Communication Assessment Project. Communications & Media Essay
Communication Assessment Project
This project involves the application of Katie Paine’s assessment methodology, as described in her book Measure What Matters, to the assessment of ASPCA, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
1.) Description of communication vehicle or campaign and definition of communication and business objectives, including (500-700 words):
• Brief description of the communication vehicle or campaign
• 2-3 well-defined communication objectives and rationale for selecting them
• Explanation of how the communication vehicle design, content and/or functionality support the objectives – include 1-2 screenshots
2.) Audience analysis targeted by communication activity (400-700 words)
- -size, demographics, communication preference etc. (you can find information on Alexa.com or other software you know)
3.) Description of internal and external benchmarks (400-700 words)
• Internal benchmarks (the goals, trends, etc.)
- if you managed this communication activity, what indicators would you monitor?
• External benchmarks (benchmarking with 1 or 2 “competitor” organizations, research on best practices)
- Features/functions comparison table
- What are the best practices and how does your communication vehicle or campaign compare?
4.) Definition of key performance indicators in KPI Matrix – template will be provided (300-400 words)
5.) Measurement tool and resulting data – select 2-3 KPIs in one category (Output or Attitudinal) to measure – decide on one measurement tool, conduct measurement, display results (400-700 words)
6.) Interpretation of results and recommendations for improvement, including (400-700 words):
- Interpretation of measurement results and how they help assess specific KPIs and communication objectives - What are the key patterns or trends revealed by the data?
- Recommendations for improvement based on measurement results and best practices identified in Benchmark section
Note: Reference at least 5 sources in the paper, in addition to course materials.
• Raw data tables and measurement tools like survey questions should be placed in an appendix at the end of the paper.
• As part of this project, students must design one measurement tool. If measurement data already exist, the student must consult with the instructor regarding the appropriateness of these results for the CDP. Since this is a research project, we will strictly apply the APA guidelines for documentation and citations.
The Role of Media in Advancing the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Agenda during the Covid-19 Pandemic
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Background
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was founded in 1866, and is the oldest animal wellbeing association in America. It is a non-profit corporation that is privately funded with its headquarters in New York City, where it operates its veterinary hospital and adoption centre, and enforces New York City’s animal cruelty laws. On a national scale, ASPCA offers financial support and assistance to many of the regional and local human societies that are in existence in the USA (Zawistowski, 2010).
The main function of ASPCA is to prevent animals from harm. This responsibility is shown in its programs like ASPCA Missions: Orange ™, and operates to minimize unnecessary euthanasia. And it has an Animal Poison Control Centre (APCC), which is operational out of the ASPCA’s Midwest Office in Urbana, III. APSPCA is the only not-for-profit, institution that works 365 days, 24 hours and mandated to protect animals from hazardous substances by offering veterinary treatment and diagnostic recommendations to veterinary, government, company officials and pet parents. In 2007, the APCC encountered 136,000 animal mistreatment cases and poisoning cases and had to upscale their veterinary, assistant, veterinary technician, veterinary and board-certified veterinary toxicology departments (Madden, 2012). Today the company is one of the sought after by pet and companion animals lovers all over the world.
In 2007, precisely March 16, as a result of the contamination of one of the pet food ingredients from Menu Foods Limited, APSCA did a countrywide recall of the 90 cat and dog foods (Berger & Topol, 2007). Fast forward, during the commissioning of this research a lot has done that need incisive crisis communication. One other event is the launching of ASPCA Mission: Orange ™- a countrywide endeavor to reduce the number of needless pet euthanasia and establish seven no kill cities. But, 60,000 American horses are still being slaughtered annually for human consumption (Hwang, 2013) and 250,000 animals fall victim of hoarding every year. Dogs are still used in dog fighting sports, in the puppy industry, commercial dog breeders keep dogs from love (Walsh & Krienert, 2014). We also have animal hoarding, where an individual keeps too many animals that he cannot take care of, leading to neglect (Renwick, 2008).
With experts in pathology, toxicology and clinical medicine staff, together with toxicology, the organization has created a database to collect poison centre case data and identify trends. And the ASPCA is in a position to offer credible and public information and advice that is needed.
The Covid-19 Era
The Corona Virus pandemic or Covid-19, has caused restrictions in movements, physical socialization which have affected business all over the world (Donthu & Gustafsson, 2020). Since its start in Wuhan-China in December 2019 to its spread all over the world, both domestic and international travels have been cut-off. Still ravaging in the world, the virus continues to disrupt company systems, sales, and operations all over the world. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is one such American company whose on-job operations has been affected and had to shift its services online. In this project we look at the role that the media has played in advancing the agenda of the organization. Our main vehicle for this campaign is the aspca.org website.
Methodology:
In this communication project, we will apply Katie Paine’s assessment methodology to assess The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Katie Paine’s assessment methodology involves the application of the seven steps of measurement of social media and PR campaigns in non-profit making organizations, in our case, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Katie Paine’s assessment methodology refers to a formal measurement discipline, governed by rules, regulations and processes created by researchers and academicians. To conduct a properly use Katie Paine’s assessment to assess The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) (Paine, 2011). This will be done in 7 steps characterized by:
1 Defining the goals
2 Defining the target audience
3 Defining the benchmarks
4 Defining metrics
5 Defining time and cost
6 Selection of data collection tools
7 Collecting and analyzing the data
Target Audience
The ASPCA communication campaign will be aimed at over 15 million pet owners in America who access the organization’s website. Our secondary audience will include pet food retailers and manufacturers, veterinarians, breeders and shelter professionals. Due to the Corona virus pandemic that has restricted movement, the main communication channels that be used by ASPCA clients is either e-mail, phone calls. Also, due to the corona pandemic that has withdrawn people from each other, people need companionship that could drive the online pet food and pet sites to have great traffic as well.
Goals and Objectives
From an organization perspective, the goal of ASPCA is to be the primary communication hub in regards to the well-being of companion animals in the US. The reason for the research will be:
* To assess the role of the website in the fighting against animal cruelty during the covid-19 period.
* To fundraise and ensure proper allocation of resources in handling animal cruelty issues.
* To determine effective reactive and proactive response approaches and strategies for saving animals
* To offer measurable targets for the program
Benchmarks
Internal Benchmarks
To manage this communication activity, I would look at the mainstream media’s role in the response to animal needs and news visa vie the web-site. To this I will look at the website traffic and ascertain their performance against responding the needs of animals and their affairs. This will be more oriented to the internal publics. To this I will compare, how the ASPCA.org website performs against its competitors. I will also compare the functionalities of competitor websites to that of aspca.org to establish differences or similarities.
Businesses are currently being affected by the effects and trends of the Corona Virus pandemic. Corona Virus pandemic or Covid-19, has caused restrictions in movements, physical socialization which have affected business all over the world. Since its start in Wuhan-China in December 2019 to its spread all over the world, both domestic and international travels have been cut-off. Still affecting the world, the virus continues to disrupt company systems, sales, and operations all over the world. Just like other organizations, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has been affected and had to shift its services online.
External Benchmarks
ASPCA as an organization and through its website looks after the rights and treatment of companion or pet animals. The website states that the organization deals with animal cruelty issues and animal homelessness. On the other hand one of its competitors Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), in regards to the mode of fundraising they both raise their money through donations. Both animals fight for the rights of animals specifically improving their lives, stopping puppy mills, banning trophy hunting, ending cosmetic animals testing. The difference between the organizations is that while ASPCA fights for dignified treatment of domestic/pet or companion animals HSUS fights for the rights of both domestic and wild animals.
Best practices dictate that non-contact business be encouraged. As such, the aspca.org website comes in handy. Businesses transactions are then done online, and instead of ASPCA vets attending to affected animals at their veterinary hospital. Therefore, pet lovers will have to make use of phone lines, e-mail addresses, social media sites and toll-free lines provided on the website to invite vets or to order pet-foods that are to be delivered to the homes. Luckily, Covid-19 has made the playing field leveled hence even Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) which is a competitor would also rely on their online presence to do business.
KPI Matrix
Key performance Indicator (KPI) refers to measurable values that show how effectively a company is attaining key business objectives. A metric is a measure that adds value to the organization.
Output KPIs
Attitudinal KPIs
Behavioral KPIs
Communication Objective #1
To assess the role of the website in the fighting against animal cruelty in the covid-19 era.
A KPI metric that we look at in regards to this objective is customer engagement in terms of seeking for ASPCA services. There are different services that are offered by the organization. Among them is animal rescue, animal protection, veterinary services, and pet foods among others. Because the company does not directly deal with pet foods, through the engagement of the client, he/she can be referred to websites like chewy.com, petco.com among others.
The attitudinal KPI that the campaign looked for is how clients adopted to using the website as the...