Proposal Three of Three
Real-World Risk Analysis & Product Testing
Turning failed products into powerful learning experiences — and turning LETU's engineering talent into a competitive intelligence asset for American industry.
Turning failed products into powerful learning experiences — and turning LETU's engineering talent into a competitive intelligence asset for American industry.
Every manufacturing and technology company has a drawer — literal or metaphorical — filled with products that failed in the field and nobody knows why. These failures represent millions in warranty costs, liability exposure, and reputational risk. Investigating them internally is expensive, time-consuming, and often biased by the same assumptions that produced the failure in the first place.
LeTourneau University offers something no commercial testing lab can: a curious, unencumbered, multi-disciplinary team of engineering students who will take a failed product, reverse-engineer the failure, and deliver a comprehensive diagnostic report — all as part of their education. Companies get fresh eyes, rigorous methodology, and actionable results at a fraction of the cost of a consulting firm. Students get the kind of real-world, résumé-defining experience that no textbook can provide.
Global cost of product failures annually (warranty, recall, liability)
Of product failures have root causes that go unidentified due to resource constraints
Typical cost savings vs. hiring a commercial forensic engineering firm
Before we pitch the Risk Analysis service to any company, we must establish why LETU students are uniquely credible. The WAN YouXi story is the perfect vehicle.
Dr. Curtis Wesley, a LETU business faculty member, created a math card game designed to teach numerical fluency through play. Rather than commercialize it himself, he handed it to LETU students.
LETU business and entrepreneurship students didn't just study the concept — they built the company. They developed the business plan, incorporated WAN YouXi as an LLC, secured R.G. Research & Development funding, and took the product from idea to market.
WAN YouXi, LLC is now a real, operating business — not a class project, not a simulation. It sells a real product to real customers, and LETU students run it. This is the level of applied capability that LETU brings to every engagement.
If LETU students can build and run a company from raw IP, imagine what they can do when you hand them a broken product and ask: "What happened here?"
Every piece of marketing for the Risk Analysis service will open with or reference WAN YouXi. It is the proof point that separates LETU from every other university's generic "industry partnership" pitch. It demonstrates: real execution, real business, real results. Only after establishing this credibility do we pivot to the specific Risk Analysis offer.
Owns the product development lifecycle. Has a backlog of field failures that need root cause analysis but cannot justify the cost of a commercial forensic firm or the distraction of assigning internal engineers. Pain point: "I need answers on why this failed, but I can't pull my best people off the next product launch to get them."
Responsible for identifying failure patterns across product lines. Needs systematic, documented analysis to support warranty decisions, supplier negotiations, and design improvements. Pain point: "We're seeing a 3% failure rate in the field. I need to know if it's design, manufacturing, or materials — and my team is underwater."
Accountable for the product's commercial success. Field failures directly impact customer satisfaction, NPS scores, and renewal rates. Needs actionable intelligence to advocate for design changes. Pain point: "My customers are losing confidence. I need data to take to engineering and say 'fix this.'"
This is designed as an annual engagement and blueprint, not a fixed-week campaign — the workstreams below run continuously across the 12-month contract.
| Tactic | Description | Channel | Frequency | Workstream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WAN YouXi Case Study Video | Documentary-style video: Dr. Wesley's origin story → student incorporation of LLC → R.G. funding → commercial launch → student testimonials. Distributed on landing page, YouTube, LinkedIn, and embedded in all email outreach. Quoted separately, pay-as-you-go per project — not bundled into the monthly retainer. Video production is optional and can be handled through SFAA or a preferred LeTU vendor, with direction, planning, and scripting by SFAA. Why we recommend this: it is the single most powerful credibility anchor we have — proof that LETU students execute in the real world, which pre-sells the entire service. | Video / Web | Per project (pay-as-you-go) | Foundation |
| Website & Landing Pages | $3,500 recommended full package: a new, standalone marketing site on a separate domain (not the university's .edu) — one consolidated "Office of Industry Engagement" main page linking to three initiative landing pages (Corporate Education, Robotics & Welding, WAN YouXi / Product Testing). The Product Testing page carries the problem statement ("You have a failed product and no answers"), LETU methodology, WAN YouXi proof of concept, faculty credentials, sample deliverable (redacted PDF download), pricing tiers, and inquiry form. Alternative: individual landing pages at $1,500 each (3 = $4,500). Why we recommend this: the $3,500 package is more cost-effective for LeTU and lets SFAA control quality and speed on a new domain, instead of relying on the slow, technically-limited .edu site — and it is the conversion hub every other tactic points to. | Web | One-time build | Foundation |
| LinkedIn Organic + Boosted Posts | Organic content creation targeting R&D Directors, QA Managers, VP Engineering, and Product Managers at manufacturing companies in TX, OK, AR, LA. Creative A: "Your product failed in the field. Now what?" Creative B: WAN YouXi student success story. Creative C: "A forensic engineering team. For the cost of a training course." SFAA-written with client approval. $756–$1,134/mo (4–6 posts). Note: this is the organic content-creation fee only — the paid "boost"/ad spend behind these posts is additional and is captured separately in the LinkedIn Sponsored Content Ads line. Why we recommend this: organic-first with boosts builds durable authority and audience at a fraction of paid-ad cost, and lets us prove message-market fit before scaling spend. | 4–6 posts / month | Always-On | |
| LinkedIn Sponsored Content Ads | Paid Sponsored Content targeting the exact R&D, QA, VP Engineering, and Product decision-makers. Ad spend is $2,000–$3,000/month (depending on bundled programs). Spend varies with the number of bundled programs. This is a LinkedIn media spend, not an SFAA fee. Why we recommend this: Product Testing (with Corporate Education) is one of only two initiatives where paid LinkedIn ads are worth the spend — the buyers live on LinkedIn and Sponsored Content puts the offer directly in front of them. | Ongoing ($2,000–$3,000/mo) | Always-On | |
| LinkedIn Articles / Content | Long-form LinkedIn articles and content written and supplied by SFAA on failure-analysis themes, faculty expertise, and student capability, with client approval. Billed at SFAA's blog-post rate: $400/mo (4 articles). Why we recommend this: a consistent publishing cadence compounds into search-visible thought leadership and gives the sales team credible assets to share in outreach. | 4 articles / month | Always-On | |
| Email / Drip Campaign (future phase) | A nurture sequence to hand-curated prospects, opening with the WAN YouXi story and progressing through proof assets and clear calls to talk. This tactic depends on first-party data (FPD) and contact-data access — it will be mapped and activated once FPD/contact access is confirmed, not at launch. Why we recommend this: once contact data is in place, email is the lowest-cost channel to stay in front of a defined prospect list and drive booked conversations. | Future phase — pending FPD | Always-On | |
| Retargeting: "See What We Found" | LinkedIn + Google Display retargeting for landing page visitors and prior touchpoints. Serve anonymized case study highlights that show real diagnostic outcomes and warranty savings. Why we recommend this: retargeting keeps a considered, high-value service top-of-mind through a long B2B buying cycle and recovers interested prospects who didn't convert on first visit. | Paid Display | Always-on | Optimize |
This is the most intellectually-driven of the three pillars. The creative must project rigor, curiosity, and confidence — not flash. SFAA also holds a signature high-impact outreach concept that will be developed and revealed once a partnership is in place; everything else flows from that level of creative ambition.
The psychological hook is intellectual humility combined with LETU's demonstrated capability. The message is not "you're bad at your job." It is "you're too close to the problem, and fresh eyes see what insiders can't." WAN YouXi proves those fresh eyes are elite.
Beyond the always-on channels, SFAA has developed a signature high-impact outreach concept engineered to make LETU un-ignorable to the exact executives who own these failures. We intentionally hold the details of this concept until a partnership is in place — it is a core piece of the value SFAA brings, and it will be fully developed and revealed once we are working together.
The Risk Analysis visual identity should be distinct from the other two pillars: monochromatic, technical, forensic. Think scanning electron microscope imagery, exploded-view technical diagrams, blueprint aesthetic, clean typography. Color palette: deep charcoal, white, and a single accent — teal. This signals precision, objectivity, and scientific rigor. Avoid warm tones entirely — this is the "left brain" offering.
Because this is an annual blueprint rather than a fixed-week campaign, success is defined by qualitative direction and momentum across the 12-month engagement rather than rigid numeric targets. Specific benchmarks will be set collaboratively with LETU once the program is live and baselines exist.
Pricing is structured for a 12-month engagement, stated per month where recurring. Confirmed today: the one-time Website & Landing Pages package, plus the LinkedIn organic content lines — organic posts and articles (combined $1,156–$1,534/month, or $13,872–$18,408/year). Some items remain TBA pending final scope and vendor quotes. Video is quoted separately, pay-as-you-go per project — it is not bundled into the monthly retainer. Note the LinkedIn "boost"/paid ad spend is separate from the organic-creation fee and is budgeted at $2,000–$3,000/month depending on the number of bundled programs.
The monthly retainer also includes ongoing collaboration meetings, content management, and strategy mapping — included in the total cost, not itemized separately.
| Category | Item | Investment |
|---|---|---|
| Website | Website & Landing Pages package (one-time) — consolidated main page + 3 initiative pages on a new domain (alt: individual pages $1,500 each, 3 = $4,500) | $3,500 |
| Organic Content | LinkedIn organic posts (4–6 / month) — content creation only; ad/boost spend is separate (see Sponsored Content line) | $756–$1,134 / mo |
| Content | LinkedIn articles (4 / month, written by SFAA at blog-post rate) | $400 / mo |
| Paid Media | LinkedIn Sponsored Content ad spend — varies with the number of bundled programs (LinkedIn media spend, not an SFAA fee) | $2,000–$3,000 / mo |
| Video | WAN YouXi / marketing video — pay-as-you-go per project, optional via SFAA or a preferred LeTU vendor (direction, planning, and scripting by SFAA), not bundled into the monthly retainer | Per project |
| Paid Media | Retargeting (monthly) | TBA |
| Lead Assets | PDF / sample-report lead assets (FPD-gated) | TBA |
| Content | Case study production (per completed engagement) | TBA |
| Email / drip campaign — future phase, after FPD access confirmed | TBA | |
| CONFIRMED ONE-TIME + MONTHLY RECURRING | $3,500 one-time + $1,156–$1,534 / mo (+ TBA) | |
The confirmed line at this stage is the one-time $3,500 Website & Landing Pages package (alternative: individual landing pages at $1,500 each, 3 = $4,500). We recommend the $3,500 package: building on a new, standalone domain rather than the .edu keeps SFAA in control of quality and speed and avoids the slow, technically-limited university site. Confirmed monthly recurring today is the LinkedIn organic content: organic posts (4–6/month = $756–$1,134) plus articles (4/month = $400), for a combined $1,156–$1,534/month ($13,872–$18,408/year); remaining monthly items are TBA pending the selected scope. Video is quoted separately, pay-as-you-go per project — not part of the monthly retainer; production is optional and can be handled through SFAA or a preferred LeTU vendor, with direction, planning, and scripting by SFAA. LinkedIn Sponsored Content ad/boost spend is separate from and additional to the organic-creation fee — it is budgeted at $2,000–$3,000/month depending on the number of bundled programs (a LinkedIn media spend, not an SFAA fee). All TBA items are pending final scope and vendor/partner quotes. On revenue: of the three pillars, Risk Analysis carries the highest per-engagement revenue potential — with per-analysis and annual-subscription pricing to be finalized with LETU.