I am not sure if people really understand how much work an office of 29 people can truly produce. Ironically enough, when people think of Strategic Marketing and Communications (SMC), they usually think of the 8 people and faces they see most often. The fact of the matter is, our department can be broken into 5 sub-departments: PR and Communications, Panther Productions (video and broadcast), Web and Interactive Media, Creative Services, and what I like to call, SMC proper.

Within these 5 areas, we accumulate about 2000 jobs per fiscal year (June 1-May 31).  Yes, you read that correctly — 2000 jobs. And that is simply a ballpark. We don’t track every job; we don’t write up every single job. There are many times when someone will call and it’s a “quick fix”  we do as a “favor,” per se.

So how do we do it?  How do we organize, sort, design, produce, promote and deliver all of these jobs on time? How is it even possible? I have one word for you — ONTrack! ONTrack is our job tracking software that truly is a lifesaver. Besides keeping some sort of organization to our menagerie of jobs, it allows us to sort, manage and categorize. It allows us to keep track of budgeting expenses and quantities. Our Web and Interactive Marketing team can use it to track their various web and social media updates to our sites. Panther Productions can organize their next iTunesU course or faculty profile while still organizing the promotional materials that an Account Manager is working on with a client on campus.

Most importantly, OnTrack helps us collaborate and keep projects moving forward with the many individuals involved.