Geaux Communication’s campaign goals are currently in the process of meeting expectations as it holds its Fight Against Hunger food drive in two off campus living areas.After several meetings and phone calls, The Cottages of Baton Rouge and the Woodlands of Baton Rouge both gave the approval to host a food drive benefitting the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. I have to say the most stressful part of this ongoing event thus far was awaiting approvals from corporate as to whether or not the drive would be able to happen. Once everything was approved, however, I was able to get to work and promote the event to residents of the venues.
Initially, I had planned to mainly target the residents living in these venues. However, as time passed, I realized I needed to reach a much larger audience. Although there are roughly 1,500 residents living in both areas, I found advertising outside of the venues would allow broaden our audience and allow other students to participate.
photo courtesy of The Cottages of Baton Rouge
In addition to the upfront marketing efforts of delivering fliers to every apartment in the venues, I have utilized social media to spread the word on this event. Facebook and Twitter have been extremely helpful in reaching the masses while taking up considerably less time than hand delivering the information. This, however, is not to say that we have not had the need for approvals of graphics and wording on the materials advertised.
Essentially, I found that referring to various online sources on tips on managing and promoting events was extremely helpful. Social Media Today was able to provide various articles on how social media can help promote your events, and PR Week gave an example of how an agency of the food bank was able to raise several meals throughout a month-long campaign.
While the food drive is ongoing, I am able to say it is off to a great start. Already, there have been various donations and with five days left until the end of it, I can say I am excited to see how much we can raise for the fight against hunger.
For more information on the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, check out their website and Facebook page.
Geaux Communications 
From my experience with 360 Communications and our work with SmokingWords, I know the stress of organizing an event that focuses on college students as a target audience. College students have such diverse demographics and psychographics, and it can very difficult to craft a message that engages them all.
What made you decide college students were the best audience for your campaign? The current generation of students in higher education suffer from a condition coined as “slacktivism.” In the simplest terms, slacktivism is when people are willing to support a cause without actually acting on that support. The social media boom has only made this worse. It would seem that a more mature audience with a larger disposable income would better serve a food drive.
I think you made some intelligent choices considering the direction of your food drive. The Cottages and The Woodlands are both huge housing complexes. Also, they are on the higher end when it comes to rent. These are also apartments that emphasize the community aspect of living there. Considering these things, I think you put yourself in a successful position.
Fighting hunger in Baton Rouge is a great cause, and I hope your food drive garnered great results.
360 Communications has spent the last few months working with the LSU student organization SmokingWords. You can find out more about our campaign’s progress by following our blog. If you’d liked to know more about SmokingWords and the movement to make LSU tobacco-free, please follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SmokingWords), on Twitter (@SmokingWords) and sign our online petition (http://www.change.org/petitions/smokingwords-movement-for-a-tobacco-free-lsu?utm_campaign=friend_inviter_chat&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=permissions_dialog_false)
-Daniel Raborn
Strategy director
360 Communications