Planning Your Event

Event Details

  1. Select date/time
  2. Identify target audience
    • Who is invited to this event? USF faculty and/or staff? Students? Alumni? Parents? General public?
  3. Determine budget. See OMC Project Fees table for more details.
  4. Develop program and format
    • Determine how attendees will participate in the discussion 
    • Will the chat function be available?
    • Will Q&A be visible to all attendees?
    • Will there be breakout rooms?
    • Who will help facilitate (admitting attendees from the waiting room, removing attendees, recording the session, etc)?
    • Will there be multiple speakers? How will mic passing be handled?
  5. Draft event description and key details
  6. Gather promotional materials (headshots, biographies, recipient lists, etc.)

Timeline

We recommend starting to plan your event at least 12 weeks out. Here is a suggested timeline/to-do list:

WEEKS TO-DO
12 Weeks Create USF Calendar Listing (see detailed instructions in the Promotion section of this guide)
11 Weeks Finalize event details and submit OMC intake request:
  • Log in to myusf.usfca.edu 
  • Navigate to Office of Marketing Communications 
  • Select “Start a Project”
10 Weeks Submit design requests (see Design section)
9 Weeks Create draft registration form (see Event Registration / RSVP Form section)
8 Weeks Publish final event registration page
7 Weeks Print invitations/posters
6 Weeks Mail or deliver invitations/posters
5 Weeks  
4 Weeks
  • Media calendar listing due
  • Email invitations to external groups in Emma
3 Weeks Posters due to Student Life and Engagement (SLE)
2 Weeks
  • Digital signage promotion
  • Event included in semi-weekly emails
  • Personal outreach
  • Social media promotion
1 Week

[Continue promotion efforts from above]
Send a final reminder email to targeted audience ?

Event Registration / RSVP Form

  • Events with fees (including optional donations) must be created in Cvent, the official university registration system.
  • For non-paid events open to internal USF audiences only, other tools may be used to capture RSVPs and registrations. Please note, however, events open to external audiences must be created using one of the approved registration methods outlined on the Event Registration System Policy page. Non-compliant events will not be promoted via email or the USF Calendar.

Contact

Email ecommunications@usfca.edu or use the event registration request form to submit your event request.

Design

When it comes to the design of your event’s promotional materials, there should be consistency across all platforms: print (posters, postcards, invitations, programs, ads, signs, etc.) and digital (website, emails, digital signage, social media, etc.). OMC can create all of these elements for your event.

Project Design / Printing / Mailing Timing

How long will it take?

  • Design development is two to four weeks, depending on scope and complexity of project, and is dependent on current OMC workload and institutional priorities.
  • The turnaround for printing is about two to three weeks, depending on the project.
  • Add extra time for mailing (request pull for mailing list at least three full weeks in advance of final creative approval).

USF Brand and Identity Standards

USF FONTS

  • Whitney
  • Whitney Condensed (web)

PRIMARY USF COLORS

  • Green [#00543c]
  • Gold [#FDBB30]
  • Gray

Check out the USF Brand and Identity Standards Manual for more information.

OMC Photography Resources

Stock Photography

Visit iStock

OMC Photography Services

Working with OMC Photography

Contact

Please contact your client manager for further information on working with the design team.

OMC Project Fees

OMC Project Fees
No Fees Fees
Client Management Print and Digital Design
Digital Signage Copywriting and Proofreading
Email Design Photography
Web Design Videography
Event registration / RSVP pages  
Social Media Strategy Social Media
  • Creation
  • Community Management
(ex. all day digital monitoring/response)

For detailed information on project fees, please visit the OMC Rates page.