Mountaineer Boys and Girls Club

Final Project Guide – JRL 485 – MDS Capstone

1. Strategic Communications Plan (50 Points)

a. All components are included and adequately described using information from the course and

other related, cited materials.

i. Business Description?

ii. Overall problem or opportunity?

iii. Larger Industry Overview?

iv. Segmented target audience including demographics, psychographics, and likely existing

perceptions? Rationale for choosing this particular segment?

v. Internal and external operating environment operating environment, detailed through a

SWOT and PEST analysis?

vi. Realistic overall goal, with specific type of goal noted and SMART communications

objectives that support it.

vii. Relevant key messages, media and other communications strategies to employ with

justifications as to why and how they could be used?

viii. Description of how your media product/s incorporate the key messages and helps

support a SMART objective?

ix. How you would measure success and whether those measurements are qualitative or

quantitative?

x. What timeframe you would propose to implement your communications plan and

measure results?

2. Executive Summary (20 points)

a. A one-page synopsis (should include subheads and bullets) of your communications plan that

would be suitable for a busy executive to read and understand the overall communications

effort. Should include the problem/challenge the organization faces, the overall goal the

communications plan should support, the plan’s specific objectives, how the media product/s

you develop support at least one of the objectives and how you would evaluate your product/s

success.

3. Media Product/s (50 points)

a. Suitability of product to client’s goal

b. Suitability of product to plan’s target audience

c. Relevant to your professional goals

d. Media-oriented knowledge/skills are evident

e. Finished product is of high quality; adequately developed and designed

4. Professionalism (30 points)

a. Excellent writing (no typos, grammatically correct)

b. Good design and readability (e.g. plan and/or media product is well presented with headings,

subheadings, white space, adequate font size and style, cover sheet with student name, page

numbers, and has a good style and appearance.

c. Consistent style throughout.

TOTAL Points Possible: 150