Enc 3250 Module 11 - Final Proposal

Billy Unotti, an advertising student at UCF, proposes a new marketing campaign called Project CAPS to promote the university's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). The goal is to raise awareness of CAPS' resources to help more students struggling with mental health issues like depression and low self-esteem. Billy cites research showing these problems are increasing in college populations and that early intervention is important. He outlines plans like revamping CAPS' social media, holding information booths, and designing promotional t-shirts to reduce the stigma around seeking help. Billy believes his advertising skills can help more students in need access CAPS' services.

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Enc 3250 Module 11 - Final Proposal

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Billy Unotti

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TO: Natasha Taylor, Doctoral Program, Counseling and Psychological Services,

University of Central Florida

FROM: Billy Unotti, Advertising and Public Relations student, UCF
DATE: August 2, 2014
RE: Proposal for new CAPS campus visibility campaign, titled Project CAPS
Attached is a proposed plan for a new marketing campaign across the UCF that
will exclusively promote Counseling and Psychological Services to gain maximum
exposure and student involvement and retention. This is important because of the rise of
mental health problems in the college student population, our primary target.
I would like to make the helpful available resources better known to reach out to
many individuals in need. With the permission of your department, we could revitalize
existing practices and create new strategies to see as many UCF students seeking your
services as possible.

Proposal for Project CAPS:

Counseling and Psychological Services
Awareness Campaign
Introduction:
My name is Billy Unotti, and I am studying Advertising and Public Relations at
UCF. Through my capacity as a senior undergraduate, I have had the privilege of being
immersed in one of the most diverse student populations in the country. As a group
exercise instructor at our universitys Recreation and Wellness Center, I have discovered
an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. College students are at a heightened risk
for low self-esteem and the psychological effects that accompany this problem. How can
we help lessen the increased potential for depression and low self esteem for UCF
students?
A 2014 study by Chris Armitage found that self-affirmation was an excellent way
to reduce body dissatisfaction that was based wholly on body image and shape. This selfaffirmation can be found through treatment at UCF Counseling and Psychological
Services. My solution is simple and would be a wonderful opportunity for me to combine
my experience in campaigns, rhetoric, health and wellness, and my passion for helping
others.
I would like to use my knowledge and skills Ive gained in my Public Relations
classes to help this population. I would conduct a campaign on campus to raise awareness
to help promote your existing programs and services. It should leave the office with
minimal involvement beyond communicating with and supporting me, and would be a
great opportunity to serve at greater capacity a higher risk population. There is no doubt
in the research that college is the pivotal age to detect and treat the smaller issues that
could manifest themselves in mental disorders later.
Problems and Purpose:
I feel this is a problem that needs addressing. In my job capacity at a gym, I have
met so many individuals with various degrees of experience in fitness, and all have
different goals. Many feel too self-conscious to even attempt to begin their fitness
journeys. I have experienced, through multiple family members, women with depression.
It was difficult to see someone you love struggle with something you have absolutely no
control to make better. I especially saw issues in my sister as she approached her
twenties.
In fact, in the 17th issue of Mental Health Practice, Laura Lowe describes the
problem in her article Knowledge Beats Stigma Every Time: some mental health
problems increasingly emerge in late adolescence and early adulthood, including bipolar
affective disorder, and psychotic disorders, such as a schizophrenia. These dormant
problems are finally triggered by the excessive stresses of college. This problem exists,

and my experiences have shown why its an objective worth having. Id love to see a
world where deserving women and men were more confident and happier.
This is also reasonable traceable because everyone who begins treatment with
CAPS could be asked to provide how they were referred, and we can find out if they are
coming due to my efforts.
Each of your programs is clearly defined, but as you are aware, they not as easily
accessible as they should be. Everyone who visits must have a general consultation, and
appointments for these must be made weeks in advance. Immediate help is available, but
what about students struggling with the usual barriers that affect taking action? What
about students who are not in a crisis, but still need help? These issues do not have to be
addressed now, only if my project actually works. Increased traffic will need to be a
concern in the future.
Primary Audience:
College students are the perfect audience to target this project toward. This is the
age when these problems, if avoided through the teens, would finally manifest
themselves. In the study Help Seeking for Mental Health on College Campuses by Daniel
Eisenberg, he found college students to be not only the most willing population to accept
counseling and treatment for mental disorders, but also the most likely to seek out that
help themselves. Therefore, the only thing missing at UCF CAPS would be their
programs visibility.
Context:
Im sure that you have many questions for me. Firstly, what my motivation was,
and secondly, why I chose to work with your office in particular. Additionally, I realize
that I must prove my credibility. If you need to see any writing samples or my resume,
please let me know. If you are questioning the extent of my commitment, please rest
assured. If this grows into something that will take up a lot of my time, energy and effort,
it is important for you to know that it is not just for the stakeholders benefit. It can help
expand my portfolio immensely. Actually going through with this project would require
research, and would produce tangible results. I would be able to showcase and reference
it in a professional setting. So going through with project CAPS would benefit myself as
well.
Thats not to say helping those struggling with their mental health hasnt been a
lifelong passion for me. I watched my mother, stepmother, and sister, all the most
prevalent women in my life, fight depression and low self esteem. These women just
needed one thing: earlier intervention. Thats why Id like to be the catalyst for change on
the UCF campus.
Resources
One article in The Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry helped my research:
Evidence that self-affirmation reduces body dissatisfaction by basing self-esteem on

domains other than body weight and shape. This is an excellent article for my project
because it can help my exigency. Why am I pursuing this in the first place? Armitages
article proves through research that this problem is real, and serious. Western culture
promotes self-affirmation through body shape, rather than other factors such as work
ethic or effect on people in the world. In this experiment, the correlation between selfesteem and body image was not only tested, but also how could body satisfaction be
boosted if it was based on something other than size and image? Armitage works in the
Department of Psychology in the University of Sheffield in the UK. He has extensively
studied the subject. He found that self-affirmation significantly reduces body
dissatisfaction and could be incorporated within clinical practice to reduce mental
disorders that come with low self-esteem.
Solution and Qualifications:
Studying Advertising and Public Relations with a minor in Writing and Rhetoric
has really helped shape me as a student and now, a business professional. I have taken
classes such as Social Media as Mass Communication, Rhetoric and Civic Engagement,
and Professional Writing that will directly effect how I handle my campaign. I would like
to take over the Twitter and Facebook pages for the UCF CAPS and make them more
student friendly. Additionally, I will hold a booth at the student union on market
Wednesdays. With your permission, we could design and develop t-shirts to give away.
These become free advertising and moving billboards when people across Orlando read
the shirts. We will try and take down the stigma and shame that students have receiving
treatment from a therapist of psychologist. There are many different avenues to go. If I
really had a budget and resources, Id love to organize a flash mob. This would be
creative, get more students involved, and continue to remove the stigma. Project CAPS
really is possible, and Id love to see it happen.
I look forward to scheduling a meeting with you and whoever else would demonstrate
any interest in this project. Thank you for taking the time to read this proposal. I
appreciate your help!
Works Cited:
Armitage, C. Evidence that self-affirmation reduces body dissatisfaction by basing selfesteem on domains other than body weight and shape.. Journal of Child Psychology &
Psychiatry, 53, 81-88. Retrieved July 14, 2014
Eisenberg, D., Speer, N., & Hunt, J. Help Seeking for Mental Health on College
Campuses: Review of Evidence and Next Steps for Research and Practice.. Harvard
Review of Psychiatry (Taylor & Francis Ltd), 20, 222-232. Retrieved July 1, 2014
Lowe, L. Knowledge Beats Stigma Every Time. Mental Health Practice, 17, 9-10.
Retrieved July 14, 2014