- Role
- Primary awareness
- Projected impressions
- 28,000–31,000
- Creative direction
- Short-form video showing the volunteer experience
- Call to action
- Explore volunteer opportunities
Academic integrated marketing campaign · MKTG 3150
Georgia Aquarium Volunteer Campaign
A volunteer recruitment strategy designed to help conservation-minded adults see where they fit and take the next step.
- Educate
- Conserve
- Inspire
Project type
Academic campaign proposal
Focus
Volunteer recruitment strategy
Paid-media budget
$2,300
Channels
Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit
Challenge
What problem existed?
Interest was not enough. Prospective volunteers still needed a clearer sense of where they could contribute and whether the commitment would fit their lives.
The campaign had to close that gap for Young Digerati adults ages 35–54 in Fulton County.
Audience
Who mattered most?
Four audience segments were compared based on geographic fit, demographic characteristics, digital-media behavior, and fit with the volunteer program.
| Segment | Decision |
|---|---|
| Connected Bohemians | Considered |
| Gray Power | Considered |
| Aspiring A-Listers | Considered |
| Young Digerati | Selected |
Young Digerati stood out for its Fulton County presence, digital habits, professional skills, and interest in education, sustainability, and community.
Insight
What changed the thinking?
Belonging, not conservation alone, became the campaign hypothesis.
Strategic Interpretation
Using McGuire’s latent motive framework, conservation and education explained initial interest. Affiliation emerged as the key hypothesis: prospects may value connecting with others who share similar interests.
Volunteering was positioned as a way to support conservation while learning, contributing, and building relationships.
Strategy
What decision was made?
Turn conservation into participation.
Georgia Aquarium was positioned as more than a place to visit. Volunteering was framed as a way to contribute, learn, and connect through shared purpose.
Brand promise
Support conservation. Build knowledge. Connect with a community.
Campaign
How was the idea expressed?
The campaign organized the volunteer proposition around three connected ideas: learn through the Aquarium, contribute to conservation, and connect with others through shared purpose.
Learn
Through the Aquarium
Contribute
To conservation
Connect
Through shared purpose
Channels
How would the audience be reached?
Instagram carried the largest investment as the primary awareness channel. YouTube and Reddit supported explanation and community reach.
Primary Instagram
YouTube
Reddit
Paid Media
Where the $2,300 went
$2,300 of the proposed $3,000 promotional budget was allocated to paid media. Combined projected impressions: 64,000–76,000 — planning estimates, not guaranteed performance.
Instagram$1,100
YouTube$600
Reddit$600
Total paid-media spend$2,300
Measurement
How would success be evaluated?
Success would be judged by applications, accepted volunteers, and retention, not impressions alone.
Awareness
- Impressions
- Landing-page visits
Engagement
- Volunteer-page engagement
Conversion
- Started applications
- Completed applications
- Accepted volunteers
Retention
- Retained volunteers
Reflection
What would be validated next?
Before launch: validate audience reach, update media-cost assumptions, and test conservation-led versus connection-led messaging.
Conservation-led
Marine impact, education, and contribution.
Connection-led
Belonging, shared purpose, and community.
Compare page engagement and completed applications. If launched, use acceptance and retention as longer-term measures.
Strategic Reflection
The project showed how audience selection and motive analysis can move a recruitment strategy beyond general interest toward clearer reasons to participate.
My Contribution
I contributed to evaluating audience segments, selecting Young Digerati as the proposed target, and shaping the campaign strategy. I also developed the paid-media allocation through channel-cost research and projected impression ranges.
Academic proposal, not executed. Media figures are planning estimates, and campaign outcomes were proposed measures rather than observed results.