1 Karisa Saunders Hillary Millecam David Lake Spencer Ngatuvai Amber Singh Andrew Devey

Strategic Planning Case 2: Maligned Academic

RESEARCH 1. BACKGROUND Buck Raymond is a BYU professor and has a 17-point lead in the voting polls. Buck Raymond is well-known in his district. No one affiliated with Raymonds party has failed to be elected. There are only four days until the election and BYUs President is unavailable for a comment until Monday. The letter has not been released, but KSL is planning on doing a piece on it for the 10 p.m. news this Thursday evening. The letter may insinuate that Raymond used his influence as a professor to gain an advantage in the polls. There is no law against this, but some might morally oppose this. Nobody has legitimate evidence that Raymond used his influence as a professor to enhance his campaign. While we know that a letter given from the opposing party to the media implies that we gained some advantage by Raymonds virtue as a BYU professor, we do not know of the exact contents of the letter. Not only are we unsure of the content of the letter, but we do not know who issued to initial complaint or what the details of the initial complaint were. Beyond that, we would like to find out why BYUs president did not contact Raymond about the issue before he sent an apology letter. In relation to the coming story we need to know what publics tune into KSL, the total quantity of viewers on a typical evening, and if other news sources have notification of the coming story. Potential key publics to focus on include the recipients of KSL, voters, Raymonds political party, swing voters, BYU faculty, and the opposing party. Intervening publics include KSL TV and other media sources such as: The Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, The Daily Universe, BYU students, the person who submitted the rumor, and the BYU president. 2. SITUATION ANALYSIS. KSL News obtained a letter from the President of BYU apologizing to the opposing party for Raymond exploiting his role as a professor to gain advantage in his political campaign. KSL plans to release a report on the 10 p.m. news about the letter and would like a comment from Raymond. The consuming audience is comprised mostly of middle-aged women. The total audience will likely exceed ten thousand people. If the news piece reflects poorly on our campaign it will negatively affect our position as the top candidate for office. We will not know the contents of the letter until meeting with the news reporter. We will also be unable to contact the university president until Monday, days after the initial report. We do not want to respond too brashly to the reports as we already have a comfortable lead. As currently stands, we have no evidence that Raymond did anything that was illegal or unethical as he did not employ student services. However, we do not want to

2 respond too lightly, as we do not want the media release to depict us avoiding the issue. 3. CORE PROBLEM If we dont clarify that Raymond did not use students to further his campaign he will lose voter support and may lose the election on Tuesday. 4. GOAL AND OBJECTIVES Goal: Buck Raymonds goal is to win the election next Tuesday. Objectives: To maintain at least a 15-point lead in the polls until next Tuesday. To have 90 percent voter participation from Raymonds political colleagues on Tuesday. To obtain a retraction of the initial accusation from the President and accuser before Tuesdays election. 5. KEY PUBLICS AND MESSAGES The public of active KSL News consumers typically consists of middle-aged women and senior citizens. They are concerned with Raymonds willingness to compromise his integrity and relationships with his students in order to win an election. Many fear that his attitude and behavior will reflect on other matters if elected to congress. The message we will share with this public goes as follows: I have chosen not to use student help in my campaign, even though it isnt illegal, because I felt it would be unfair to exploit students for our purposes. I want to reassure voters I take my job, my responsibilities as a professor and my campaign efforts seriously. I have not, and would not, do anything to jeopardize the trust I have earned. Those accusations are false. Raymonds pledged voters are a public comprised of people who already believe in the values and practices that Raymond supports. There is a concern that some of these people might sway in their voting if they believe that Raymond behaved unethically in employing student support for his campaign. We need to send a message that shows that he has continually practiced those values that they support. The message we will share goes as follows: Raymond has not participated in any unethical activity and his campaign, policies and values have stayed true from the first day he won your support. As his pledged voter, Raymond will continue to represent you with integrity. Raymonds political colleagues and party are another public of concern. We want to make sure that we keep everyone in the campaign on board and ensure them that we have done nothing unethical. The interests of this public includes a desire to preserve their own reputation. They do not want to run with a candidate that practices unethical behavior. If this public stops supporting it will look suspicious to voters as the election approaches. The message to this public goes as follows: As colleagues of Raymond, you can be reassured that he did not violate any campaign regulations that could taint your reputation or the reputation of the party. He will resolve any doubts against the partys credibility and reinforce trust and support currently held therein. The last public of concern will be the swing voters. These swing voters are people that are not necessarily affiliated with one party or the other, instead they back the party that most closely relates to their values and beliefs. These people will want someone that is consistent and ethical in their behavior, and they could be easily persuaded to align with another candidate if they feel

3 a candidate is doing something unethical. If we do not clarify Raymonds behavior they would be likely to support another candidate. The message that we will share goes as follows: As someone who is not affiliated with a specific party, we understand your interest in a candidate that portrays consistency and ethical behavior. Raymonds campaign, party platforms, and personal values have remained constant and we assure you that he has not participated in any unethical behavior. With your support, we guarantee that these same values and positions will remain unchanging in office as well.

6. STRATEGIES AND TACTICS KSL Consumers: Through KSLs nightly-news broadcast we will reassure viewers that Raymond does not participate in illegal campaign tactics and that he remains the best candidate. Pledged Voters: Through public posters, door-to-door handouts, social media, and opinion articles, we will maintain the support and votes of his pledged voters to keep a strong lead. Political Colleagues: By scheduling a meeting to converse with his associates as well as personal phone calls, he can reassure his party that they can trust him not to hurt their partys reputation. Swing Voters: By using posters and fliers in public areas, online information videos, YouTube advertisements, and TV commercials, we will promote voters who have not yet chosen a candidate to feel confident in selecting Raymond.