This creative project is a trade blog dedicated to Gen Z. Its purpose is to inform communication professionals about best practices when reaching out to this evolving demographic. The articles for this blog were informed by executive interviews with communications professionals who are members of Gen Z themselves or have already had success with this demographic.

This study examines the Instagram strategies of sports betting companies Bally Bet and BetMGM for reaching their audiences. The three research questions focus on what sports bettors value in these companies and on their Instagram pages; which strategies are effective for reaching the target audience; and the importance of popular culture references, celebrity endorsements and influencers in this messaging. The researcher utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods to identify the messaging categories used by both entities. Findings revealed that sports betting companies can strategically reach their targeted audiences on Instagram by successful strategies on Instagram by creating content that engages sports fans. Because the average bettor values entertainment over profiting on bets, messaging that includes popular culture and current events references to sport are essential for achieving relevancy with the fan base. These findings set the stage for future research which includes studies surrounding messaging variation across different sports, social media strategies related to trends, spending for acquisition costs, and efforts to encourage responsible gambling.

In 2020, a nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 forced thousands of concert venues across the United States to close their doors to music lovers and employees alike. This project serves to examine how concert enthusiasts, music venue employees and venues in the Valley responded to the return of the live music industry.

This project includes a marketing plan for a local small business, Island Mochi. It examines the business and best practices in the industry to inform the marketing plan. The purpose of the marketing plan is to grow Island Mochi's sales by using digital marketing and public relations strategies. The components of the marketing plan include an executive summary, environmental analysis, SWOT analysis, customer personas, PR and marketing objectives, strategies and tactics, and an outline of the implementation and evaluation procedures.

In 2020, the nation was hit with a pandemic both physically and socially. Due to COVID-19, media interaction, social media engagement, and online consumerism became necessary. In relation to widespread disease, social outbreaks concerning the black lives matter movement, police brutality, the presidential election and diversity & inclusion, set a call to action for Americans. Top fashion and shoe-manufacturing companies that engage with the public socially, financially, personally and for entertainment were evaluated on their contributions to Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. Through external marketing and communication strategies, shoe-wear companies display their approaches to social justice, equity and/or social responsibility. Inclusion & Diversity has different facets including, socioeconomics, gender roles, and race that contribute to how<br/>consumers interact with companies. This paper consists of a literary review, three company audits and analysis, and recommendations. The literary review in the introduction of my paper, explores the approaches to Diversity and Inclusion of shoe-wear companies as a response to social inequity. I conducted three audits to assess the history of Diversity and Inclusion at Nike, Adidas and PUMA to their approaches and commitment to Inclusion and Diversity through their marketing and communication strategies. I then conducted a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis based on the marketing and communications of the<br/>respective companies to gain depth in my findings of sentiment, message strategy, corporate hierarchy, and suggestions for future communications. My analysis provided a conclusion that Diversity and Inclusion in marketing and communication strategies is an essential factor in the growth and success of the company. I identified that each company has areas of opportunity to create more visibility for the LGBTQIA+ ( Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and nonbiary people) community, should continue to produce reports that analyze exactly how they plan to support Diversity and Inclusion and continue displaying their<br/>commitment on social media.