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Writing The Strategy

Here are things I would include in any professional report. You should too….

• Have a title page.

• Include a table of contents.

• Include an executive summary

• Include a title for each section.

• Number your pages.

• Each section should start on a new page.

• Number any appendix you decide to use.

Let’s talk language• No “I” or “We”

• Yes to your team’s name or agency name. That brand repitition matters.

• Full mention of the name first, then you can use an acronym.

• Dan Farkas Interactive (DFI) provides great solutions for any business.

• DFI from this point out.• For the sake of this project, ditch contractions.

• Hammer SVO.

• Shorter and more powerful sentences are better.

Let’s talk source citation

• Include the date.

• Have a reference page.

• If there’s a link, I would include it.

• I’m not going to grade you on reference formatting, I just want to know you have references.

Let’s make an argument

• Claims must have support. Otherwise, they have no value.

• Don’t do this: Beef prices have a great effect on the fast-food industry.

• Do do this: Beef prices have a great effect on the fast-food industry as they account for 21% of costs (Franchise Help, 2014).

General writing ideas

• Be very specific with your statements

• Show that your statements are credible, not just guesses

• Give examples

• Define key terms

Ideas for writing

• There is no magic formula.

• Start with an executive summary that shouldn’t exceed one page and probably be less.

• Outline the research steps I gave you. The research should be most of the report.

• Create objectives. These shouldn’t exceed a page and probably be less than that.

Ideas for writing• Document programming strategies, connecting the

research to your ideas.

• Include a list of activities, explaining how the activities connect to the evidence-based research you’ve collected. You can cite back to your own report in this circumstance.

• Design samples (not the full product)• Budget, in terms of time and hours.• Activity calendar.

• The evaluation should link back to the objectives.

• Draft a brief conclusion, never to exceed one page.

General writing rulesthe farkas five.

• When in doubt, be professional

• When filling out an request for proposal (RFP) follow the rules to the letter.

• You don’t want to give away all your complete details in the pitch.

• You don’t want to be too vague.

• When you figure out the Golden Mean, let me know.

So what will you turn in and how will I grade you?

So what will you hand in?

• A complete communications plan.

•Research

•Objectives

•Programming (Ideas and the content)

•Evaluation

So how is farkas going to grade you?

• 75 points research

• 50 points programming

• 50 points for objectives and evaluation

• 25 points for team evaluation and in class work.

So how is farkas going to grade you?

• Research

•Did you follow the steps?

•Did you ask the right questions?

•Did you talk with the right people?

•Did you follow this PP presentation?

•This is inherently a bit subjective.

So how is farkas going to grade you?

• Programming

• Is everything aligned?

•Is the timeline viable?

•Is the budget within reason

•Does it meet the client’s needs?

So how is farkas going to grade you?

• Objectives

•See the slides on objectives. Did you fit that criteria?