RWU students help Celebrate Coventry!

ROGER WILLIAMS University students, standing from left to right, Anderson James, Michelle Ryder and Alissa McGeehan lead a press conference on the Bristol campus on May 4 with Celebrate Coventry! Committee member and Coventry Town Councilor Karen Carlson, far left. The students helped the committee create a tourism plan. / COURTESY ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY
ROGER WILLIAMS University students, standing from left to right, Anderson James, Michelle Ryder and Alissa McGeehan lead a press conference on the Bristol campus on May 4 with Celebrate Coventry! Committee member and Coventry Town Councilor Karen Carlson, far left. The students helped the committee create a tourism plan. / COURTESY ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY

BRISTOL – Three Roger Williams University students helped Coventry leaders create a campaign to promote the town as a tourist destination.
As part of their media relations course this spring with Assistant Professor Hume Johnson, students Alissa McGeehan, Anderson James and Michelle Ryder partnered with the Celebrate Coventry! Committee on the re-branding effort.
Starting in January, the students conducted research, toured the town and met with residents to create a plan on how Coventry could promote tourism and community involvement. That plan includes planning new events, increasing the committee’s use of social media and securing positive media coverage focusing on the town’s cultural history and thriving businesses.
“Part of our goal on the committee is to create community events for our residents but also share what’s great about the town beyond our borders,” Celebrate Coventry! Committee member Norma Smith said in a statement. “With the students help, we’d like to attract more area residents to our community events to help support the small businesses in the town and also attract more businesses to Coventry.”
Throughout the semester, the students crafted press materials, identified story ideas, pitched news to local media outlets and created a crisis communications plan for the town, among other projects, all of which will now serve as the foundation for the committee’s re-branding campaign.

Karen Carlson, Coventry Town Council member, District 1, and a Celebrate Coventry! member, said the experience with Johnson and the students has been wonderful.
“In just a few months time, we’ve had more press coverage in our local newspaper and they’ve been instrumental in growing our social media channels and engaging with important community partners like the police department and our schools,” Carlson said.
The students said they enjoyed the experience and feel it will help them as they pursue careers.
“This class has provided us the necessary tools to be able to pitch stories to the media on behalf of our client and maintain mutually beneficial relationships between us and reporters. Being able to speak with real members of the media has allowed us to develop practical communication techniques to use throughout our careers,” McGeehan said.

No posts to display