Writing project—blog post

Word :500-600

ADV 225 –– Spring 2018

BLOG POST (20 POINTS)

FINAL VERSION DUE AS FOLLOWS:

• 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 31
• Turn in to appropriate dropbox on D2L

INSTRUCTIONS:
Park Ranger Public Relations has been hired by Homer Simpson to promote a new sport known
as Snow Triad. Simpson is founder and president of a nonprofit organization, More Olympic
Sports Foundation (MOSF). Your job is to develop public relations materials to support his new
sport. (Additional details can be found in the SS17 Scenario Brief.)

Simpson has assigned your first task: begin establishing interest in Snow Triad by developing a
blog post.

Your post will be distributed through MOSF’s Facebook page (see Scenario Brief for the specific
URL). This fictional page is maintained by Park Ranger PR and provides a means for Simpson’s
company to promote sporting competitions and inspire conversation among athletes and fans.

Your post must describe Snow Triad and Simpson’s quest to make it the next Olympic sport. It
should:

• explain who Simpson is
• describe his company

It should include:

• key details about the the new sport
• key details about the competitions

The goal of this post is to:

• stimulate conversation about Snow Triad
• generate interest in the new sports competition
• drive traffic to MOSF’s Facebook page and website (see Scenario Brief for the specific

URLs)
• ultimately attract athletes, participants, and spectators to the Park City competitions

Successful posts will incorporate the web-writing techniques discussed in lecture, the textbook
and the supplementary readings. Such techniques include:

• An article headline that is self-explanatory and informational
• An article overview that tells readers what the article is about
• At least three distinct sections, each of which has a self-explanatory, informational

subhead and a section overview that tells what that section is about
• No clunky, long paragraphs

Prepare your post as a Microsoft Word file and attach it to the D2L dropbox.

This assignment includes fictional information. More Olympic Sports Foundation does not
exist. mosf.org is a fictional website. facebook.com/moreolympicsportsfoundation is a fictional
Facebook page.

SS18 Scenario Brief: Snow Triad

CONGRATULATIONS! You have been hired by Park Ranger Public Relations firm who
provides public relations counsel for the More Olympic Sports Foundation, as known as MOSF.
Your responsibilities include media relations, constituent relations, event promotion and other
duties as assigned.

MOSF creates, plans, and promotes new Olympic-type sport competitions worldwide. MOSF has
been credited with introducing new sports that have been adopted as official Olympic sports. In
the past, MOSF has hosted races and competitions for skeleton, rhythmic gymnastics,
synchronized swimming and other such sports.

Homer Simpson, MOSF’s founder and president, has developed a new sport, Snow Triad, which
combines three popular winter sports — the snowboard halfpipe, aerial skiing, and figure skating.
As a sport for individuals, athletes must compete in all three events consecutively to place in the
competition. First, athletes must ride a snowboard halfpipe, traversing 22-foot walls while
landing tricks. Next, athletes swap their snowboards for skis. In the aerial ski event, athletes fly
down a large ramp before they launch into a flips and twists high in the air, landing squarely on
their skis. The athletes lace up their skates for the final event — figure skating. In an outdoor
rink, athletes must perform a two-minute choreographed figure skating routine set to music.
Routines include jumps, spins, and a Lutz. Athletes are reviewed by a panel of three judges and
awarded points for each event. A perfect score for all three events is 90 points (up to 10 points
from each judge for each event). In Simpson’s new sport, competitions determine first, second,
and third place winners. Currently MOSF hosts amateur Snow Triad competitions in Park City,
Utah.

Simpson is promoting Snow Triad as the most challenging competitive sport on the planet. Only
elite athletes and snow sports experts compete in this new sport. Those who compete in MOSF’s
competitions join a small pantheon of the most dedicated and talented competitors in the world.
Simpson wants Snow Triad to be adopted as an official Olympic sport.

You work for Park Ranger Public Relations, the firm hired by Simpson to promote his new sport.
Leslie Knope, APR, is your boss. Her contact information is leslie.knope@ParkRangerPR.com
and her phone is 123-456-7890.

Homer Simpson’s contact information is homer.simpson@mosf.org and his phone number is
987-654-3210. The foundation’s website is mosf.org and Facebook page is
facebook.com/moreolympicsportsfoundation.

DISCLAIMER
THIS SCENARIO IS ENTIRELY FICTIONAL. THERE IS NO SPORT CALLED X AND
MORE OLYMPIC SPORTS FOUNDATION IS NOT A REAL NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION. PARK RANGER PUBLIC RELATIONS DOES NOT EXIST.

Helpful information
If you are not familiar with the snowboard halfpipe, aerial skiing, or figure skating, research it
online. I few great resources to consider:

• www.olympics.org – the website for the official Olympic games hosted by the
International Olympic Committee

• www.nbcolympics.com – the official broadcast rights holder for Olympic games
• Other reputable Olympic sports websites