Group Members: Luke Smith, Eli Null, Yanlin Zhu, Andy Danny

Group Members Luke Smith Eli Null Yanlin Zhuandy Danny Klimczak

Our group was tasked with drawing bigger student audiences to arts and sporting events at their high school. There are many variables involved in executing this project effectively. We needed to determine the best way to promote our application, ensure that students who use the app actually attend the events, and consider the most effective options for compensating students for their attendance.

The initial step involved promoting the app to maximize its reach among students. The simplest and most cost-effective method considered was announcing the app over morning announcements. However, after reviewing "Social Media Advertising 101: How to Get the Most out of Your Budget," we concluded that creating a location story on Snapchat that is viewable during sporting events would be highly effective. This story would feature videos and images from various school activities, showcasing positive aspects of the app and encouraging students to participate in future events. This approach leverages social media's power to target a large audience quickly and at minimal cost.

The second critical aspect was verifying student attendance via the app. Our team agreed that integrating location services into the application would be the most reliable method for confirming that users are physically present at the school events. This decision was supported by insights from "Challenges and Business Models for Mobile Location-Based Services and Advertising," which affirmed the effectiveness of location-based services in tracking attendance. Nonetheless, implementing this feature presents challenges, including privacy concerns, as students might be reluctant to allow their location to be monitored. Moreover, the technology would exclude students who do not own compatible smartphones, limiting overall app effectiveness.

Despite these concerns, because most high school students own smartphones, we believe that location tracking remains a pragmatic solution to verify attendance efficiently. The final challenge involves devising a feasible plan to compensate students for their attendance, which we examined through a survey conducted via Survey Monkey among fifteen high school students. The survey revealed that 100% of respondents would be more likely to attend events if they received some form of compensation. When asked about preferred forms of motivation, 86.67% favored monetary incentives like Venmo transfers or gift cards, while 40% valued incentives such as free tickets to future school events or priority parking. These results clearly indicate that monetary rewards are the most appealing incentive for high school students.

Implementing monetary compensation presents practical difficulties, particularly regarding funding. Our team proposed two viable avenues for financing these rewards. The first involves allocating a designated percentage of ticket revenue toward student incentives, with the rationale that increased attendance driven by rewards will ultimately boost revenue despite sacrificing some profit margins. The second method entails selling advertising space within the app to local or national companies, generating additional revenue that could fund student incentives. This advertising approach not only provides a sustainable funding source but also offers multiple opportunities for community engagement and promotion.

In conclusion, our comprehensive approach—leveraging social media for promotion, utilizing location-based services for attendance verification, and exploring monetization strategies—aims to significantly increase student engagement at school events. While challenges such as privacy concerns and funding limitations exist, thoughtful implementation of these strategies can enhance the effectiveness and appeal of our application. Encouraging student participation through targeted marketing, reliable attendance tracking, and attractive incentives holds promise for creating a more vibrant and involved high school community.

References

• Cochrane, Matthew. “Why Venmo Is So Popular With Millennials.” The Motley Fool, The Motley Fool, 22 Mar. 2017.
• Dhar, Subhankar, and Upkar Varshney. “Challenges and Business Models for Mobile Location-Based Services and Advertising.” Communications of the ACM, May 2011, pp. 121–128.
• Newberry, Christina. “Social Media Advertising 101: How to Get the Most out of Your Budget.” Hootsuite Social Media Management, 5 Nov. 2018, blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-advertising/.
• Smith, Luke. "Research for Final Project." Survey. SurveyMonkey Inc, 24 Nov. 2018.