strategic communications campaign for the burlington animal shelter

8/13/2019 Strategic Communications Campaign for the Burlington Animal Shelter

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C O M 4 5 2 , E l o n U n i v e r s i t y

Strategic Communications Campaign for the

Burlington Animal ShelterProduced by Aaron Smith, Nick Makansi and Sean BeatySubmitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for COM452 (Spring 2013)

Spring 13



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Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 4

Background .............................................................................................................................................. 6Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 6

Purpose and Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 6Composition ........................................................................................................................................................ 8

Relevant Publics ................................................................................................................................................ 9

Funding ................................................................................................................................................................. 9

Competitive Frame ......................................................................................................................................... 10

Current Situation ................................................................................................................................. 11Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 11

Development .................................................................................................................................................... 12

Current Position .............................................................................................................................................. 14

Direction ............................................................................................................................................................ 15

Vision ................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Pitfalls ................................................................................................................................................................. 17Research ................................................................................................................................................. 19

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 19

Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................................ 20

Research Questions and Hypothesis ........................................................................................................ 21

Method ................................................................................................................................................................ 22

Analysis .............................................................................................................................................................. 24

Findings .............................................................................................................................................................. 24

Applications/Interpretation ....................................................................................................................... 37

Plans, Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................................. 41Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 41

Statement of the Policy and Intent ........................................................................................................... 44Contribution to Organizational Goals...................................................................................................... 42

Statement of Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 43

Strategy ................................................................................................................................................... 44Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 44

Publics Addressed by the Plan ................................................................................................................... 44

Strategy............................................................................................................................................................... 45

Obstacles ............................................................................................................................................................ 47

Tactics ..................................................................................................................................................... 49Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 49

Objectives .......................................................................................................................................................... 49

Proposals for Meeting Objectives ............................................................................................................. 50Obstacles ............................................................................................................................................................ 52

Budget ..................................................................................................................................................... 54

Timetable ............................................................................................................................................... 56Calendar ............................................................................................................................................................. 56

Schedule ............................................................................................................................................................. 58

Evaluation .............................................................................................................................................. 60



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Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 60

Evaluation Criteria ......................................................................................................................................... 61

Method ................................................................................................................................................................ 61

Analysis .............................................................................................................................................................. 63

Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 64



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INTRODUCTION

This publication is the culmination of a semester-long project of research,

planning and strategizing around a campaign for the Burlington Animal Services and

Pet Adoption center. The end goal is drastically increased animal care education in

Alamance County. The following pages encompass a mass of information, including

survey research, analysis of the problem, and a campaign plan to work towards the

aforementioned goal.

The client, the Burlington Animal Services and Pet Adoption Center, is located in

Haw River, North Carolina – just outside the Burlington city limits. The center was

founded in 2004, and has had several large upgrades in the few years that it has been

established.

The client contact was Burlington Animal Services employee, Laura Michel, who

is appointed as the Outreach Coordinator for the Shelter. She discusses the shelter‘s

development with the media and works to distribute the message of proper ownership

and adoption through the community. In addition, she works with local businesses and

shops in the area for sponsorship deals and education initiatives. Her role is multi-

faceted, and our group has deeply appreciated her assistance in successful completion

of this project.

This group comprised of three group members fulfilling the duties for four roles.

Junior Nick Makansi, appointed as the account manager, acted as a liaison between the

client, the group and the professor of the course. Senior Sean Beaty was appointed as

the creative director, acting as the director of all creative material for this campaign plan.



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Senior Aaron Smith was appointed as the Communications Coordinator, overseeing the

writing and serving as the final editor all written materials for this campaign plan. The

research coordinator role, which manages the creation, distribution and analysis of

survey and survey data was split between all group members, due to a small amount of

students in the class.



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BACKGROUND

Executive Summ ary

Founded in 2004, the Burlington Animal Services and Pet Adoption Center (BAS) in

Burlington, N.C. is the animal shelter and pet adoption center for Alamance County in central

North Carolina. The center was founded with the support of the Pet Adoption Welfare Society

(PAWS), a private local group focused on increasing pet adoptions. In 2010, the center also

opened a spay and neuter clinic, to combat the rampant problem of animal overpopulation in the

county. That project was also funded with the support of PAWS. PAWS continues to be

extremely supportive of the center, helping with special events, projects and promotions.

Currently, the center has a staff of 18, which include animal control staff, are employees

of the city of Burlington, and the State of North Carolina. The center is an entity of the North

Carolina state government, and is funded through county and city budgets. Animals are brought

in by animal control or surrendered by citizens, and animals are given the best treatment

possible within the means of the center. Some are adopted or claimed by their original owners,

but the center does have to euthanize some animals due to the extreme overcrowding in the

center.

The center identifies the overpopulation of pets and the under education of citizens in

pet care as the two primary problems that it has to tackle in Alamance county.

Purpose and Objectives

The objectives of the Burlington animal services and pet adoption center are complex

and multifaceted, ranging from public education to recruiting volunteers at the center and



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everything in-between. The center‘s mission is described as the effort to ―give the best care to

each and every animal within the limits of our abilities‖ on their website. However, beyond the

immediate mission to care for animals brought in, the city agency also works to educate the

public of the importance of responsible pet ownership, particularly involving spaying and

neutering animals. In addition, the center looks to volunteers for assistance in its heavy

workload.

The center opened in 2004 as a general pet adoption center, but the staff quickly

realized that adopting out of the problem was not feasible, nor possible. In 2010, with the of the

Pet Adoption Welfare Society (PAWS), the center opened up a spay and neuter clinic, in hopes

of reducing pet overpopulation in Burlington and surrounding areas of Alamance County. The

clinic also provides a low-cost option for the city‘s residents, offering spay and neuter services

for around $90, whereas a private center might inflate that price to $300-$400. In response, the

staff has seen a modest decrease in the amount of pets being brought into the center, and

continues to work toward a lower population rate in the city and in Alamance County.

The adoption center works hard to support its mission, and is successful in adopting

around 70 pets per month. In addition, the center runs public awareness campaigns for animal

care education, and works with city and county residents to promote its message. The center

stresses these problems are a community problem, not just an animal control problem.

The center currently uses its website (www.burlingtonnc.com/pets) to promote its

services and messages on a small scale. The site also promotes its sponsors, such as Hill‘s

Science Diet for its donations of pet food, and special events that the center puts on. The

website includes a PetFinder widget, which displays photos and descriptions of pets that the

center currently has available for adoption.

In addition to its own website, the center also uses partnerships with multiple print and

television media outlets to display pets available for adoption. Ads in the Times-News, ‗Pet of

the Week‘ segments at WXII and Fox 8, and photos of pets in Triad Happy Trails all encourage

http://www.burlingtonnc.com/pets






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the public to adopt, rather than purchase a new pet. Events in partnership with the local

PetsMart in Burlington, also help the BAS to grow awareness about pet adoption.

Composi t ion

Unlike most animal shelters that are operated by their county government, the Burlington

Animal Services and Pet Adoption Center is operated by the City of Burlington and is a division

of the Burlington Police Department. The Animal Services Supervisor must answer to the

Assistant Chief of Police, who must answer to the Chief of Police, who then answers to the City

Manager of Burlington.

Animal Services currently has 11 full-time staff members, two of which are animal control

officers and 15 part-time staff members, including one main vet and two other vets who only

help once a week. This also includes our class‘s contact in the organization, Laura Michel. The

Alamance County Sheriff‘s Animal Control has five employees:

● Lieutenant

● Administrative Assistant

● Three Officers

The City of Mebane has one police officer devoted to animal control, and all individuals share

office space at the facility. Despite sharing office space they are not a part of Burlington Animal

Services‘ control, under BAS management or payroll.

With regard to animal control, the center serves all of Alamance County. Burlington

Animal Services has two full-time and one part-time animal control officers who are responsible

for the Burlington City limits. The Mebane officer is in charge of the City of Mebane, while the

Sheriff‘s Department animal control officers are in charge of the remainder of Alamance County.



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Relevant Publics

Primarily, Burlington Animal Services serves the public of Alamance County residents.

Pet adoption seems to transcend socioeconomic status, as the shelter adopts pets out to both

higher and lower income households. Burlington Animal Services wishes to specifically target

any sort of advertisement toward those citizens of the area who are unfamiliar with their

organization so that they can propagate the spaying and neutering of pets in the community.

The shelter does try to identify and hone out the uneducated public about proper animal

treatment and care. The BAS has also mentioned that they wish to avoid focusing on college

students, as students tend to be unable to support a pet long-term and often end up returning

the pets to the shelter.

As mentioned later in this background, the BAS provides services to all of Alamance

county, including 10 diverse municipalities. Education, income level and values of these citizens

range greatly, bringing an added challenge to the center. For example, the center covers the

Town of Elon, which is a generally affluent municipality and whose citizens are primarily college

students and professors, but the center also covers the city of Burlington right next door, where

levels of education and yearly income are a bit lower.

Funding

As a government entity under the City of Burlington, Burlington Animal Services‘ primary

funding comes from the city and county budget. The center is funded on a per-capita basis by

Alamance County, which includes 10 municipalities - Burlington, Graham, Elon, Gibsonville,

Haw River, Mebane, Green Level, Ossipee, Swepsonville, and the Village of Alamance. Most

recently, the city saw a three percent increase in the 2012 fiscal budget for the center. For

accounting purposes, the BAS and the spay and neuter clinic are two separate entities.

BAS revenue is derived from impoundment fees, adoption fees, and monetary donations,

which accounts for an extremely small fraction of the center‘s operating budget. The center‘s



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operating budget is, essentially, its only budget - it accounts for the center‘s operations and

personnel. Marketing and promotions of the center or its services is done using extremely low-

cost or free tools or partnerships with the adoption center.

Private donations account for a very small portion of the center‘s budget, but on

occasion, the center will receive a large donation from a group, like PAWS, which typically is

designated to a specific purpose. In addition, the Hunt family, a family of private citizens in

Alamance County, has donated the land that the center rests on, to the government for a dollar

per year.

Competit ive Frame

Burlington Animal Services is one of several animal shelters in the Alamance County

area. However, it is the only shelter that accepts all animals brought in by the public. Other

shelters in the area either only accept the animals they have room for, or are rehabilitation and

adoption shelters that get their pets from other shelters such as BAS. These animal facilities are

not considered to be in direct competition with BAS because they are all trying to accomplish

the same general goal. The most prominent of the area‘s other animal shelters is the Humane

Society of Alamance County. The Humane Society does not have as expansive a shelter as

BAS and their main focus is sterilizing pets, for which they use a voucher system with local vets.

The most direct competition comes from several pet shops in Alamance County such as

the area‘s Petsmart. Members of the Alamance County public can choose to adopt a shelter

animal or to buy a ―new‖ animal from these pet shops. These pets and PetsMart services are

often priced higher, implying a ‗higher‘ quality of pets.

In addition, the Internet has played an important role in animal adoptions and exchange.

Craigslist is a popular destination for finding and letting go of pets, and runs freely with little to



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no regulation. These ads are the primary alternative to surrendering a pet to an animal shelter -

largely because the owners have a guarantee that their pet will not be euthanized.

Other competition comes from the other non-profit organizations in the Alamance County.

These nonprofits are in indirect competition with each other for donations and volunteer

resources.

CURRENT SITUATION

Executive Summary

BAS important facts:

○ 11 full-time and 15 part time staff

○ Shelter is funded primarily by the state government

○ Diverse publics - service several municipalities

○ Primary mission is to reduce overpopulation of animals in Alamance County

From the center‘s humble beginnings in 1961, the Burlington Animal Shelter (BAS) has

moved location, added a multitude of human and material resources and formed partnerships

with organizations and families in the community. Through these expansions, the shelter has

grown in its services to the citizens of Alamance County and Burlington.

While the expansions to the shelter have been much needed, the area‘s human and

animal populations continue to grow at a rate that the shelter has difficulty keeping up with.

Outreach for the shelter is still fairly new, however public opinion regarding the BAS specifically

is positive. The shelter has communicated the fact that there are several issues regarding the



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overpopulation of animals in the Alamance County region, all seeming to stem from a lack of

education in animal treatment and care.

Therefore, understanding that there are several possible pitfalls and complexities in this

campaign, we feel the client would be best served through education of the Alamance County

public regarding animal treatment.

Development

Prior to 1961, the animal control in the Burlington area was in a different part of town. In

that year the building was renovated (a ‗new building‘ cannot be renovated). It had 18 additional

kennels and office space the previous spot did not have. No records have been kept of any

historical significance, so from then until the mid-1990s we have no knowledge of what

happened with the shelter.

In 1995, the animal shelter in Graham closed, causing the Burlington shelter to become

responsible for all of Alamance County. Around this time, the shelter changed its name to the

current Burlington Animal Services. A year later the shelter began charging for the adoption of

puppies and kittens. Adoption of adult animals at that point had already had a $20 fee.

In the late 1990s, the rabies virus, which had not been a problem in the area since the

1950s, began to resurface. This caused the Health Department to issue a mandate that

prohibited sale or adoption of animals with unknown medical history. Many of the animals at the

shelter were stray and their medical histories unknown, which had a very negative impact on

BAS, which the shelter called ―long-term‖. Public sentiment grew that shelter animals were not

as good as animals from a store or breeder. The mandate lasted about a year until the Health

Department eased up on their policies. The BAS also decided to get a local vet to come in for

weekly medical work (exams, shots, etc.).



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In the early 2000s, the adoption fee included heartworm screening, distemper/parvo

vaccine, and a rabies vaccine. They also began the use of vouchers for adopters to get their

pets spayed and neutered by local vets. In 2002, the Hunt family formed the Pet Adoption

Welfare Society, or PAWS. PAWS has become a dependable ally for BAS since its instatement.

It organized a campaign to appropriate a total of $750,000 to the shelter to open the Burlington

Pet Adoption center, which officially opened its doors in 2004. The Pet Adoption Center

increased adoption rates substantially. In 2004-2005, BAS contracted a local vet to spay, neuter,

and vaccinate pets before adoption.

In 2006, BAS hired Laura Michel as an Outreach Coordinator. Prior to her employment,

there was no similar position in the organization. In 2007, the BAS began phasing out the old

method of euthanasia, the gas chamber, in favor of the possibly more humane and more public-

friendly method of lethal injection. BAS also began offering rabies clinics three times a year. A

year later Dr. Courtney joined as BAS‘s veterinarian. Dr. Courtney has been very helpful in

improving the quality of medical attention the animals at the shelter receive.

Around 2010, PAWS financed the renovation of an old veterinary office in Burlington to

hold the Spay and Neuter Clinic of Alamance County. This clinic provided low-cost spaying and

neutering twice a week and as of March 5th, 2013, the clinic is open three days a week.

The biggest difference between in the BAS of the mid 1990s and today is their

community partners found in PAWS and the Hunt family. Those donors have been instrumental

in the acquisition of up-to-date medical equipment, renovation, and expansion for the facility.

They offer more services and have veterinarians on staff. Also, as exemplified by the

employment of Laura Michel, BAS has taken a forward approach to improving relations with the

broader community that they serve.



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Current Posit ion

The Burlington Animal Shelter‘s connection to the community is unique in its contribution

to society in a few ways. Primarily, and most simply, its connection to the community is not only

on a human basis, but also on a pet and animal level. Therefore, the BAS‘ connection to the

community is heavily reliant on the community‘s connection to their pets and animals in

Alamance county. Secondly, there is a peculiarity about the notion that the BAS is an arm of the

local government, but serves the people through pets and animal services, rather than offering

services directly to the people. Its services defy the role of traditional definition of government,

giving it a unique position of trust within the community.

Apart from online review websites and third party sources, indication of community

opinion toward the Burlington Animal shelter is fairly scarce. It has one high rating on yelp.com,

from May of 2011, which praises the operations of the shelter - the reviewer‘s only critique was

the lack of hand sanitizer in the center. Local.com has one review of the animal shelter from a

pet owner who lost their dog. The reviewer complimented the center‘s staff on their compassion

and help in locating her pet, in addition to information on microchip implementation services to

aid in locating her pet.

A search of recent news articles for mentions of the Burlington Animal Shelter turned up

few results - the most recent of which - a mention in the Burlington Times-News in an article

about abused pit bulls from Green Level that had been taken to the shelter. The article mostly

highlighted the ‗Carolina Care Bullies‘ organization and its efforts to find homes for the pit bulls,

but a positive mention of the Burlington Animal Shelter is included. Another article in the Times-

News highlights the shelter‘s partnership with Elon University‘s Kernodle center, which provides

resources through college volunteers. Most of the local press the animal shelter receives,

regarding their services, is positive.

However, it is important to consider the implications of articles in regarding other animal

shelters in NC, and the effect those can have on public opinion of the Burlington Animal Shelter.



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Most recently, an investigation by Raleigh television news station WRAL, found that the

Montgomery county animal shelter held a kill rate of 99% in 2011, stirring up outrage in the

North Carolina community toward animal shelters. Public records indicate that the Burlington

Animal Shelter has a 69% euthanasia rate, which is about on par with of North Carolina‘s

average of 70%.

Through this data, the media coverage in the area is found to show a negative attitude

toward animal shelters as a whole. However, if members of the community have had an

experience, or read something specific to the BAS, their perspective of that shelter in particular

is found to be somewhat to fairly positive.

Direct ion

This campaign has one primary point that it must hit on to be helpful to the Burlington

Animal Shelter. The campaign must bring up the key issue of education of proper animal

treatment, with specific attribution to the education of spaying and neutering pets. Solutions to

the complex problems that BAS face, all root in a lack of animal treatment education in the

Alamance County population. The campaign must address a deficiency in the education of the

general population and seek to improve it.

Education of the public around spaying and neutering is not simple, nor speedy, but it is

the most permanent solution to the primary issue that the BAS faces—the overpopulation of

animals in Alamance county.



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Vision

The Burlington Animals Service and Pet Adoption Center wants to apply effective

techniques in order to improve communication with the public on the importance of responsible

pet ownership. The client expressed that they want to educate the public not only of the

importance of responsible pet ownership, but also the importance of spaying and neutering

animals.

The client also stated the importance of having volunteers for assistance with their heavy

workload. The strategic communication‘s role will be to effectively use social media and other

creative tools to enhance the communication between the client and the public. Some ways that

our client will be able to implement this strategy is through newsletters, fliers, and aggressive

use of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. By interconnecting their Facebook page with Twitter

and Instagram after aggressively establishing a presence on those mediums they will be able to

further communicate their message to the community.

The client expects our plan to increase the communities overall knowledge of

responsible pet ownership, as well increase the number of volunteers at the center. They expect

for there to be more awareness within the community of how to properly care for animals,

because simply trying to adopt their way out of the problem is not feasible.

The client is open to recommendations but expressed that their staff is short and their budget is

thin. With a short staff and thin budget our client will want us to make sure our plan can be

sustained.



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Pitfalls

The biggest pitfall facing our campaign is being unable to reach the relevant publics. Our

target public is fairly broad. It consists of people in the Alamance County area who have or wish

to have pets. It would be in the best interest of the campaign to direct the ―spay and neuter‖ part

towards both of those publics, and the ―adopt your pet here‖ part towards the latter of the two.

The difficulty arises from the fact that these publics are not defined by geographic area (more

specific than Alamance County) nor by socioeconomic status, race, or gender. In response to

this, campaign efforts will need to be broad in appeal.

Also, the campaign‘s message aside, making sure that the relevant publics actually

receive and experience the products of the campaign is another hurdle entirely. It is not enough

to create content if the content is not viewed. Therefore, in planning the campaign, it is

imperative to market BAS in ways that are most likely to reach the citizens of Alamance County.

Once a member of the public has access to the campaigns message it is equally

important to be convincing. In this day and age people are bombarded with advertisements and

messages constantly, on TV, billboards, buildings, the Internet, etc. For a message to have a

real effect on the viewer, it must grab attention, and then be able to convince the viewer to

perform a task (such as adopt a pet) or do something differently (such as spay or neuter their

pet). If this campaign is unable to do these things, it risks falling by the wayside as just another

message being thrown at them.

As our client has informed us, many in the public have a misunderstood view of so-

called ―kill shelters‖ like BAS. While the intent behind euthanasia is sheer manageability of the

large amount of animals that come through, many mistake their intent as malicious. Our client

has cited instances where BAS staff have even been mistreated or verbally accosted due to the

negative reputation that goes along with euthanizing animals. This campaign must make an



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effort to avoid causing unintentional backlash, which could undo the positivity it aims to promote

toward the organization.



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RESEARCH

Executive Summ ary

- The Burlington Animal Services (BAS) and the Pet Adoption Center is the animal

shelter and pet adoption center for Alamance County in central North Carolina.

- BAS has been functioning as a complete unit since 2004.

- Problems the BAS face include a lack of pet education in the Burlington area, an

overpopulation of stray pets, and a negative view of the facility as a ―kill shelter‖.

Due to limited resources, our research was conducted by issuing convenience-method

sampling. Our group formed and implemented surveys with multiple choice and free-answer

questions. Through these surveys of Alamance County citizens, our research was conducted to

gauge current awareness and knowledge of animal care, in order to help devise a plan to

increase the number of pet adoptions from The Burlington Animal Services and Pet Adoption

Center as well as raise awareness of the animal overpopulation issue in Burlington County.

Questions included in the survey pertained to owners actions and care of their pets. These

questions were designed to develop a specific understanding into aspects of pet care that the

area‘s residents knew, and the gaps that need to be filled in. Understanding the amount of

knowledge and the general attitude that the typical Alamance County citizen has toward the

care and treatment of domestic and docile pets narrows the focus of the campaign incredibly.

With the results of this research, the campaign can target demographic groups who have little to

no knowledge of pet care, as well as particular methods of pet care that may be foreign to some.

The surveys, while limited in reach, showed that a large majority of respondents had a

good grasp of pet care knowledge, leading us to assume the problem of the stray pet



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overpopulation was due mostly to a small minority of less knowledgeable and responsible pet

owners. However, the survey also showed a lack of formal pet education, as many of the

Burlington-area respondents said their pet care knowledge came from having pets as a child

and observing their parents pet care. The surveys also showed that around 10% of the

respondents were underprepared for pet ownership when they first received their pet, leading us

to surmise that instances of unwanted breeding and pet escapes may be much more likely

during the beginning phase of pet ownership.

Statement of the Problem

Situation Analysis:

The Burlington Animal Services and the Pet Adoption Center is a private local group focused on

increasing pet adoptions and combating the rampant problem of animal overpopulation in

Burlington County. Presently there is a lack of awareness in the community about the services

offered at the center as well as the animal overpopulation issue. The client stated that, in

addition to increasing awareness about pet adoption, it is vital that we also increase

communication about the overall issue of animal overpopulation in the county.

Problem Statement :

The Burlington Animal Services and the Pet Adoption Center‘s ultimate problem is the lack of

awareness in the community of the overpopulation of pets and the under education of citizens in

pet care.



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Goal Statement:

The main goal of this campaign is to increase the number of pet adoptions from The Burlington

Animal Services and Pet Adoption Center as well as raise awareness of the animal

overpopulation issue in Burlington County.

Research Questions & Hypo thesis

The intent of surveying Alamance County citizens for this campaign was to gauge

current awareness and knowledge of animal care. To this effect, questions included in the

survey pertained to owners actions and care of their pets. Questions in the survey included:

● When was the last time your pet visited a veterinary clinic?

● Do you have a designated place to house your pet while on vacation or out of town?

● Has your pet been spayed or neutered?

In addition, questions such as ‗When you fir st got your pet, were you completely

prepared for the responsibilities and time commitment for proper pet care?‘ were followed up

with prompts for those surveyed to explain their response to the prior question.

These questions were designed to develop a specific understanding into aspects of pet

care that the individuals knew, and the gaps that need to be filled in. The format of the questions

was also a significant consideration in the design of this survey. While multiple choice and

true/false questions allowed for quantitative data, while the open-ended questions allowed for a

longer explanations.

Understanding the amount of knowledge and types of attitude that the typical Alamance

County citizen has toward the care and treatment of domestic and docile pets narrows the focus

of this campaign immensely. Through the results of this research, the campaign can target

demographic groups who have little to no knowledge of pet care. In addition, the campaign can

target particular methods of pet care that may not be widely known to some.



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Method

The technique we used for collecting our research was to create and send out surveys.

The techniques we used to distribute our survey included a Google form, which we distributed

via email and on the Internet, as well as physical copies. Our purpose was to gather information

on the general level of knowledge of animal care of the population of Alamance County. We

decided the best way to gather this information was through a survey that could be taken

manually or digitally, was easy to fill out, and could be distributed to people who live in

Alamance County.

The US Census Bureau estimates that the 2012 population of Alamance County was

153,920. Our survey sampled 56 people of that population. Our group lacked resources,

including access to a legitimate random or stratified sample. Since we could only reach a limited

amount of the population, the technique we used for distributing our survey was the

convenience method. We left a stack of surveys at BAS to be distributed to visitors of the

adoption center, because we felt it might be important to know the knowledge of those who

were looking to adopt pets. We then distributed physical and digital copies to friends and

colleagues living in Alamance County. Also we placed a separate version on the website

Craigslist in the ‗pets‘ section. By separating the survey into the physical copies for the shelter,

the digital copy, and the craigslist versions, we are able to see discrepancies across the

different publics we surveyed. For example, we wanted to see if respondents of the Craigslist

survey, which acts as a control because it is not limited to Alamance County, differed in pet care

knowledge when compared to the survey of Alamance County residents.

The survey distributed through the Craigslist posting was an online Google form,

distributed through a link in the Greensboro ‗pets‘ section. One significant roadblock that the



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craigslist distribution method posed, was the inability to target the desired public. Craigslist

provides local pages for major metropolitan areas, and the closest city to Alamance County

listed was Greensboro, N.C. When posting the listing, the location, which accompanies the title

of the ad, was listed as Alamance County, in an effort to target those citizens. This survey was

posted twice (March 15 and 25), to attract as many responses as possible.

The second electronic survey, identical to the Craigslist one, was distributed to

Alamance County friends and acquaintances of the campaign members. In addition, this survey

was also distributed within Alamance County pet advocacy Facebook groups. The Humane

Society for Alamance County and Burlington Bark Park both shared this survey with their

members, and some citizens reposted it to their individual Facebook pages. This survey was

meant far more targeted to the citizens of only Alamance County.

Survey questions included three distinct sections. The first section included demographic

questions. The second section asked several questions about general pet care knowledge. The

last section included questions pertaining only to current pet owners to gauge their knowledge

specifically. We then asked a single open-ended question asking the survey taker on their

opinion on the cause of the seeming lack of pet care knowledge in the area. In the event that

the respondent indicated that he/she did not own a pet, the user was then forwarded onto the

third page for questions that were not dependent on pet ownership (witnessing of pet abuse

incidents, recommendation for pet care education, etc.)



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Analys is

Data was collected via a Google form, built using the Google Apps platform. The

majority of questions were multiple choice in the form of radio buttons or dropdown menus and

a few open-ended questions. The data was tabulated into a Google Spreadsheet automatically,

and charts were provided through the service‘s summary of results. Due to the simple nature of

the survey, correlations were drawn through manual analysis of the data, rather than computer-

run tests.

Findings

As discussed previously, the survey was disseminated into two parts—an electronic link

distributed via an online Craigslist advertisement, and a separate electronic link distributed to

Alamance County Residents through social media and resident contacts. Results of the survey

were found to be remarkably different, and it was decided to analyze these surveys separately

because of the unique findings of each.

Survey distributed via Craigslist

The survey distributed through postings on Craigslist netted a small number of

responses, only 18 respondents after two postings in the ‗pets‘ section. The majority of

respondents self-identified their racial status as Caucasian with an exception of two

respondents, who self-identified as American Indian or Alaska Native and Native American,

respectively. The majority of respondents also identified as female, with the exception of two

males.



25

As expected, the survey netted a large physical demographic, with the majority of

respondents indicating a geographical location outside of Alamance County.

Education level of the respondents for this survey varied, as expected for a widespread

survey of this type. All respondents indicated as having at least completed a high school

education.



26

Pet ownership results were unsurprisingly high, particularly for a survey distributed in a

medium in which those owned pets. All respondents for this survey indicated that they currently

owned a pet of some sort. Unfortunately, statistics on the number of users opening the survey,

or incomplete survey information is unavailable through Google forms. If so, it would have been

interesting to see if those without pets found the questions irrelevant or not applicable to them.

Spay and neuter rates in the craigslist survey were also higher than expected, with 14 of

18 of those surveyed indicating that their pet had been spayed and neutered.



27

Responses for the question asking the last vet visit were much more widely distributed,

which was expected. According to the ASPCA (http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/dog-

care-aging.aspx), elderly dogs and cats should have annual checkups, whereas younger dogs

and cats should see their vet with more frequency. The ASPCA recommends seeing a vet

immediately in the event of severe health issues in pets.

All but one respondent indicated that they did have plans for housing their pet while out

of town or on vacation. It is important to note, however, that this question did not take account

for those who may have neighbors or friends to check in on their pet in their own residence.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/dog-care-aging.aspx








28

Again, a majority of respondents stated that they had been prepared for the

responsibilities and time commitment of pet ownership prior to the introduction of their pet. For

those who responded that they were not ready for a pet, a text box was provided for them to

explain their situation. For the two who indicated no, one responded that the dog was a result of

an unsuccessful relationship, and had severe medical issues including heartworms. The other

respondent also indicated that the pet was not an expected addition to her family.

This question, asking for the amount of time (per week) that pet care required, was

asked to delve into the specific time requirement element of pet responsibility. The results of this

question were fairly evenly divided, with six respondents indicating 1-2 hours, 7 indicating 3-5

hours and 5 indicating more than 5 hours. These even results were fairly expected, due to the

varying levels of attention that different pets require.



29

The number of stray pets the respondents indicated encountering in the past 6 months

was evenly distributed as well.

The amount of people encountering an animal abuse situation was also rather high in

this survey. Well over half (11) respondents indicated that they had encountered an instance of

animal abuse.



30

To those who had responded ‗yes‘ to the previous question regarding animal abuse, an

open-ended question was posed, asking for his/her actions taken to the instance of animal

abuse. Most contacted animal control or the police, whereas a few wrote that they took the pet

directly. One woman stated that when she tried reasoning with the abuser directly she was

bullied and ridiculed by the abuser.

The source of pet education was also an intriguing question - the results of which

reflected that most owned a pet as a child, or used the Internet as a resource to help them in

their pet ownership.

The open-ended question of ―What do you attribute to a general lack of animal care

education in Alamance County?‖ netted several passionate responses from respondents. Lack

of proper education was apparent in nearly all the responses, in addition to lack of info given

regarding spay and neuter clinics in Alamance County. One respondent mentioned that pet care

was taught to him through a classroom pet in elementary school, which is something that he has

not seen recently.

The final open ended question in the survey asked for suggestions that respondents

might have regarding adoption and spay/neuter clinics in educating the public of its services.



31

The majority discussed advertisement in some form, as well as community outreach in some

form, either through schools or grassroot campaigns.

Survey distributed via Social Media and Group Social Network

The survey distributed through postings on Alamance pet social media groups, as well

as through the campaign‘s group social network netted a much larger amount of responses, 38.

All self-identified their racial status as Caucasian with an exception of one respondent, who self-

identified as Hispanic. The majority of respondents also identified as female, with the exception

of two males, and one who self-identified as other.

Respondents identified as being from much more diverse municipalities originally, in

addition to the majority indicating their current residence as within Alamance County, specifically

Burlington.



32

These respondents were also much more diverse with regards to education level. The

majority of respondents indicated having at least some college education, with three indicating

that they had received their Masters Degree.



33

The majority of respondents in this group also owned pets, which was an expected result

of this question due to the distribution methods of this survey.

Spay and neuter was much higher in this area as well, with only one respondent

indicating that their pet had not been spayed and neutered. This was an expected result of a

more educated surveyed public.

The majority of respondents indicated their last vet visit as 2-6 months ago, with all but

two respondents indicating their last vet visit as within the past 11 months.



34

Again, in this survey, all but one respondent indicated that they had an arranged place

for their pet to stay during their out-of-town trips and vacations.

All but four respondents indicated that they had been adequately prepared for the

responsibility of pet ownership. Of those four, one indicated that they did not realize the

differences in pet care techniques for dogs, as opposed to horses. Another indicated

unexpected healthcare costs for a domestic cat that had wandered outdoors. A third wrote that

he/she were ill-equipped supply wise, whereas a fourth wrote that he/she had not understood

the time required for puppies.



35

Respondents indicated spending much more time involved in pet care, with well over

half indicating that they spend over 5 hours a week with pet care activities.

The number of stray animals seen in the past six months reported through this survey

were somewhat evenly distributed. The majority had at least seen one stray in the past six

months.



36

Individuals encountering instances of animal abuse were evenly split (19/19).

Respondents who answered yes to the previous question were then asked to describe

action taken (if any) taken in response to the animal abuse. Most indicated that they called

animal control or the police for resolution to the abuse, with a few acting independently to

rescue the animal on their own accord.

Sources of pet care education were much more focused in this surveyed group. Nearly

75% of respondents indicated that they observed their parents in learning proper pet care and

treatment.



37

Open-ended responses to the question of ‗What do you attribute to a general lack of animal

care education in Alamance County?‘ netted several unique and interesting responses. One

respondent wrote that, in contrast to the north, many residents keep their pets outside in the

south because of warmer weather. As a result, this respondent indicated his conclusion that it is

much easier to view a pet as an object, rather than a part of the family, because it stays

outdoors. However, the vast majority attributed the mistreatment of animals in Alamance County

to ignorance and southern culture. Several also wrote about the lack of funding both on part of

the residents and the county to properly care for the animals. Several others also wrote about

the concept of animals being regarded as less than human, and therefore, not as deserving of

resources or time.

The final open-ended question in the survey asked for suggestions that respondents

might have regarding adoption and spay/neuter clinics in educating the public of its services.

Several discussed the egregious amount of money that vet clinics charge for services, and that

it might be helpful to see some sort of price chart/comparison in evaluating services that the

adoption center/pet neuter clinic might be able to offer. The majority who chose to answer this

question emphasized the need for advertising of some sort—direct mail, billboards, grocery

store campaigns, etc. Several others also indicated information online would be helpful.

Applicat ion/Interpretat ion

The data collected from the surveys shed light on several points of interest. The surveys

sent out to craigslist and local residents yielded similar results, for the most part. An

overwhelming majority of the survey takers had spayed or neutered their pets, recently taken

them to the vet, and had a place to take the dog when away for long periods of time. If the data



38

can be generalized to the public, it would seem that a large majority of pet owners could be

classified as ―responsible‖ owners. Obviously, however, there is still an issue. This leaves

several possibilities: either a small minority of less responsible pet owners is the main

contributor to Burlington‘s stray animal overpopulation or that what is generally considered

―responsible‖ pet ownership is not entirely effective at preventing stray pet overpopulation. The

more likely explanation would be a mix of the two.

Another conclusion that can be drawn from the data is that animal abuse is at least

somewhat common. Of the Burlington-area resident survey, exactly half of the survey takers

had encountered an instance of animal abuse, as had 61% of those who took the craigslist

survey. The total between the two was 53% of the 56 survey takers who had witnessed an

instance of animal abuse.

Another interesting discovery was that about 10% of pet-owning respondents had been

underprepared for pet ownership when they first got their pets. The open-ended follow-up

question asked for elaboration for those 10%. Most responses had a similar theme—they had

not planned on getting a pet, but had obtained it as a gift or result of an unwanted relationship.

This is an interesting finding because it leads to the possibility that impromptu pet ownership

could be a prominent contributor to the pet overpopulation problem. It is logical that the earliest

stages of pet ownership could yield the highest rates of unwanted pet reproduction, runaway

pets, and giving up pets for adoption.

Perhaps the most useful insight gleaned in examining the survey results was the only

glaring discrepancy between the craigslist and Burlington resident surveys. While those on

craigslist had a wider range of responses to the question of where the survey takers had

received pet care education, 68% of the Burlington-area residents cited no formal pet care

education other than having had a pet as a child. While such an education does not necessarily

mean one is a good or bad pet owner, there is something to be said for the lack of formal pet

education in an area with a pet overpopulation problem. This has confirmed our hypothesis that



39

the Burlington area lacks proper pet education, which we see as a direct and possibly leading

contributor to the BAS‘s overpopulation problem. Using this data, our group can focus a majority

of our efforts on improving pet care education in the Burlington area.

Our survey helped us gain insight on average pet owners, however it was far from

perfect. To start, our lack of resources led us to resort to the convenience sampling method,

which by nature leads to a sample that is unrepresentative of the larger population. Both

surveys taken into account, we only sampled a totaled of 45 Burlington-area residents, which is

a few hundred short of a proper sample. Also, 91% of respondents were female and about 93%

were Caucasian. Also, all but one of the respondents were pet owners.

We also made a mistake in the craigslist survey on question 10, which asked how many

hours a week respondents spent doing ‗pet care‘ related activities. The words ‗per week‘ were

missing, leading to confusion among respondents and effectively negating our results for that

survey question.



40

PLANS, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Executive Summ ary

- The Burlington Animal Services and the Pet Adoption Center is the animal shelter and

pet adoption center for Alamance County in central North Carolina.



overpopulation of stray pets, and a negative view as a ―kill shelter.‖

- Going forward, objectives to increase animal education in Alamance County should

prove to benefit the BAS in its problems.

Burlington Animal Services have several problems we hope to address in our campaign,

most importantly, the Burlington area‘s stray pet population leaves the shelter with many more

animals than their facility has space for. This is, in part, due to the fact that many pet owners in

the Burlington area lack formal pet care education. Addressing these two issues will be the focal

point of our campaign. Thus, our general goal is to promote proper animal care and education in

the Burlington area.

Statement of Policy and Intent

The Burlington Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption Center are facing two key problems.

The first is an overall lack of awareness in the Burlington community about the services the

shelter offers. Secondly, there is an immediate need to improve animal welfare in Alamance

County; through animal abuse prevention and proper animal care education. The goal of the

campaign is to work toward resolving the rampant overpopulation issue in Alamance County.



41

Our overall plan is to promote proper animal care and education around pet ownership.

Our plan supports the goals of the Burlington Animal Shelter by addressing the root issue of

several of their problems. By addressing this foundational issue, we hope to also combat

several other issues that the shelter faces.

Our key intent is to make Alamance County residents more knowledgeable about their

pets as well as proper treatment. This should ultimately lead to a decrease in stray and abuse

cases in the area. We believe that our campaign will lead to a more educated Alamance County

citizen public that is aware of pet care responsibilities and proper animal care. In turn, we hope

to increase the overall welfare and atmosphere that animals have in Alamance County, as well

as decreasing the immense quantity and severity of cases that the shelter encounters.

Contributio n to Organizational Goals

The goals of the Burlington Animal Shelter and the Adoption Center are fairly similar in

nature, although have moderate differences. Both the animal shelter and the adoption center

are committed to improving animal welfare in Alamance County through animal abuse

prevention and proper animal care education. Both also work toward resolving the rampant

overpopulation issue in Alamance County. The adoption center works to reintegrate animals into

loving and supportive families across Alamance County, whereas the animal shelter works

primarily on intake of pets.

Our plan underscores the importance of proper animal care. This plan supports the

goals of BAS by addressing the root issue of several of their problems - education around pet

ownership. By working on this basic issue, our plan hopes to address several issues that the

BAS faces, rather than solely focused on one.

The primary goal of the plan is to make Alamance County residents more informed

about their pets and how to properly treat them. By understanding the responsibility of pet



42

ownership in greater depth, we hope that the BAS will see a decrease in the stray and abuse

cases in Alamance County. This is the primary goal of the plan.

As a direct result, we hope to see both a more educated Alamance County citizen public

that is increasingly aware of pet care responsibilities and proper animal care. As a result of the

these education efforts, we hope to see a decrease in stray pets and animal abuse.

Statement of Object ives

We have several goals for our strategic campaign. Our first and most important goal is to

measurably decrease the stray pet population in Alamance County within two months of the

campaign‘s implementation. Our secondary goal, which we hope to help accomplish the first, i s

to increase formal pet care knowledge in the area by providing such information to the public

with the campaign‘s tactics. We also wish to promote Burlington Animal Services to Burlington-

area residents, thereby increasing instances of pet adoptions at the shelter within the months

proceeding the campaign‘s implementation.

Measuring the first goal will be easy enough; if the shelter receives fewer stray animals

in the months proceeding the implementation of our campaign, then we would consider that part

a success. As for the second goal, we hope it affects the outcome of the first. To measure it

specifically, we would have to send out another survey to the people of Alamance County,

perhaps even to those who took it in the first place to gauge any increase in general or formal

pet care knowledge. If BAS receives an increase in visitors to its pet adoption center in the

months preceding the implementation of our campaign, then we can say we have had success

with our third goal.



43

STRATEGY

Executive Summ ary

This campaign has several direct and indirect goals to be addressed through

this strategy. The target audience is all of Alamance County, however particular

demographics are more important to reach than others. Our strategy to be deployed

through multiple mediums and channels in hopes of reaching our broad audience

Potential roadblocks to our campaign include reception of message,

and effectiveness of the persuasive message

Several goals have been identified that this campaign hopes to address.

Through this specific strategy, we hope to empower our client in getting the

message out about their services. The strategy aims to educate and spark an interest

in the various publics about both pet care and the shelter‘s services.

Publics A ddressed by the Plan

The primary and broad audience is the residents of Alamance County, with

several large categories and subdivisions within that public. The Alamance public is

separated into several demographics, some of which are significant to the plan. The

audiences listed in the following demographic descriptions are ones that the

message will be catered to.

The first of which is the large gap in formal education. According to the 2010

census, 81 percent of citizens stated as having a high school education, and only 20

percent indicated a bachelor‘s degree or higher. This large gap in education is a



44

significant issue, and is where this plan‘s targeted audience lies - in this education

gap, and even in less educated citizens. Although there is not a strict correlation in

formal education and animal education treatment, we believe this is a

significant audience to address in the campaign.

The second of which is rather narrow sliver of the population-- Alamance

County pet owners, and more specifically, those who have not spayed or neutered

their pets. According to a 2011 Elon Poll, this sliver comprises of approximately 33

percent of pet owners in Alamance County, a significant amount.

Several pet owners in our survey mentioned the fact that their pet was a

surprise to them - either through a significant other, or an unexpected addition to

the family. Therefore, in preparation for these unforeseen circumstances, it would

be prudent to address this audience as well.

A final audience is the Alamance County public living in poverty or low-wage

conditions. The low-cost services of the Burlington Animal Shelter can be a large

financial support to this audience, since private veterinarians often double or triple

their costs for similar or identical procedures. Through education of this animal shelter‘s

services, this public might be able to pay for veterinary services that may have been too

expensive otherwise.

All of these are key areas for the campaign, and significant audiences to reach in

implementation of our plan - improved pet care education for Alamance County.

Strategy

The portion of the public who has pets could be communicated with by

providing information in the form of a brochure at various pet-related locations

around Alamance County. For example, local parks with dog parks would be a great



45

place to distribute information. This would be effective because everyone who

comes through there would have a pet, and could benefit from the array of low-cost

procedures offered by BAS. While this strategy may reach some of those who own

pets that have not been spayed or neutered, it may may also be informational to those

who have pets that have already been spayed or neutered. Similar forms of

communication with a message concerning proper pet care information could be

provided at venues where pets are sold, such as Petsmart. This effort would be

effective because it would encourage responsible pet care at the initial phase of pet

ownership, which our survey results implied could be a big potential problem time

for pet owners. Because places that sell pets also tend to sell pet food, this

information would be available to all arrays of pet owners.

The portion of the public living in low wage areas may prove a tad more

difficult to reach as a specific audience. We could provide information about the

low-cost procedures that BAS provides on fliers that could be placed in low-income

neighborhoods. The low costs would be the driving factor in involving this audience,

but our secondary objective would also be to educate this group about proper pet

care. Thus, these fliers would provide either pet care tips or ways of getting formal

pet care information. This way we can inform this public of pet care at the same

time as promoting BAS.

There really is not a feasible way to target the audience of people who do not

have pets specifically. To reach this public, we have to do so in ways that broadcast

to the community as a whole in ways still potentially relevant to them. One idea

would be in the form of a public service announcement that could be broadcast on

the radio. Because of the general lack of funding BAS is able to put into PR, a PSA

could prove to be a cost-effective way of advertising because media broadcasters

are required by law to provide some sort of public service. This medium would be



46

effective because local radio is more prominent than local television. This radio PSA

could talk about BAS and the services they provide, as well as tips on responsible

pet ownership or ways of receiving it, similar to the flyer. Hopefully, this will create

an addition to the general knowledge of pet care by the population of the Burlington

area, making new or unexpected pet owners more knowledgeable on the subject.

Another idea for communicating to the general public (including those

without pets), which could be even better, potentially, would be to contact a local

newspaper or television reporter and suggest an article featuring the problem of

Alamance County‘s stray pet overpopulation with mention of BAS. This article could

help promote BAS and pet education to a large general audience.

Obstacles

A problem we may face could potentially be the emergence of better ways of

communicating with publics after executing our marketing campaign to increase

awareness within the community. It is crucial that the staff sends out emails,

newsletters etc as often as possible to continually raise awareness. By keeping the

information to the public constant it is more likely that this technique will help us

reach more people in the community.

It is important that the Shelter and Adoption Center continue their excellent

service so that individuals are inclined to help once visiting the site. It is important

that the Shelter shows that they practice what they preach when it comes to care for

animals at the Shelter, as they seek to find these animals a new home. It is important

that the volunteer base contribute now only to their help with the Shelter, but also

spreading the word around the community.

Word-of-mouth is important in this situation. The volunteer base within

the organization should practice this tactic and help to increase volunteer numbers. If



47

the volunteer base is not active the campaign will not reach its full potential.

A word-of-mouth campaign within each public will help to facilitate positive

communication with the surrounding community. If the word-of-mouth strategy is run correctly,

then awareness and adoptions will increase.



48

TACTICS

Executive Summ ary

- The Burlington Animal Services and the Pet Adoption Center is the animal shelter and pet

adoption center for Alamance County in central North Carolina.



overpopulation of stray pets, and a negative view as a ―kill shelter.‖

To achieve the goals established by the client and ourselves, we propose four activities

to be implemented by the client. The main goal of our campaign is to create an environment of

strong public support for BAS, which means increasing the general knowledge of pet care in

Alamance County. As such, we propose the creation of a pet care knowledge Web page, a

radio-broadcasted public service announcement, an op-ed article to be submitted to a local

newspaper, and a brochure of pet care knowledge to be placed in local pet shops. The largest

threat to this campaign‘s success would be a lack of compliance by radio stations, newspapers,

and pet shops.

Objectives

Our main important goal is to decrease the stray pet population in Alamance County.

Our secondary goal is to increase formal pet care knowledge in the area. We also wish to

promote Burlington Animal Services to Burlington area residents. Our clients have also stressed

these same goals with an additional goal of improving public perception.



49

Our objectives match the objectives of the client almost exactly. The only exception is

that instead of making the improvement of BAS a primary objective, we focus on our other

objectives in ways that would presumably help public image less directly.

Proposals fo r Meeting Objectives

The first activity we think will accomplish our goals would be the writing of an op-ed

news article. This means that someone would write an article to be published in a local paper

such as the Greensboro News and Record or Burlington Times-News. This article would be a

summary of BAS‘s main problem of the stray pet overpopulation and could potentially, reach all

members who read the newspaper. This op-ed would provide them with 3 main things that

help us accomplish our goals. First of all, the article would provide the public with knowledge of

the pet overpopulation problem. Second, the article should provide ways in which readers

could increase their pet education. Third, the article would promote BAS as both a place to

adopt and a provider of pet care services.

The first step in doing this would be to choose the person in the organization most

knowledgeable about the pet overpopulation problem, preferably someone with good writing

skills. Our suggestion would be Laura Michel. The article should be about a page or long and

shed information on the following points: the pet overpopulation problem in Alamance County,

ways to increase pet care knowledge, ways that BAS is able to serve the community, and why

people should care about the pet overpopulation issue. The objective of this article would be to

inform a large amount of Alamance County residents about the importance of BAS and the

problems it faces, as well as promoting BAS in a positive light.

The second activity we propose would be to create a page on the organization‘s Web



50

site full of up-to-date information on formal pet care, including general tips as well as provides

information on where viewers may receive additional pet care knowledge (if there are pet care

workshops or something similar to the area, that would be a good thing to promote). This

action would meet our goal of increasing pet care knowledge because we can point to this page

with other parts of our campaign, such as the op-ed. This would involve an investment in hiring

someone to build the page, assuming that nobody employed at BAS has experience in writing

html code.

The next part of our campaign would be in the form of a public service announcement

that could be broadcast on the radio. A PSA could prove to be a cost-effective way of

advertising because media broadcasters are required by law to provide some sort of public

service free of charge. This radio PSA would talk about BAS and the services they provide, as

well as tips on responsible pet ownership or ways of receiving it. Hopefully, this will create an

addition to the general knowledge of pet care by the population of the Burlington area, both

those who own and do not own pets. This PSA would require a writer familiar with the subject

(again we would recommend Laura), as well as someone who could provide an effective

voiceover for the PSA. For the voice-over, we would recommend either, someone who is

employed by BAS or asking the disc-jockey of a radio station to read it.

Our final campaign element would be an informative brochure that could be displayed

at local pet shops. This would inform the publics that own or contemplate owning pets in the

area. The brochure would outline information regarding the shelter‘s pet care services, the URL

for the pet-care info page, and provide pet care information. The main objective for this

brochure would be to curb incidents that increase the stray pet population by making the

average pet owner more informed, as well as new pet owners. This would also be effective

because pet stores sell pet food, so pet owners would be visiting the venue on a regular basis.

Budget constraints would most likely prohibit hiring a professional graphic designer to make the



51

brochure stand out and be aesthetically pleasing, but if it can be done, we recommend it. The

difficult part of this action would be to convince pet shop owners to carry this brochure.

Because of this, the brochure should not include much information about the adoption center as

that would have the potential to take away business from the pet shop owner, therefore,

making them less likely to exhibit the brochure to their customers.

Obstacles

One problem that could occur in three of our actions would be a lack of compliance. The

PSA requires a radio station to accept and put it on air. Likewise our op-ed requires a

newspaper to do the same, and our brochure requires pet shop owners to allow BAS to put

them up.

To address the first obstacle, it is important to sell the PSA as a service. Radio stations

(as with other forms of media) are required to provide a public service free of charge, which is a

reason why PSAs exist. The op-ed, similarly, should be sold as an informative piece about an

important issue in the community, affecting pet owners and non-pet owners alike. Local

newspapers are made up of the sort of community watch role which the op-ed article has the

ability to be. To help compliance with pet shop owners for the brochure, like we stated earlier,

the brochure will not contain much if any information on BAS‘s pet adoption services, but

instead would focus on pet care services and pet care information.

Another possible problem would be if the radio station that airs the PSA would do so at

times with low traffic. This problem may occur because if the radio station is complying only as

a legal obligation, and not wanting to interrupt peak hours, pushes the PSA to a time when less

people would hear it. To avoid this problem it would be advisable look for an opportunity

during the initial contact with the station to assure the PSA airs at appropriate times.

The problem with a brochure is that brochures are everywhere. If the brochure is low in

quality, it will fall by the wayside. The most important part of a brochure is the front. The title



52

should be indicative of the purpose it serves (something like ―Take care of your pet the right

way‖) and should be located high on the front panel of the brochure. If the brochure has an

alluring front page, more people will read and be informed by it.



53

BUDGET

There are very limited funds available for this campaign, so we cannot execute a costly

plan. The objective of this campaign plan is to increase the awareness of our target audience in

a cost effective manner.

Printing Expenses

● Reams of white printing paper at $7.00 each (1 ream is 500 sheets of paper). Estimate

use is two packages: $15

● Black Ink Cartridges (approx. $20 each)

● 1 cartridge for 500 1-page fliers: $20

● 1 cartridge for 500 1-page folded brochures: $20

Total Estimated Print ing Expenses: $55

Radio Expenses

● Radio Broadcasted PSA: $850

Total Estimated Radio Expenses: $850

Web Page Expenses

● Domain name: $10

● Web hosting: $10 per month

● Software: $1,000



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Total Estimated Web Page Expenses: $1,020

The total estimated campaign expense is $1,925. However, the costs of the Web Page

software can be completely eliminated should the center choose to utilize a much less

expensive option of using cloud and online interfaces (such as WordPress), to run their site. In

most cases, the fees for an online option are minimal or in some cases, free.

These costs will contribute to the campaign, as they will help to spread awareness of

The Burlington Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption Center as well as their goals and objectives.



55

TIMETABLE

CALENDAR

June 3rd - brainstorming meeting for brochure copy, radio PSA concept and online design/copy.

June 10th - meeting regarding radio ad script and brochure copy - begin writing and exploring

options for production.

June 17th - work towards a rough draft in copy for radio PSA and brochure. Manipulate and

conform copy and design for web as well. Contact some places for quotes on radio PSA

production, or to see if they‘ll do it for free (perhaps during the school year, WSOE might

provide airtime and production for little to no cost). In addition, if the design is complex, contact

a local designer, perhaps freelance. If the designer can also do web design, that‘s a bonus.

June 24th - edit rough drafts of copy for radio PSA and brochure. Include some of this copy, but

add more for the website. Develop a list of prospective production houses and stations to

distribute the PSA, as well as possible designers for the brochure. In addition, develop a list for

stations broadcasting the PSA, and what their rates are.

July 1st - Come to a final decision on PSA and brochure copy. Finalize web copy (this is a bit

more fluid, since editing of online text is much simpler than redistribution of a PSA or brochure).

Let the text churn in your thoughts during the 4th of July Holiday.

July 8th - Refreshed from the 4th, come back with fresh eyes and energy on the PSA and

brochure. Ensure that the copy is perfect - then distribute it out to your production house and

designer for production. Inform them that your deadline is July 22nd. Also, contact your

broadcast stations to let them know about your PSA - give them a date of July 31st. For your

brochures, develop a list of places to put them (parks, animal stores, vets, ect.)

July 15th - Follow up with both production house and designer via email, just to double check

that the provided copy works and that they‘re on schedule for a July 22nd first-cut. This week



56

would be a great time to continue working on your webpage, adding information and content

from the PSAs and brochures

July 22nd- Listen to the PSA and read the brochure. Check for enunciation issues, and

grammar/spelling mistakes. Sleep on it, then come back and give any edits to the production

company to make.

July 26th - Call a meeting to let the board of directors hear the PSA ad and see the brochure.

Ensure that everyone is in agreement for these materials.

July 31st - Distribute PSA to broadcast outlets (with a specified kill-date), and distribute

brochures. Be sure to keep some brochures on hand at the BAS, as well as with animal control

officers.

July 31st and beyond - It‘s important to recognize that the online material will need to be

updated frequently, to give up-to-date information to website visitors and citizens. Online

materials, particularly in this day and age, are perhaps more significant than those on broadcast

or in print. The web demands current information in order for the BAS website to stay relevant to

its citizens.



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SCHEDULE:

Order Date Action

1 June 3rd Brainstorming meeting for brochure copy, radio PSA concept and

online design/copy

2 June 10th Meeting regarding radio ad script and brochure copy - begin writing

and exploring options for production.

3 June 17th Work towards a rough draft in copy for radio PSA and brochure.

Manipulate and conform copy and design for web as well. Contact

some places for quotes on radio PSA production, or to see if they‘ll

do it for free (perhaps during the school year, WSOE might provide

airtime and production for little to no cost).

In addition, if the design is complex, contact a local designer,

perhaps freelance. If the designer can also do web design, that‘s a

bonus.

4 June 24th Edit rough drafts of copy for radio PSA and brochure. Include some

of this copy, but add more for the website. Develop a list of

prospective production houses and stations to distribute the PSA, as

well as possible designers for the brochure. In addition, develop a

list for stations broadcasting the PSA, and what their rates are.



58

5 July 1st Come to a final decision on PSA and brochure copy. Finalize web

copy (this is a bit more fluid, since editing of online text is much

simpler than redistribution of a PSA or brochure). Let the text churn

in your thoughts during the 4th of July Holiday.

6 July 8th Refreshed from the 4th, come back with fresh eyes and energy on

the PSA and brochure. Ensure that the copy is perfect - then

distribute it out to your production house and designer for

production. Inform them that your deadline is July 22nd. Also,

contact your broadcast stations to let them know about your PSA -

give them a date of July 31st. For your brochures, develop a list of

places to put them (parks, animal stores, vets, ect.)

7 July 15th Follow up with both production house and designer via email, just to

double check that the provided copy works and that they‘re on

schedule for a July 22nd first-cut. This week would be a great time

to continue working on your webpage, adding information and

content from the PSAs and brochures

8 July 22nd Listen to the PSA and read the brochure. Check for enunciation

issues, and grammar/spelling mistakes. Sleep on it, then come back

and give any edits to the production company to make.

9 July 26th Call a meeting to let the board of directors hear the PSA ad and see

the brochure. Ensure that everyone is in agreement for these

materials.



59

10 July 31st Distribute PSA to broadcast outlets (with a specified kill-date), and

distribute brochures. Be sure to keep some brochures on hand at

the BAS, as well as with animal control officers.

11 July 31st

and

beyond

It‘s important to recognize that the online material will need to be

updated frequently, to give up-to-date information to website visitors

and citizens. Online materials, particularly in this day and age, are

perhaps more significant than those on broadcast or in print. The

web demands current information in order for the BAS website to

stay relevant to its citizens.



60

EVALUATION

Executive Summ ary

- The Burlington Animal Services and the Pet Adoption Center is the animal shelter and pet

adoption center for Alamance County in central North Carolina.



overpopulation of stray pets, and a negative view as a ―kill shelter‖.

- Going forward, objectives to increase animal education in Alamance County should prove to

benefit the BAS in their problems.

To effectively evaluate our campaign, we will use and analyze different forms of data in

order to determine if our objectives have been reached. To address our objective of ―increasing

pet care knowledge‖, we will evaluate the responses of our pre and post campaign survey

results.

To evaluate the decrease in animal abuse, we will analyze the data collected by the

Burlington Police Department, specifically the number of animal abuse reports. The decrease in

reports of animal abuse will show the effectiveness of our campaign.

In addition we will analyze the number of animals taken in by the BAS. A decrease in the

number of animals taken in by the shelter may demonstrate that our campaign had an effect on

the pet overpopulation.



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Evaluatio n Criteria

Several criteria will determine the success of this campaign - perhaps the most obvious

of which would be the decrease in pet abuse and neglect cases at the Burlington Animal Shelter.

Through evaluation of statistics of animal abuse/neglect cases before and after the campaign, a

successful campaign will produce a steady decline in the amount and severity of animal abuse

in Alamance County. This trend will signal the significance of increased animal education

throughout the county, which is the goal of the campaign. A successful campaign helps the BAS

achieve their goals, by not just simply reducing animal abuse temporarily, but holding a steady

decline in animal abuse over a long period of time.

Another piece of criteria to determine the success of this campaign is the increased level

of animal treatment education in Alamance County. The goals of educating the public on their

animals and proper care are clear, and the successful campaign will, over time, result in an

Alamance County public vastly more educated about their pets. Although this criteria is

somewhat more difficult to measure, it will be much more direct to addressing the success of the

campaign. Burlington Animal Shelter will certainly benefit from a more active and informed

public, and hopefully see a greater amount of citizens taking advantage of the services that the

shelter offers for their pets.

Method

The first evaluation technique will be straight foward. Assuming BAS keeps record of the

animals they take in, these records can be evaluated and if the average number of animals they

take in decreases, our campaign can be considered to achieved the goal of reducing the

amount of stray pets in Alamance County. The population would be the pet population of



62

Alamance County, the technique is data analysis, and the reason we chose this method is

because it is easy, and it measures our success by directly monitoring our campaign‘s effect on

the shelter itself. Because this campaign will mostly likely not show complete and fully realized

effects immediately, this evaluation should occur on a monthly-to-bimonthly basis in order to see

effects over time.

Since the shelter is loosely connected with the Burlington Police department, it will be

able to monitor cases of animal abuse. Through data analysis, they will be able to compare the

cases of animal abuse before and after our campaign. If the numbers trend downward, our

campaign can claim to have had contributed to increasing pet care knowledge. The population

for the data analysis of animal abuse cases would be the pet owners in Alamance County, and

one could argue this technique to be a census because it shows how many citizens out of the

whole are shown to have mistreated their pets.

This is not a perfect goal measurement, however. To evaluate our progress with the goal

of increasing pet care knowledge further, surveys should be sent out to remeasure pet care

knowledge in the Burlington area to see if results show increases after our campaign is

implemented. Again this takes time, so it is advise to put out the survey no sooner than 1-2

months after the campaign is implemented. The population for the survey would be all the

citizens of Alamance County and the sample size should be the number of survey respondents,

which should shoot for a minimum of 56 (the yield of our initial research survey) but a main goal

of at least 100 responses to decrease the margin of error due to the survey size. The evaluation

survey should be similar to the initial research survey to reduce the possibility in differing results

being the result of changes in survey technique, as opposed to influence by our campaign. The

survey should also ask if respondents have witnessed any part of our campaign to evaluate

trends among respondents who had, as well as evaluation the campaign‘s reach.



63

Analys is

Once we collect the data, we will analyze it to determine the effectiveness of our

campaign. In order to determine whether our objectives have been reached, we will send out

surveys to measure pet care knowledge in the Burlington area. By comparing the pre-campaign

surveys to the post-campaign surveys, we will be able to see if there is an increase in pet care

knowledge after our campaign is implemented. The surveys will be analyzed to see whether our

objectives have been met. If the results show an overall increase in pet care knowledge in the

community then our campaign is a success. If the results yield different results, then we must

re-evaluate our campaign and work to make improvements.

We will analyze the number of animals taken in by BAS and if the number of animals

taken in after our campaign decreases then our campaign can be said to have achieved its goal

of reducing the number of stray pets in Alamance County. This allows us to measure the

success of our campaign and the effect it has on the shelter itself.

To see if the number of animal abuse cases in the community decreases after our

campaign we will measure data collected by the Burlington Police Department. Through data

collected we will be able to compare the number of animal abuse cases before and after our

campaign. If the number of animal abuse cases decreases after the implementation of our

campaign then our campaign can claim to have contributed to increasing pet care knowledge in

the community. We will use Excel to track and create graphs of the data we collect, in order to

easily identify trends and patterns.



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APPENDICES

Screenshot A: Distribution of Animal Treatment survey to the Alamance County Population via

the Alamance County Humane Society facebook group.



Screenshot B: Distribution of Animal Treatment Survey to the Alamance County Population via

the Greensboro Craigslist website.

strategic communications campaign for the burlington animal shelter

Documents