Marketing your organization and its events well is a must!

There are a number of ways you can advertise your events on campus. Follow these steps to insure you have maximized your effectiveness.

Step One:

Determine your audience. Who are you inviting to your event? What imagery and text would catch their attention and hopefully convince them to respond? For off-campus marketing, contact Noel Manning at [email protected] to reach off-campus media outlets.

Step Two:

Create marketing pieces that are simple, clear, and consistent providing the “who, what, when, where, and why” details that your intended audience will respond to. All advertisements must include the name of the organization and the email of the organization sponsoring the event.

We suggest you create one landscaped slide that can be used on bulletin boards, campus TV screens, banners in Tucker, etc. Having one consistent image and message for your event helps your audience remember it. For the landscape slide, most organizations use PowerPoint or Canva (16:9) for this.

Your organization can pay to have banners and flyers printed in the library, but all of these must be stamped “approved” by Student Engagement before they are posted on campus. All banners should be set up as 72×27 inches for use in Tucker Student Center. Use at least size 96 font to ensure that it can be read from a distance.

Note: All posters, flyers, banners, or public notices must be approved by the Office of Student Engagement prior to posting. Approval will be designated by a stamped “Approved Student Activities” on the poster, flyer, banner, or public notice. All marketing and communications produced by and/or for campus organizations are considered property of Gardner-Webb University and must be aligned with and uphold the mission, vision, and culture of Gardner-Webb University including our Affirmation Statement and Notice of Nondiscrimination. The University reserves the right to deny student organizations the privilege of holding/participating in events, sponsoring programs, and or posting materials if they are deemed inappropriate, provocative, or not aligned with the aforementioned policies. The University reserves the right to remove any marketing materials that do not follow the procedures outlined in this handbook and/or those outlined in the Student Handbook.

Step Three:

Email the event flyer you create to [email protected]. Once it is approved, you can have it printed as flyers or banners in the library at your club’s expense. Remember to bring these back to Student Activities to be stamped before you hang them around campus.

Step Four:

Advertise! Post your approved Banners and Flyers. Student Engagement will guide you as to where you can post your banners in Tucker Student Center or outside the Cafeteria. Flyers should be posted on bulletin boards with staples or tacks. Do not tape flyers to glass or walls. Remember to take down your promotional materials within 24 hours following the event.

In Tucker Student Center, all posters, flyers, banners, or public notices can ONLY be posted on bulletin boards, and the designated “Upcoming Club Events” retractable flyer stands. They are NOT allowed on stairs, walls, glass windows, doors, floors, brick columns, table tops, etc. For more information please see the GWU Posting Policy.

Clubs wishing to use any decorations in Tucker Student Center must be preapproved before use by VP of Student Development or the Manager of the TSC. Such decorations, if approved, will have a specific time limit set for their removal by the club, which must be adhered to.

Personal invitations work!

Word of mouth and social media are highly effective for advertising events on your campus. Encourage organization members to share your event info with their circle of influence. Consider having a table outside the cafeteria or in Tucker Student Center to advertise before your event as well.

Club Banner Policy

One of the benefits of being a Tier 1 or Tier 2 organization is the opportunity to hang a professionally printed banner in the Tucker Student Center. This is a great way to use club funds to help promote your club’s mission and grow your organization’s impact and membership all year long. You can print your club banner through the library’s AV department on canvas material. Typical canvas banners run around $35.  

The requirements for banners are:

  • Include a contact email or Instagram handle
    • Prospective members need to have a way to get in contact with the club if they are interested
  • Must be professionally printed through the library with a font/image large enough to be viewed from a distance.
  • These banners will be hung on the 2nd and 3rd-floor balcony windows, these windows vary in size, so please contact Hope Saunders to see what size windows are available before designing and printing.
  • All banner designs need to be approved by the club advisor before being sent to Hope Saunders and Brian Arnold for final approval before printing.
  • Once printed, banners need to be brought to the Student Activities Suite in Tucker to be hung.