A society with a reputation for being too 'serious' was not getting new signups, and had trouble standing out from the other socieities on campus.
SOLUTION
Open the semester with creative topics, communicating in the spaces the students are, and showcase the society's value proposition in a less serious environment.
BOOST CREATIVITY
Attention-grabbing imagery and concepts attracted curious students to the events. While the topics before were more suited to politics majors, the new general knowledge (sometimes off-the-wall) opinion-based debate topics were more inviting to all students.
Experienced debators were invited to be part of the teams—some comedians, some scholars, some award-winning students— both improving the sessions and demonstrating the discipline at the heart of the society.
IMPROVE SERVICES
The signup method was upgraded from pen and paper to a online signup form, allowing new members to sign up instantly instead of waiting for signup desks to pop up twice a semester. The signup fields also added a field for email contacts.
The acquisition of a direct sponsorship of pizzas from a local Dominoes futher improved the experiences at the debates, and facilitated an extra conversation session after each debate.
Official membership cards were created, and shown at the entry to the debates to gain access. Attendees could sign up on the spot at the events to get their membership cards to enter, further increasing membership numbers and unlocking greater society funding.
MARKETING CHANNELS
Facebook was the social network that was most popular with students for organising events, and this was the primary channel of communication.
Taking advantage of Facebook ads to target students on campus, it was one of the first socities on campus to use PPC ads on social media.
The digital signups process also instantly provided a mailing list for all members, opening a second marketing channel directly with members, and established an email database that could add value to future committees.
