurately and quickly with a combination of remote data-acquisition and analysis systems, and a credible team of
Youth Culture Experts. Together, Label measures, reports, and consults with brands, agencies, and media about
pinpoint consumer preferences gathered from face-to-face interviews from the heart of opinionated youth
environments. www.labelnetworks.com.

15

Student Interviews Conducted Prior to Census Campaign
Student Interviews
Over the course of two months we conducted 32 personal interviews with UTA
students who lived on campus. We asked them 5 short questions about how they
gather information about events, etc. and general Census questions. No multiple
choice answers were given to the students. All results are pased on students
personal responses.
1. Where do you get the majority of your information about campus news, events
and activities? (Several had 2 answers)
The Shorthorn (Campus Newspaper) 6
Fliers/Posters 20
University Emails 4
Peers 24
2. I get a lot of information about Campus news, events and activities from my
peers via word of mouth.
Agree 26
Neutral 5
Disagree 1
3. I get a lot of information about Campus news, events and activities from my
peers via online social media.
Agree 28
Neutral 3
Disagree 1
4. Which social medium do you use the most?
Facebook 30
Twitter 1
MySpace 1
5. Have you heard of the Census before?
Yes 22
No 10
5. Who is going to fill out your 2010 Census form?
My Parents 26
Me 1
I Don't Know 4
My roomate 1

16

11%
37%
7%
45%
Where do UTA students get
their info
The Shorthorn (Campus
Newspaper)
Fliers/Posters
University Emails
Peers

18

Student Concerns Pre-Campaign Survey

19

Student Concerns Pre-Campaign Survey Results
Gender City/Town
Male 29.63% Arlington 38.89%
Female 70.37% Other 40.74%
Dallas 3.70%
Fort Worth 11.11%
Apartment: 25.90% Homeless: 0.00%
House: 24.10% Hotel: 0.00%
Rental House: 5.60% Condominium: 0.00%
Residence Hall: 38.90% Town Home: 0.00%
On Campus Apartment: 3.70% Parent's Home 1.90%
Mobile Home: 0.00%
Not concerned Not important Somewhat important Very important
Health care: 1.9% 1.9% 35.2% 61.1%
Hospitals: 1.9% 7.4% 31.5% 59.3%
Child care: 37.0% 14.8% 24.1% 24.1%
Grants for programming: 13.0% 11.1% 37.0% 38.9%
Traffic and road maintenance: 5.6% 9.3% 51.9% 33.3%
Public transportation: 14.8% 13.0% 33.3% 38.9%
Schools: 3.7% 5.6% 25.9% 64.8%
Tuition and loan programs: 7.4% 3.7% 13.0% 75.9%
Employment opportunities: 0.0% 0.0% 14.8% 85.2%
Political Representation: 7.4% 16.7% 50.0% 25.9%
Distribution of federal funds: 3.7% 5.6% 35.2% 55.6%
Local business success and
profitability: 11.1% 7.4% 46.3% 35.2%
Senior Centers: 25.9% 24.1% 31.5% 18.5%
88.90% 48
11.10% 6
72.20% 39
13.00% 7
13.00% 7
38.90% 21
24.10% 13
88.90% 48
11.10% 6
22.20% 12
18.50% 10
No. 59.30% 32
Demographics Classification
Age Freshman 24.07%
0-19 38.89% Sophomore 7.41%
20-24 44.44% Junior 16.67%
25-30 12.96% Senior 18.52%
35+ 1.85% Graduate Student 3.70%
No Response 25.93%
No
Are you aware that there is a fine for not filling out and returning the Census?
Yes, I know the amount.
Yes, but I do not know the amount.
Please select the level of importance each of these community factors has on your life:
I am aware that the Census is only 10 questions.
I am aware that the Census only takes 10 minutes to
I am aware that the Census is required by law.
I am aware that the Census determines funding for
Will you fill out a Census form this year?
Yes
Please select what most closely represents your living situation:
What is your knowledge of the Census (choose all that apply):
I have heard of the Census.
I have filled out a Census in the past.
I know the Census occurs only once every 10 years.

20

0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
45.00%
Percent of Students Surveyed
Living Situation
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
Percentage of students surveyed
Community Factors
Student Concerns
Not concerned
Not important
Somewhat
important
Very
important

21

40%
45%
13%
2%
Student Age Range
0-19
20-24
25-30
35+
25%
8%
17%19%
4%
27%
Student Classification
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Graduate Student
No Response

22

Arlington
41%
Other
43%
Dallas
4%
Fort Worth
12%
City of Residence
Male
30%
Female
70%
Student Gender

23

Student Post-Event Sample Survey

24

Student Post-Event Sample Survey Results
1. Did you have any knowledge of the census prior to February?
Yes 81.30%
No 18.80%
2. How did you find out about the fastest to fill out the census
Poster/Flyer on Campus 25.00%
Facebook/Twitter 12.50%
www.utacensus.com 0.00%
Friend 43.80%
Faculty or Staff 6.30%
3. Did you compete in the timed race?
Yes 50.00%
No 50.00%
How would you rate the ease of filling out the census form?
Very Easy Easy Average Difficult
Very
Difficult
50.00% 31.30% 18.80% 0.00% 0.00%
5. Please answer the following based on information obtained
from the census booth. Do you know now:
Yes No
you cannot fill your census form out online? 62.50% 37.50%
parents? 68.80% 31.30%
that the census takes less than 10 minutes? 87.50% 12.50%
that the census is required by law? 68.80% 31.30%
that the census must be mailed back by April 1, 2010? 75.00% 25.00%
that census data is confidential? 87.50% 12.50%
that census data determines the distribution of $400 billion in
government funding? 75.00% 25.00%
Are you going to fill out your census form and mail it back? 100.00% 0.00%
6. Did you see any of the census fliers or posters on campus
during the month of February?
Yes 68.80%
No 31.30%
7. If so, did you seek more information on the
www.utacensus.com or www.2010.census.gov website?
Yes, on www.utacensus.com 25.00%
Yes, on www.2010.census.gov 0.00%
Yes, on both 0.00%
No, I looked for info elsewhere 12.50%
No Answer 62.50%
8. Please select your living arrangements:
Parent's House 25.00%
House 37.50%
On-campus apartment 6.30%
Off-campus apartment 18.80%
Residence Halls 12.50%
Greek Housing 0.00%

25

0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
percentage of students
Student knowledge post campaign:
(Do you know now that...)
Yes
No
Yes
69%
No
31%
Did you see any of the census
fliers or posters on campus
during the month of February?

26

Very Easy
50%
Easy
31%
Average
19%
Difficult
0%
Very Difficult
0%
Ease of filling out the 2010
census
29%
14%
0%
50%
7%
How did you learn about
the census event?
Poster/Flyer on
Campus
Facebook/Twitter
www.utacensus.com
Friend
Faculty or Staff

27

Paint the Town Blue (College Town, UTA) Participating Businesses List
1. Airways Hamburgers
2. Alley Cats
3. ATOMIC Subs & Wings
4. Beirut Rock Cafe
5. Bethany
6. Black Eyed Pea
7. Buck N' Loons
8. Buffalo Wild Wings
9. Burger Box
10. CiCi's Pizza
11. Coffee Haus
12. Colters BarBQ
13. Compass Trading Co.
14. Eclectic Expressions
15. Fish City
16. Goodyear Auto Service
17. High Times Lifestyle
18. Hoffbrau's
19. Hooters
20. Jamaica Gates
21. Jason's Deli
22. J. Gilligans
23. J.R. Bentley's
24. La Isla Restaurant
25. Latinos Tire Shop
26. Lone Star Comics
27. MetroPCS
28. New Yorker Pizza
29. Nizza Pizza
30. No Frills Grill
31. Panda House
32. Popcorn
33. Razzoo's
34. Sherlock's Pub
35. Snap N Go (Convenient Store)
36. Taco Bell
37. Taco Bueno
38. Texas Black Belt Academy
39. Tin Cup
40. Waffle House
41. Wing Stop
Source:
University of Texas at Arlington, University Communications. Amy J. Schultz, Associate Vice
President, Communications & Community Relations. College Town, UTA

33

Student Census Focus Group 12/20/2010
Moderator: Emily Suied
Assistant Moderator: Rebekah Karth
 Campus News
o Student Response showed that they get their news from a variety of
sources, but most students in the focus group receive messaging through
electronic and/or by word of mouth/residence halls. This showed us that
our campaign should include social media and on campus messages.
 Video—1 student gets news this way
 Podcasts—1 student gets news this way
 Yahoo! News-1 student gets news this way
 Word of Mouth-3 student gets news this way
 Online-2 students get news this way
 Residence Halls-1 student gets news this way
 CNN-1 student gets news this way
 TV-2 students get news this way
 Radio-1 student gets news this way
 NPR-1 student gets news this way
 Effective Message Sources
o The focus group showed that students tend to receive messages
electronically, showing us that this would be an important part of our
messaging.
o According to students, Facebook was the most effective means of
communicating with them electronically, and Twitter was the least
effective. This gave us a rationale for the intensity of our focus on different
forms of media.
 UTA Radio—No student said this was effective
 Shorthorn (student newspaper)—3 students said this was effective, 3 said it was
not
 UTA Web site—2 students said this was not effective, 4 said it was
 Twitter—No student said this was effective
 Facebook—1 student said this was not effective, 5 said it was
 Attend Campus Events
o Finding out that students in the focus group did not regularly attend
campus events showed us that we would need to be aggressive in
promoting our campaign, and that we could not rely on event attendance
to effectively reach all students.
 No—5 students
 Yes—0 students
 Some—2 students
 Student Organization Involvement
o Some of the students in the focus group did indicate involvement in some
organization on campus, showing that reaching out to campus groups may
be an effective way to reach UTA students.
 UTA Volunteers—2 students
 Society of Women Engineers—1 student

34

 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics—1 student
 American Society of Mechanical Engineers—1 student
 Not Exactly Traditional Students—1 student
 Public Relations Student Society of America—1 student
 Sports—1 student
 Live on campus
 Yes—4 students
 No—3 students
 Message Week 1
 Simple understanding—1 student said no, 5 students said yes
 Too long—1 student said no
 Too short—1 student said no
 Flow/easy to remember—1 student said yes
 Motivate you to follow up for more info—1 student said yes
 Message Week 2
 Simple understanding—1 student said yes
 Too short—1 student said no
 Flow/easy to remember—1 student said yes
 Message Week 3
 Simple understanding—1 student said no
 Too short—1 student said yes
 Flow/easy to remember—1 student said no
 Motivate you to follow up for more info—1 student said no
 Message Week 4
 Simple understanding—1 student said no
 Too short—1 student said yes
 Flow/easy to remember—1 student said no
o Based on student response to messaging, messages were either reworked
or scrapped altogether in favor of messages that would speak to student
concerns and would reach them in ways that students said were effective.

35

Budget Expenses
In ‐ Kind Donations Donated By
Printing materials $615.14 Buxton
Bateman Competition Registration $50.00 UTA PRSSA
Subtotal $665.14
Out‐of‐Pocket expenses
Web site $18.00
Gift Cards (raffle prizes) $75.00
Misc. Office supplies $29.92
Candy Bars and Snacks $57.32
T‐Shirt supplies $41.46
Subtotal $221.70
Total $886.84

36

Census 2010 – All Immigrants Need to be Counted!
By Karen A. Herrlin, CLINIC Advocacy Attorney
Every 10 years the federal government aims to count EVERYONE living in the United States, regardless of their
immigration status. The U.S. Census Bureau, the government agency that administers the 2010 Census, will
count individuals living in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and
Guam. People of all ages, races, and ethnic groups will be counted. The Census count will encompass citizens
and non-citizens, including undocumented immigrants.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to encourage
participation in the 2010 Census. As a respected and trusted institution, the Catholic Church will help to
ensure that hard to reach communities, like immigrants and individuals with limited English, know about
and partake in the Census.
The 2010 Census count will be done through a Census form that will be mailed to individuals' primary residence.
The Census form consists of 10 questions that ask for information like: number of people living or staying in
the household as of April 1, 2010; number of additional people staying at the residence not included in
Question 1; whether the residence is a house, apartment or mobile home and whether it is owned or rented;
telephone number at the residence; information for each person living in the residence, including, name, sex,
age and date of birth, race, and whether person is of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. The Census Bureau
estimates that it will take 10 minutes to fill out the Census form.
Complete Confidentiality of Census Information:
Census answers are completely confidential and protected by privacy laws. Responses to the questions CANNOT
be used against individuals in any way. The Census form does not ask about immigration status or ask for a
Social Security Number.
The Census Bureau has a solid record of protecting the confidentiality of personal census responses. No other
government agency - not immigration officials, law enforcement, housing authorities or the courts - can
obtain any person's individual census answers. Also, every census worker has to swear an oath to keep
information confidential and anyone who violates that confidentiality can be imprisoned for up to five years
and fined $250,000. These laws are strictly enforced.
Census Forms Available in Six Languages and Fifty-Nine Language Access Guides:
The 2010 Census Form will be available in six languages. These languages are: English, Spanish, Chinese,
Korean, Russian and Vietnamese. According to the Census Bureau, the English/Spanish bi-lingual forms will
be mailed to areas with large numbers of Spanish-only households. Individuals will be able to request a form
in one of the five non-English languages via toll-free numbers that will be available closer to Census Day.
Additionally, the Census Bureau will have Language Assistance Guides in 59 different languages. Individuals can
place the Language Assistance Guides next to the Census Form to help them understand the questions and
then fill out the English version of the Census form. These guides can be obtained from the Census Bureau.
Also, a Telephone Assistance Hotline is available in English and Spanish. These numbers are: 1-866-872-
6868 (English); 1-866-928-2010 (Spanish).
Complete the Census Form and Mail It Back in the Attached Postage-Paid Envelope:
Filling out the Census form is mandatory. After individuals have completed the form, they are instructed to place
it in the attached postage-paid envelope and mail it back to the Census Bureau. If a household does not mail
back its form, a Census worker may call or come to the door to help fill out the Census form.
Immigrants, Regardless of Status, Should Be Counted:
The Census is important to everyone! Census data directly impacts communities in three critical ways: political
representation, government funding, and civil rights. Additionally, governments, businesses, and nonprofits
(like the Catholic Church, CLINIC and Catholic Charities Programs) rely on Census data to plan for growth
and development of their programs and to assess the needs of the communities they serve.

37

Political Representation: Census data determines the number of Congressional seats each state has. The data is
used to draw Congressional and state legislative district lines, and in some communities, it also decides city,
county and school board seats. Thus, being counted as part of the Census is an important path to political
empowerment.
Funding: The Census data affects how more than $400 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to
communities for public health services, education, transportation, parks, etc. Thus, filling out and mailing
back the 2010 Census form is crucial to ensure that communities get their fair share of federal funds for
important programs like public schools, Medicaid, CHIP, childcare, early child education, school lunch
programs, English and civics classes, and more. All of these programs play a significant role in the future
prosperity and well-being of all communities, including immigrant communities. Each uncounted person
could cost his or her community between $11,000 and $12,500 over the next decade.
Civil Rights:
Census data is used to protect individuals' civil rights, such as the enforcement of the Voting Rights Act.
People Get Counted in the Residence Where They Live and Sleep:
According to the Census Bureau, most people will be counted in the residence in which they live and sleep most
of the time. For instance, people that live at their home and nowhere else will be counted at their home
through their household's Census form. People who are on vacation or a business trip on Census Day, April
1, 2010 will be counted at the home where they live and sleep most of the time. Individuals that are living in
a temporary housing unit, or staying temporarily with family or friends will be counted in the residence
where they live and sleep most of the time or where they are staying on Census Day. Homeless individuals
will be counted by the Census Bureau at service-based locations. Migrant and seasonal farm workers will be
counted where they live and sleep most of the time -- a residence or at a migrant farm camp -- wherever they
stay most of the time. Citizens of foreign countries living in the U.S. will be counted in the residence where
they live and sleep most of the time. However, foreign citizens visiting the U.S. on a vacation or business trip
will not be counted in the Census.
Help with Census Forms:
The Census Bureau will open 30,000 Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QACs) across the country from February
26 - April 19, 2010. The QACs can help people in hard-to-count communities understand the census and fill
out their questionnaires. The QACs will have Language Assistance Guides and Be Counted Forms (in six
languages, including English) for people who did not receive a questionnaire at their residence or believe
they were left off the questionnaire filled out at their home. The Census Bureau will post on the Internet the
location, days/hours, and language assistance offered by the QACs.
If you have questions about this article or need further information, please contact Karen Herrling, CLINIC's
Advocacy Attorney, at (202) 635-7410 or kherrling@cliniclegal.org.
Source:
California Catholic Conference, Census 2010 - All Immigrants need to be counted.
http://www.cacatholic.org/index.php/news-and-analysis/immigration/630-immigrants-census.html

52

For Immediate Release: Contact: Kathelin Buxton
(817) 658-0178
kathelin.buxton@gmail.com
STUDENT CENSUS RACE EDUCATES THE HARD-TO-COUNT
According to the U.S. Census Bureau it only takes 10 minutes to fill out the 10 question
2010 census. Students at The University of Texas at Arlington are racing to complete their forms
in less than a minute, at the “Fastest to Fill Out the Census” event on Wednesday, February 24,
2010.
The census race will be held in the University Center, on the UTA campus. The goal is to
inform students, considered “Hard-To-Count” members of the population, about the census and
the benefits a complete count have on the community. Students, faculty and staff are invited to
participate in the five hour event, and pledge their commitment to mail back their official census
before April 1, 2010.
The event is designed to raise awareness for the census and create behavioral factors to
motivate and educate students. Participants will practice how to fill out their forms before they
are delivered to households in early March. U.S. Census representatives will be available on-site
to answer questions and concerns from college students, along with a student group of five
members participating in the PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition, who will host the event.
“This is a great event giving students real practice and great advice on how to fill out their
2010 census forms accurately by the April 1, 2010 deadline,” said Elizabeth Edwards, Senior, UTA
PRSSA Bateman team member. “We want students to see how easy it is and clear up any
misconceptions about the importance of the census.”
The UTA Bateman team is using humor to address student concerns by delivering weekly
messages that highlight the direct benefits of the distribution of more than $400 billion in federal
funds to communities. Students living in residence halls and campus apartments will also be
informed that they will not be counted on their parents’ forms if they reside somewhere else the
majority of the year, and that they will not be able to fill out their forms online.

53

The Bateman Case Study Competition originated in 1973, established by the Public
Relations Society of America with the intent of giving students the opportunity to experience
public relations problem-solving first hand. This year’s client was selected as the 2010 Census.
Campaigns implemented for the Census take place throughout the month of February, final
campaigns are submitted in March and Bateman finalists present in Washington, D.C., May 13-
14, 2010.

54

To: Shorthorn Editors
From: UTA Bateman Street Team
Subj: What's your reality? 2010 Census campaign is going to find out
Good Morning Beth,
What's your reality? The 2010 census wants to find out who you are by taking a snapshot of America.
The UTA Public Relations Student Society (PRSSA) has developed a campaign, in coordination with the
UTA communication and community relations departments representatives Amy Schultz and Kristin
Sullivan, that will show the diverse reality of UTA students and the surrounding community.
Here are some notable facts about the PRSSA campaign:
 It will be implemented throughout the month of February with a new message each week
centered around the Census.
 'What is your reality?' is our central message, focusing on the uniqueness of each student and
encouraging them to show their diversity
 The campaign was developed and researched by a team of five UTA students.
 There will be a video message each week, building up to a main event on Wed. Feb. 24th, from
10am-3pm in the University Center.
 A photo competition will take place with the national census theme 'Taking a snapshot of
America' and asking students and organizations to show how they are a part of the picture. A
prize will be awarded to the winners.
A successful campaign will award recognition to UTA and give the campaign team the opportunity to
present in Washington, D.C. in May, for the national PRSSA Bateman Case Study
Competition. http://www.prssa.org/bateman/default.aspx
Our goal is to have the Shorthorn help us spread the word about the census, the more accurate the count
the more money and representation will be made available for our community, and the community that
affects UTA.
For more information on this story and our team please contact me at
817.658.0278, kathelin.buxton@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Kathelin Buxton
UTA PRSSA President
817.658.0178
kathelin.buxton@gmail.com
kathelin.buxton@mavs.uta.edu

55

Email to Kalpana Chawla Hall Residents
From: Kalpana.Chawla.Hall@uta.edu
To: All KC Hall Residents
Subj: 2010 US Census
The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter at UTA is taking part in a national competition
for their organization, learning how to research, launch a campaign, and write an evaluation. This year's
competition is partnering with the 2010 census.
The US has a census every 10 years to determine how many people are living in the US and to gather information
on the demographics of the population. Congressional representation and government funding are based in part
on how many people are living in a certain area.
Everyone (including international students) is counted on April 1 (the census date) where they live at that time.
This means that students who do not live with their parents will not be counted as a member of their parents'
household for the census, even if they are still dependents for tax purposes.
Students will be getting official census forms at their residence halls. There is a $100 fine for not filling out the
census.
PRSSA at UTA is gathering data on students' thoughts/feelings towards the census to be able to refine their
campaign to better target what students need to know, as well as to have data for their evaluation. PRSSA is also
hosting an event on Wednesday, February 24 from 10-3 in the UC to help answer any questions students have
about the census, including games and the chance to win a drawing. PRSSA also is launching a social media
campaign, with a presence on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Link to survey (really short!)
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KSKNMJ8
Twitter account
http://twitter.com/UTACENSUS
Facebook fan page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arlington-TX/UTA-Census/275444918156
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/utacensus
This is the first year that PRSSA at UTA has had a team enter our organization's national competition--the top 3
teams will present their research in Washington, D.C., so help is greatly appreciated. I'm the Treasurer for the
PRSSA at UTA chapter and one of the competition team members.
I'll be happy to answer any questions that students may have.
Rebekah Karth
KC Hall Council President
Source:
University of Texas at Arlington, Kalpana Chawla Hall listserv. "2010 Census." 7 February 2010.
<https://pod51000.outlook.com/owa/?rru=inbox>.

56

 KXNet is part of the Midkota Media Network serving Bismarck, Minot, Williston, Dickinson,
Jamestown, Devils Lake, Fargo, North Dakota.
 Outreach to 300,000 unique people every month

62

 71 % of readers fall between 18 and 54
 Average of 520 thousand website visitors monthly
 1.5, average number of visits per day

73

 Online views: 265
 Print Circulation: 24,000 students and 3,400 employees

76

 Serves the Fort Worth and Arlington market, reaching 399,000 individuals through daily print

77

Handouts,
Flyers,
Posters and
Pictures

78

Week One Campus Poster

79

Week Two Campus Poster

80

Week Two Campus Poster

81

Week Three Campus Poster

85

Census Parent Hand Out

86

UTA Bateman team ready to teach students about the importance of filling out their census forms.

“We can’t move forward until you mail it back”

87

2010 Census booth where students can learn the benefits of filling out the census, fill out a practice
census, watch a funny video and get some free snacks with valuable census information
attached.

Filling out a practice census form and signing a commitment to fill out the real form in March
entered students entered in a raffle to win $25.

88

“Race to win $50” The student who can fill out a supersized practice census form the fastest will win
$50!

89

Students racing each other to win $50!

Jonathon Silver won the census race by filling out the census in 20.4 seconds!

90

US Census representative giving out information about the census to wondering students

Bateman member telling students about the importance of filling out their census forms.

91

US Census representative helping a student fill out her practice census form.

ROTC came out to support the census!

2010 Census PR Plan

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