PUBLIC RELATIONS PROPOSAL FOR MCC ACADEMY

Table of Contents

Section Page Number

Situation…………………………………………………………………….p.2
Objectives…………………………………………………………………...p.2-3
Target Audience……………………………………………………………..p.3
Strategy……………………………………………………………………...p.3
Tactics………………………………………………………………………..p.4-7
Time Table…………………………………………………………………...p.7
Budget……………………………………………………………………….p.8
Evaluation……………………………………………………………………p.8

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Situation:

Skokie, Lincolnwood, and Morton Grove are a few of the most popular suburbs on the
northeastern side of Chicago. Known in the Chicagoland area for malls, new businesses, and
diverse community, these suburbs have a lot to offer to each different cultural group. With 53%
of the residents having another native language, one can imagine all the business opportunities
that are available for consumers to take advantage of. After Caucasians, these suburbs have the
highest amount of residents that have originated from Eastern Asia, making Islam the second
most practiced religion in the community. While these suburbs have quite a few Jewish and
Catholic private schools, MCC Academy is the only one that serves this crown.

MCC Academy, with branches in Chicago, Morton Grove, and its newest location in
Skokie, opened its door in 1989. Since then, it has worked to expand its academy with two
more locations and continues to focus on providing an excellent academic experience. With a
mosque at every location, MCC has emphasized a spiritual life while offering a social
environment for attendees. The mosque brings in a large crowd every week from many
different suburbs. The three MCC locations have Muslim students and adults enrolled that are
eager to learn more about their faith. Although this is an established academy, an increased
enrollment would benefit more families and would allow MCC to carry on its mission. Since it is
has two prime locations in residential areas of Skokie and Morton Grove, the community
provides a strong support system to them. The 30 year anniversary will allow the community to
be more aware of the academy and enjoy all the activities they offer.

Objectives:

1) Increase awareness about what the organization is and what programs it offers, such as
after school tutoring, daily religious teachings, and Quran recitations.

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 2) Increase student enrollment by 8%
3) Increase social media followers by 12% on all accounts (Twitter and Facebook)

Target Audience:

In our census research, we found that after Whites, Lincolnwood, Skokie, and Morton Grove
has the largest amount of an Indo-Pak population. Skokie has a 25.5%, Lincolnwood has a 29%,
and Morton Grove has a 30% population of Asians. These suburbs are also targeted because
they have an average income higher than other surrounding suburbs. This is why the marketing
efforts will be targeted towards these suburbs. Not only are they close to MCC Academy
locations but also have a large number of the residents that would help the academy reach its
goals. More specifically, we will be targeting the parents and heads of these households, as
they are more likely to coordinate family gatherings and have kids. The hope is that Muslim
families are targeted. This will allow families to know of the academy and its ongoing events,
while informing them of the educational opportunities available to not only kids but adults as
well. This audience wants to preserve spiritual knowledge within themselves and more
importantly, in their kids, because they live in a Western country where many opportunities like
this aren’t available. As mentioned earlier, these residents have higher incomes, which will also
allow them to consider such an academy since it is private schooling. Since these suburbs have
always had a strong South Asian population, the academy anniversary will show them how the
community has reached a milestone and how to take advantage of such an organization.

Strategy:

To associate organization accomplishments and benefits with MCC Academy by hosting a

month long 30 year anniversary celebration that will emphasize the organization and its values.
This will increase awareness about the academy, increase enrollment by 8%, and increase social
media followers by 12%.

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Tactics:

Press release
Throughout the month long anniversary celebration, there will be two press releases,
Each press release will offer different information to the public but both will consist of the MCC
Academy logo, spokesperson contact information, and the mission statement of the
organization.
The first press release will be issued November 1, 2018. This will be the release date
because since the anniversary celebrations begin January, this news will stay fresh in readers
mind and give them an appropriate amount of time to see which events fit their schedule. It will
have information about the 30 year anniversary of the academy and what events will take place
in January to celebrate. It will also have information about the guest speaker and how the
community can take advantage of the month long events and initiatives the organization is
introducing.
The other press release will be issued February 15, 2018. This will give detailed
information about how many people participated in the celebrations and have photos from the
various events. It will also talk about how many students enrolled in the academy, allowing the
organization to carry on its mission.

Flyers Around Town

What better way to spread the word than deliver flyers at neighborhood houses? These
flyers will have the information of all the events for the month and offer attendees a free meal
if they show this flyer at the door. These flyers will be red, with the MCC logo in the middle, and
they will also have all the celebration information alongside pictures. Each picture will
showcase a different setting to display the variety of activities that go on at the academy. At the
bottom of the poster, it will have the MCC mission statement, so people can remember the
organization’s goal for doing all this. The flyers will also have MCC’s Facebook and Twitter

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account information so users can stay up to date on future news and be a part of the social
media giveaways.

The flyers will be distributed on every residential doorstep in Skokie, Morton Grove, and
Lincolnwood. Volunteers will go drop a flyer at each door step and answer any questions that
residents might have. These four suburbs are crucial to ensuring our goals are reached because
MCC is the closest Islamic education site that’s available to them.

Open Houses

Fridays are very busy for MCC locations, as it is Friday prayer and it is the most popular
time for Muslims to be there. Since every Friday brings in hundreds of people into MCC, open
houses will be offered following the prayer. Each Friday in January will have open houses. At
the end of the prayer, the open houses will start at 2 P.M. Volunteers will take small groups and
give them a thorough tour of the facilities and allow them to meet teachers. During these open
houses, attendees will hear from the school principal and receive a complimentary meal. These
open houses will give visitors a chance to see first-hand what the organization is all about and
will hopefully create a favorable impression. The open houses will end with an invitation to join
the anniversary festivities by our honorable guest speaker, Nouman Khan.

Free Classes

For the month of January, the community can take advantage of free Sunday classes. The
academy offers a variety of different classes each Sunday and as a part of the celebration, these
will be open to the public. This will allow attendees to explore different settings and subjects,
while socializing with their peers in a fun environment. Typically, Sunday classes are limited to
enrolled students only but this month, they will be available to everyone. Our honorable guest

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speaker will also be leading a class for free. This will have limited space so attendees will have
to RSVP through the academy’s Facebook account.

Social Media Campaign

To achieve our goals, we will need to gain popularity for the month long celebrations
and get as many attendees as possible. This is where we will utilize social media, as it will allow
us to reach a large audience and generate enthusiasm. Throughout the month of January, the
academy Twitter account will be doing giveaways for those who attends. With the hashtag
#MyAcademy, all users have to do is follow the account and post a picture of them attending
one of the many events. This will enter them for giveaways such as free classes and free shirts,
while exposing the academy brand to many users.
The MCC Facebook account will do live streams of each event, so people can see what is
going on and what they can be a part of. It will also have a two minute video each day in
January of a different classroom to showcase all the different courses that are available to
students and what the environment is like.

Honorable Guest Speaker

At every Friday evening in January, Dr.Nouman Ali Khan will host a reception at 7 P.M as a part
of the celebration events. This event is open the public and will allow them to have an evening
with an honorable speaker while socializing with the community. The event will start at 7 P.M.
sharp with a powerpoint of the academy’s accomplishments in the last 30 years. Following the
powerpoint, a different student will share a poem each Friday about their spiritual growth at
MCC. With Dr.Khan taking the stage, the attendees will have a chance for a Q&A and any other
questions they might have about the academy in general. This event is meant to generate
excitement, as Dr.Khan is a respected individual amongst the Muslim community. He will also

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talk about the academy and his own involvement with them so attendees can join the
experience.

Time Table:

Date (2018) Activity

Before July 1st ● Contact Nouman Khan to arrange guest speaker.

● Start asking for volunteers to run events.
● Invite Skokie Patch and Morton Grove News.
● Meet with teachers to get approval for Sunday
classes.

● Prepare flyers, press releases, and social media

September 1st giveaway merchandise.
● Order food from designated vendors.
● Organize social media account hashtag and live
stream content.
● Order 30 year anniversary merchandise to sell.

● Release first press release to the media.

November 1st ● Deliver flyers at doorsteps.
● Schedule time slots for volunteers.
● Print surveys for pre-event testing.

● Stay updated with RSVP number.

December ● Promote on all news outlets.

During January ● Sunday classes begin.

● Twitter and Facebook giveaways and live streams
begin.
● Open houses take place every Friday of January.
● Have guest speaker give presentation.
● Give surveys before and after event to attendees.
● Have the merchandise tables set up.

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 After February ● Send second press release on the 15th with
pictures attached.
● Count social media follower count to check
increase.
● Count student enrollment for the academy.
● Count online mentions in hashtag.

Budget:

● Staff expenses for working on campaign

● Guest speaker cost
● Printing hundreds of flyers cost
● Staff fees for doing free classes
● Cost of giveaway merchandise
● Cost of printing surveys, nametags, pens
● Cost of meals at events

Evaluation:

The success of this campaign will be evaluated with the following criteria:

● Did the pre-event and post-event surveys show an increased awareness about what the
organization is and what programs it offers?

● Did the number of student enrollment increase by 8%?

● Did the number of social media followers increase by 12% on MCC’s Facebook and
Twitter account?

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References:

Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS). “Your Geography Selections.” ​American
FactFinder - Results​, Census Bureau, 5 Oct. 2010,
factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF.

Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS). “American FactFinder - Community Facts.”
Morton Grove​, American Census, 5 Oct. 2010,
factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml?src=bkmk.

“Mission & Vision.” ​MCC Academy​, MCC Academy,

www.mccacademy.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=341779&type=d.

“2015 Skokie Census Information.” ​Skokie, IL, Census Information​, Village of Skokie,
www.skokie.org/census.cfm​.