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Publicity help
Gaining visibility on your campus is important for a variety
of reasons, including that it can increase awareness of your
events and programming, increase desire for membership among
potential candidates and make the public aware of the great things
you do.
There are numerous ways to make your chapter’s efforts
known.
Public Relations
- Communicate with your university’s media relations
department, school and local newspapers by providing press
releases, story ideas, photos and event advisories. Need
help writing? Check out the communications section of the Officer & Advisor
Handbook.
- Submit write-ups or announcements about your chapter programming
to your university’s undergraduate newsletters for the
student body or for more targeted audiences, such as honors
newsletters
- Post your chapter events on the university’s calendar or a local community calendar
- Send news releases to your members’ hometown newspapers
following initiation, or refer them to a press release request form on the national Web site and the National Office will take care of it for you
- Get national recognition when you submit your stories to
Mortar Board’s official semi-annual magazine, the Mortar
Board Forum. Submissions should be sent to mbforum@mortarboard.org by October 15 for the fall/winter edition or by March 15 for the spring/summer edition.
Grassroots communication efforts
- Create events or groups on peer-networking sites such as
Facebook or MySpace
- Attend meetings of other student organizations to promote
your chapter’s upcoming events or membership process
- Send e-mail announcements to listservs your chapter members
belong to
- Have all chapter members wear Mortar Board regalia like T-shirts
or sweatshirts on a certain day to promote awareness
- Encourage chapter members to wear their Mortar Board pin
on meeting days
- Post fliers around campus or your student center (Need design help? Contact the National Office at mbforum@mortarboard.org for a helpful graphics package or complimentary design services)
- Distribute ready-made Mortar Board brochures that you can request from the National Office. No time to wait for this pacakge to arrive? Print them yourself in either normal quality for home printers or press quality for printing companies
- “Chalk” your campus if you are permitted - write
promotional messages about your chapter’s selection
process or programming on the ground in sidewalk chalk
- Does your campus hold a student involvement fair or similar
event? Host a table with a display and fliers about
Mortar Board.
- Participate in high-visibility charitable events such as
Relay for Life or Race for the Cure as a Mortar Board team. Don’t
forget to wear your Mortar
Board T-shirts!
Marketing
- Place ads on your university’s Web site, Facebook or
in your student newspaper to promote your chapter’s events
or selection
- Host events like a dessert social, karaoke night or finals
week study break to meet potential members - everyone
loves a good time and free food!
- Give all your chapter members Mortar
Board supplies that
will help them in class such as notebooks or pens. When
other students see your members using these items, they will
see the name Mortar Board and an impression will be made.
- Holding an event? Have free give-aways like T-shirts,
ink pens, notepads, or magnets that incorporate both the event
and Mortar Board. People will take these items home and
use them, and this will enhance campus exposure!
- Sponsor a banner at a campus athletic event
- Place Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on the campus radio
station promoting awareness of chapter projects, such as Reading
is Leading literacy programs or food drives.
- Create a chapter Web site! Most people learn about
organizations by visiting their Web site - so make use
of this by creating and maintaining one for your chapter.
For more publicity and campus visibility ideas, read the Director
of Communications portion of the Officer & Advisor
Handbook.
Need help?
The Mortar Board National Office communications department can
help with all your efforts:
- Creating fliers - The Mortar Board National Office
can provide many graphics and logos to accompany your chapter’s information and match national marketing materials. Please
inquire about more personalized help.
- Designing T-shirts - Our graphic designer can work to create
a personalized t-shirt design for your chapter upon request. Check out this sheet of sample t-shirt ideas or recommend your own unique design. Need
help with ordering? We can help you find appropriate printing companies.
- Providing pamphlets - Mortar Board has informational
pamphlets available to collegiate chapters. Additionally, this national brochure is available to download in normal print quality and high-resolution press quality for chapters in a rush. Request that pamphlets to be shipped directly to your chapter today.
- Writing press releases - Press release templates complete
with a closing tagline and tips are available at your request. Additionally, members who would like to request a membership announcement for their hometown newspapers can now complete an easy online form. The National Office will create a custom-built press release and send it on the member's behalf. If
you don’t know who to send your press releases to, let
us know and we will help you.
 Handing out business cards - Business cards are a great way to get your chapter's name out there in a professional, eye-catching manner. The Mortar Board National Office offers design services for the two official Mortar Board business card designs and can recommend cost-effective printing companies. - Following style - Being grammatically correct and following
the Associated Press (A.P.) style is a must. For a guide
on how to make your marketing pieces accurate, contact mbforum@mortarboard.org.
- Logo usage - Download a color or black and white version
of the Mortar Board logo and find out how you can use it in
all your chapter materials.
- Tech help - Creating Web sites and e-mail newsletters
can be difficult, and the National Office team can either recommend solutions or put you
in touch with an expert to help.
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