Talk to any admissions counselor and they'll tell you that students who take the campus tour are more likely to choose that school. Any liberal arts school worth its salt has invested heavily in those tours. They're romantic (what life could be like) and choreographed (but not exactly what your life would be like).
If you can get the potential students there, you're halfway to getting them in. But how do you get more students to take the tour?
Colleges have tried a lot of tactics - from getting more students to physically attend (busing students in en masse, offering a special concert or other programming, waiving application fees) to taking the tour experience to students (elaborate college fair booths, online videos, integrations with Google Streetview). The former are expensive to maintain; the latter just don't have the same emotional context. They don't feel like school.
I think Capital may have cracked the code with a new Day One experience on their website. This was one of the final projects I worked on at Ologie. It definitely evolved between our last notecards-on-the-wall brainstorm and its recent launch, but I recognize the general approach:
Balance of big ideas (dreamy) and specific opportunities (tangible)
Personalized experience (Facebook Connect decorates the workspace with your real photos)
Guided exploration (continuously choose-your-own-adventure from custom populated menus)
Oh, and shiny-object moment: I totally love how the photo nav works on those desktop iPhones.
I think Groupon is the new Daily Candy for me. It's fun and quick to read. Full of all kinds of local, fun businesses I've never heard of offering me deals I cannot pass up. Today's deal: $25 worth of custom energy bars for $10 from a company called Element Bars.
I'll admit, I've never heard of it. (Of course, I'm not really known for my nutritious eating habits). But the web experience is fantastic:
You can choose to buy some of their most popular bars (designed by other customers) or you can build your own. There are tons of choices and each includes a little extra tip on what it really tastes like. Your personal nutrition info tracks right with you, updating proteins and calories with each added almond and cherry along the way.
Now, if I just weren't so chronically addicted to Lara Bars...
How many websites and networks are you registered for?
How many different passwords do you have out there?
How many email addresses have you used and discarded along the way?
Do you get a sense of panic when you have to answer a new generation of security question, wondering truly if your favorite color/food/pet will really be the same as it is today when you eventually forget your password?
Managing all these different identities and accounts is a hassle. Uploading your best photo (and re-uploading it when you find a better one). Filling out all the information. It’s creating a barrier to participating. Who has time for another account setup?
So why are so many colleges asking their potential students and alumni to do just that?
I recently wrote about four of the top colleges in social media. Ones that “got” their audience and came up with a clever strategy that made just the right connection.
But, they’re not the only ones out there with good ideas. Think of all the social media campaigns you’ve looked at and thought: well, that had a lot of potential. The idea was clever, but the execution? Just not there.
Often what’s missed is one of three simple best practices:
Make it easy. Don’t ask you audience to adopt a new behavior or even create a new account if you don’t have to. Leverage the tools they already use. Sync with their behavior. Be as creative with technology as you are with strategy.
Who does it well: Barnard invites its alumni to connect via a private network. But it doesn’t take a new account to join, alums can just leverage their existing Facebook credentials to enter.
Stanford University uses the technology in its students’ pockets. Last school year, Stanford released a free iPhone application called iStanford that allows students to register for classes, look up campus maps and be able view the location of their friends on a map – instant messaging them if need be.
Use a personal voice I would argue that voice is the single most important element of a successful social media execution. The medium rewards casual interactions. People feel more intrigued by – and connected to – brands that they sense are authentic and more genuine than their competition.
Who does it well: University Nebraska-Lincoln is hands down the execution expert here. David Burge is the Associate Director of Admissions there and he’s also the host of the popular online video program Real Nebraska.
Real Nebraska was developed as a recruitment tool and is available to prospective students through the admissions website, vodcast, and on YouTube. The program, in its third season, averages several hundred hits per day and was featured on the TODAY show in early March.
Shot, edited, and staffed with entirely in-house talent, the three seasons of Real Nebraska have produced more than thirty 3-4 minute episodes highlighting student life.
Importantly, they’re told in a friendly, relevant voice. Full of ready-to-pass on soundbites, subtle answers to those pesky questions you’re afraid to ask, and a real peer-to-peer authenticity
Seed the audience You’ve probably heard that the idea if you build it they will come is about as outdated as that Friendster login you’ve got written down on your old Trapper Keeper. It takes some work to get a new social media destination to critical mass. That’s where seeding comes in. It’s an intentional strategy for how you’ll get your first users.
Often social media campaigns don’t have the kind of marketing dollars behind them that traditional programs might. So, it’s important to think about what you can do with what you have.
For example, in 2006, CareerBuilder launched a fun little ecard destination called Monk-e-mail. Using a phone and their computer, visitors could customize a talking monkey and send it off to a friend’s inbox. With few resources to publicize the site, they looked for what assets they did have: the people who worked there. All the employees at CareerBuilder (~1500) and at their agency partner (~300) were asked to send n monk-e-mail card to 10 friends. There were no marketing dollars spent to promote this campaign.
Since then? Over 100 million monk-e-mails cards have been shared.
Who does it well: Capital University. You’ve probably seen me write about their Will You campaign before.
(Short story: This was a great collaboration between the agency I work for and Kevin Sayers and his team at Capital. It was a show and tell of the school’s evolved brand that mapped in comments from Facebook; pulled in Tweets with a certain hashtag; grabbed photos from Flickr, etc., to get a whole campus of feedback.)
But the part I didn’t talk about was the seeding. They didn’t assume that the site would naturally take off (even though there was quite a bit of curiosity on campus). They made sure to make some noise.
They chalked the website address on campus sidewalks; Sharpied it onto white boards; saved it on screensavers; hung it on fliers. They gave sneak peeks to talk leaders and sent post cards to parents. In short, they bootstrapped a clever seeding campaign and got real results. 120,000 people visited the destination in the first three months. And 6% of the student population engaged by leaving a comment or a photo.
Ologie does some pretty great work every day, but there are a few stand-out projects that I just can't seem to stop talking about. This is one of them. And, it's total Ologie: simple, compelling and smart as hell.
Here's the setup: Capital Univerisity is a private college here in Columbus. It's got a strong liberal arts core, surrounded by a number of practical, professional programs. Super engaged faculty; lots of hands on learning.
And, a brand that wasn't really keeping up with the offer.
At their best, brands set an expectation for an experience. They connect what a company does to what it says about itself. Capital was a project just like that - find the cool, geniune stuff and tell a tight little story about it.
Part of the launch of that brand was sharing the work with the students. We did that in part through a website called WillYou. It's got a great storytelling video, but then relies on the community for content.
So, the site maps in comments from the Facebook page; pulls in Tweets with a certain hashtag; grabs photos from Flickr, etc. Super simple show and tell with a whole campus of feedback.
Proving again that one of the best assets an agency can have is a bootstrappy programmer who's willing to take home a weighty print out of Facebook developer guidelines and mine for answers.
Couple of other social experience sites I've been talking about lately:
I love Pledge to End Hunger for its choose-your-own adventure levels of interaction and its conversational voice. It connects collaborators (and competitors) across the country and powers big initiatives, all with a call to action that seems more friendly than pitchy.
Stand Up & Eat is an entirely different kind of social. It powers WOM with its clever phrasings and unfortgetable facts. You'll tell someone about this site. (agencies unknown)
You've heard, I'm sure, that Domino and WonderTime have shuttered their
doors. A real loss of a bold aesthetic and brave approach,
respectively.
They fell to the same shocks hitting the rest of the publishing industry:
fractured media habits among core readers; reduced ad spending;
increased distribution costs; etc.
This month, two other publishing innovators handled the industry-wide challenges in really different ways:
Good: Powerful content for the digital space
If you don't know Good - I'm happy you're reading this. It's a chance for me to introduce you to your next favorite thing. The visual appeal of Real Simple; the smart voice of Fast Company; the heady ideas of Seed. All in one even-better tome.
Unfortunately, Good is trimming its paper for the times. This
mini issue was delivered this month. "The Recession Issue" features 80% less printed content and an announcement that the publishing
schedule will be migrating from monthly to quarterly.
Ouch.
The "Good" news: The content isn't slowing down. It's just moving. To Good's digital space. Normally, this would be a scary proposition. But, Good is so provocative, so visual - it's better than ever. Check it out. You'll get addicted.
Time: Aggregating a house of brands
So how do you leverage a big operational elephant in lean times? Time
is doing it with personalization. The publisher is pulling together its
news, sports and lifestyle publications into one aggregator that lets
readers completely customize their ideal multi-interest magazine.
Visitors pick up to five Time titles they'd like to read content from. Time builds that content into one personal book that can be delivered online or in mailbox. Pretty cool.
Ask any marketer: Talking to women in an authentic way isn't easy.
First up: there are a lot of us. More than half the population. That's a whopper of a demo to pigeon into a clever campaign.
But, many have tried. Making everything pink. Nodding at how much men suck. Empathizing over the approaching horror of bikini season.
Most of the time, it just misses. More noise in a crowded landscape. But sometimes, it's just off putting. Especially when it comes from brands that should know better.
Their new Baked line packaging is being supported with a huge ad and online investment in connecting with women. They've bought full pods on cable; produced a series of webisodes; bought into the most expensive magazines.
All for a chance to make menopause-makes-me-hot jokes and pushup-bras-are-my-favorite technology references:
It's mostly just disappointing. The thought that the agency that developed this - and the client that approved it - believes that women are really united over our shared love of yoga and disgust for our younger, hotter counterparts is ... gross.
The next time you get a brief targeting women, I suggest:
Asking which women? Do you really need to resonate with half the population?
Searching for a unique, and near universal insight. They're called cliches for a reason.
Looking for connection around our "best selves"; not our guilty pleasures
For every couple thousand of these little interactive wonders we chef up, there are a special few that manage to captivate an audience. That hold us from the first click until ... hey, where'd that last 10 minutes go?
Two recent examples to get lost in:
Edu-commerce
Closing a high-engagement sale (think selecting an insurance plan, buying a car, etc.) is always a challenge online. Lost is the sense of urgency, the gentle prodding by the "expert" in the room. Instead there's the ability to browse, to get frustrated, to wander off...
Imagine how much harder that sale is when you add in ignorance. An entirely new group of novice buyers entering a specialists category. Ouch.
Short story: Fixed gear bikes are to messengers as hush puppies are to hipsters. They're that one have-to-have item that broke through the barrier from enthusiast to fan. And, suddenly a whole bunch of folks who'd never wielded as much as a pedal wrench before wanted their own stripped down urban two-wheeled ride.
The IRO Cycle build-your-bike site takes shoppers into the grit of building a fixed gear. You pick your drivetrain, your rider, etc., but each choice shares both the lingo-ed "what" and the plain English "why."
Just about anyone could feel confident building a bike on this site. AND they'll walk away talking the talk.
(Congratulations to Kristen Milligan on this one. This is the very first press release find I've posted.)
Enter this gorgeous quiz from My Deco, a publisher tagged as a furniture fix for the decorati.
Every question is answered by selecting a conceptual image from a delightful mood board of ideas. Your ideal bedroom, favorite chair, color palette for your living room.
At the end, you get the verdict. Just what kind of design style you have. But, the experience of the quiz is enough to communicate the expertise of the publisher. Yeah, they get it. And, I can't wait to see more.
Spotted by creative co-worker Carrie on Creative Envy.
Writing about Plaid's quest the other day made me think about the changing ways agencies are engaging potential clients, partners and employees. Increasingly, they're not settling for create-and-wait tactics, rather they're engaging best-fit audiences with can't-resist content and experiences.
Today's agency marketing is LESS like:
Spray-and-pray mailers
Dialing for dollars against generic lists of "creative decision makers"
Pulpit positions at preaching-to-the-choir conferences
If-you-build-it-they-will-come agency Web sites
It's MORE like:
Creating opportunities to share ideas
Spending time with like minds
Building value around content
Making the Web a personal experience
In our fast-moving, client-driven world, agency leaders are investing time and resources in changing the playing field. The results are ... pretty desirable. Check out these two examples.
Space150: Rip up your white paper, host an event
Thought leadership used to come in a 15-page white paper, complete with charming 12-point type and the occasional bar graph. Today, it comes in shared time and ideas. Agencies leveraging their partners and networks to create immersive events on topics clients are actually interested in.
Cole & Weber: Create deep dive industry experiences
Industry relevance was once a column of client logos. Today, it's a sense of the experience. Of speaking the language, having apropos theories, demonstrating a targeted approach.
Cole & Weber brings a great example to life on this micro site showcasing their experience in the wine category. It's peppered with thought leadership. Has a taste of quality, a note of investment and a nose of confidence. (Metaphor - and post - officially exhausted).
About a month ago, GirlEffect.org (sponsored by Nike) made speedy work of our pass-along circuit. Its near-universal acclaim was credited to the simplicity of the design and the pace of the engaging story.
But I think it was something bigger. Or, I guess I should say it was about being bigger.
The easiest objection to make to advertising in any form is - what does it matter? What does the brand of chips I buy, the sports team I cheer for, or the brand of shampoo in my shower* really matter in the big scope of things?
The challenge was even greater for this nonprofit. Can a small contribution really make a difference in a village thousands of miles away? Can someone on a couch in Ohio change the lives of a nation?
The Girl Effect pulls that thread.
Makes it personal.
Blows that little donation up into something that will change the lives of first a girl, then a village, then generations.
Makes it bigger than you. Bigger than itself.
It even lays the gauntlet that husbands and children are bad for girls. That's drama. Hell, yes. I'm in.
The hallmark of creating drama in the everyday is the lump in the throat. The experience so big that you see yourself as having real responsibility to it. You feel like it matters.
And, it doesn't exist just in the work of philanthropy.
Take these two niche favorites:
Cesar's (the dog food cum canine cuisine) I Promise campaign brings the Love Them Back tagline to life. It sets up your pet aisle picks as nothing less than an expression of how much your value your fuzzy friends. It lays down a gauntlet of love.
Or Monster.com's Stork spot. The beautifully shot story that hints at how valuable each life is and asks - are you reaching your potential? Stork replaces the transactional choice of work with nothing short of the meaning of life. It either lays down a gauntlet of guilt or hope. You pick.
*Baked Sour Cream and Cheddar Lays, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Aveda Sap Moss ... you know, if it matters.
We are - in a word - overwhelmed by choice. So much to read
and do and participate in. A lot of it clever and intriguing and really
kind of delightful. To get your message heard, to get past our savvy
consumer filters, you need a special kind of engagement - the kind that
breaks through.
In this series, I'll share examples of brands that have broken through and show how they used the principles of social to do it.
What they were up against: Like most cities that never have red
carpet events or celebrity homes to happen by, Asheville has an
awareness challenge. How do they make sure vacation planners everywhere
know how much great stuff they have to offer?
For years, Asheville went about tourism advertising in the usual way -
visit Asheville for X, Y and Z. Calls trickled in. Weekend vacations
were had. But, Asheville wanted something more - longer vacations, more
interest, higher engagement.
So they challenged a number of agencies - including Luckie - to come up with the idea that would help them break through.
What they did: Luckie knew that it was going to take more
than bucolic photography of green mountains and the promise of a ride
on the rapids to put Asheville on the map. So they looked for an angle
that would get people talking about something people are naturally
passionate about: getting a break from their demanding worklife.
The pitch & the eventual campaign was called Friends of the Five Day Weekend. And it was a call to stop working longer and harder. It was time to take leisure back.
Through newspaper ads, posters, sandwich boards, TV spots, and radio
ads, Luckie drove the curious and overworked to learn more on a Web
site, sign petitions of support and even attend rallies in key cities.
What happened next: 7000 people signed an online petition that was sent on to Congress and the presidential primary contenders. Hundreds joined homegrown Five Day Weekend groups on Facebook. Average people bought and wore the brand. They not only attended the planned rallies, but some even set up their own rally.
Hundreds of bloggers - including the feisty Donald - blogged. And - even with no concentrated media outreach effort -
Michael Medved invited the campaign spokesman on for a lengthy debate
about the economics of the issue. Fox News did a national piece on
it, focusing on overwork but also interviewing the head of Asheville
tourism. And, the AP ran with it.
Importantly, the story of Asheville came through. Not only as
the transparent sponsor of the "movement," but also as a place where
people do care about the very real issue of work-life balance.
How it's social: This campaign has literal social elements -
like the Facebook groups, blogging, etc. But its success is arguably
built on the solid social principles of what makes WOM happen. To
borrow from Steve Knox, CEO of Tremor,
it was a story that was
true to the core of the brand and disruptive to the conversation. The
kind of social marketing that creates results, not just impressions. It
was something that people could care about and it was easy for them to pass on.
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