Social & Digital Coordinator
HAPPY VALLEY COMMUNICATIONS
Involvement Overview
After being encouraged by my academic adviser, in January 2020 I applied and was accepted as a member of Happy Valley Communications: PSU's student-run communications firm. During my first semester, I had the privilege of working with a group of Penn State alum wishing to further develop and raise awareness for an app they called Beemia. Since fall 2020 and carrying into the current spring 2021 semester, I've been a part of a nine-person team whose client is the Crust & Crumb Café located in downtown State College.
Client #1: Beemia
What is it?
Upon graduating, a group of Penn State alumni recognized that students who had moved off campus lacked access to information about living and dining in downtown State College. Thus, Beemia was born: a lifestyle app that provided resources on housing, the bar scene, and restaurants. For this particular iteration and version of the app, Penn State students were the targeted demographic for its launch and for the purposes of its collab with Happy Valley Communications.
Where does HVC come in?
Beemia's founders teamed up with HVC to work on three specific areas: research, brand awareness, and user acquisition. For the alum who were since removed from the State College scene, it was beneficial to have us current undergrads relay information from fellow college peers on the relevant and trending aspects of student life.
BUT THEN, there was a global pandemic.
Our semester and work was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March 2020. Suddenly, there were hardly any students on campus and essentially zero events to promote via Beemia.
We pivoted!
In order to remain relevant, Beemia launched a new social media campaign. The #StayConnected project on the app's Instagram account told stories about students' lives who were impacted and/or disrupted due to COVID-19. As an account associate, I was responsible for brainstorming individuals who might have a unique story to share — whether they were involved in Greek life, studied abroad for the semester, or were robbed of the last final months as a PSU senior.
Our Plan?
