At this point you may be asking yourself where the money is going to come from to produce the kind of exposure that will help your budding program grow. Ideally, you would have budgeted for this type of expense before you even purchased a card system. However, many times this type of expense must be left off in order to get the card program you really wanted. In these cases you will need to turn to your institution’s resources to accomplish what you need.

To start, visit the marketing department at your institution and gauge their availability and willingness to help. An advanced marketing class should jump at the chance to tackle such a project as it would give them a perfect opportunity to exercise their skills and begin to build a portfolio of work. However, if you would feel more comfortable using your own ideas for the marketing side of things, enlist the help of a graphic design class to take your ideas and translate them into print. If money is available and you have ample support from your superiors, consider seeking the services of an experienced graphic design or marketing firm. By hiring a design firm you can concentrate on the other areas of your card program while the design firm handles its publicity and promotion. Don’t forget to ask your vendor partners what assistance they can provide. They may have some dollars to give in support of a marketing effort or some marketing staff time they can provide you at no cost. Remind them that the better your program looks, the better they look.

In summary let’s quickly recap some important steps in making your card program a success now and into the future. First, if at all possible make the card mandatory and do not assess a fee for the card. Second, exhaust all efforts to make the initial marketing of your new card program a success during the IPM phase. Third, make sure to continue the marketing of your card program well into the PAM phase. And lastly, do all that you can to prepare a marketing budget that will allow you to publicize your card program as much as possible. Remember, the visibility and publicity of your new card program is as important as its technical stability. One without the other will rarely result in a successful venture.