The act of joining an extra circular activity, whether for academic or personal reasons, it almost always helps you in the rest of your life somehow. The most well known example are clubs, the interest of not only colleges, but future employers who see the clubs as beneficiary. The thinking is that not only does a person drive to do more than what is expected of them, they also may have additional skills worth taking a look at. Additionally it shows commitment towards something. You can even possibly receive an internship opportunity for the club, there is potential there. Emotionally, picking a club could have a lifelong effect on you. You can meet new friends, but maybe more than that you can find people who you actually fell comfortable with. Life could be lonely sometimes, even if you have friends. If you’re a romantic, maybe you could even meet your future wife or husband. That would change the whole directory of your life, if you have kids then that club you joined all those years ago seems worth while. The purpose of this poster is to increase the amount of students who join clubs. At the very least get said students to view the webpage for clubs, by reading the website traffic .
Now the question is will students actually care for this poster and act on such a poster. Addressing the first part, I believe the poster will grab students attention and at the very least lead them to read the available clubs. By having language that is on par with students, which I believe is reflected in this poster is crucial for them to listen to you. It needs to come off as real (genuine) and not cringy. It does not always work, but I would say the odds are much greater than trying to be too proper. Relatability is key. Posters already compete a lot with a lot of distractions, add on top of that a possibly distracted audience. A busy audience with a greater emphasis on seeking fun, a good time rather than the perceived perception of sitting in a stuffy classroom that most clubs have. Students have schoolwork, jobs, commute time, friends, family, relationships, personal life, hobbies, limited free time, and more that is competing with clubs. Everything has to align perfectly for someone to join. First a club seen as worth joining, and then the time, but most clubs are in person. Can this individual afford this time? What if an individual has work on a day in which the club meets and that is the only club they are willing to join. That is a prevalent issue that this poster cannot solve. And should be taken into consideration reviewing results from this poster.
The distribution of this would be in the form of physical poster. Targets would be all over the school, but key targets are where students are in the most direct view of the posters. Such as in between the doors, so as a student is walking up the stairs they have no choice but to look straight up. Another idea is the most populated bathrooms next to the mirrors if the space allows it. Though in theory this would grab peoples intentions, but usually people want to leave the bathroom immediately. Digital space would help even if by slightly. Though I do not think it will crash the results if it is not available. General ideas are where the most populated areas are. However, there shouldn’t be any big distractions, you would want students to be able to read the posters. This strikes out the cafeteria, maybe one or two, but no more. Confined areas are also worth investigating to maximize potential.
In order to get more posters out, I would suggest that gradually over time there should be one poster or that of variations in order to get everyone’s club out there. As opposed to crowding the halls with one off club posters. The position of the poster determines a big chance of its success rate. For example, what if the Chemistry Club has a poster up in a blind spot, but the Anime club has a superior spot near the elevator. If there is one universally used poster, then every club has a larger chance of being selected. Variations to improve upon retaining student attention. Maybe even have little pamphlets in the Namm building in the front lobby to possibly gain interest. Though this is not necessary for the initial release of the poster.
In conclusion, the act of using this poster appears to have promising return. Not only return, but potential to snowball into something more directed towards students. Joining clubs should be easy and direct, that is what this poster does.
Photo Credit: “Mission Escape Games field trip!!” by @citytechsld via Instagram
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