Atlantic Canada Branding, Advertising and Marketing
Dalhousie University
[b]Youth Branding 101[/b] Dalhousie University faced a problem not uncommon to Atlantic Canadian universities - declining first year student enrollment. What was uncommon was the challenge of overcoming high school students' perceptions of Dal as a large, intimidating, conservative graduate school, rather than an institution that could provide an inspiring undergraduate experience. [b]Discovery[/b] We talked to the university, we talked to Dalhousie students, and we engaged in focus group research with 18-year-old high school students. This helped us understand their current perceptions of Dal, their lifestyles and what they wanted in an undergraduate school. From here, we discovered that Dal was better suited than most high school students might think to offer an outstanding undergraduate experience. [b]Direction[/b] The majority of prospective students don't know what path they want to take when they start university. Dalhousie's huge variety of courses afford students the best opportunity to explore their interests, inspire their minds and find a path they perhaps never expected. All it takes is one amazing course, a passionate professor or a single inspirational experience to change everything. All of these things could be found at Dalhousie. Now our task was to find a compelling way to point that out. [b]Ideas[/b] The cool courses existed, the students and professors existed and we knew we could find real people with a story to tell. These stories became the base of our campaign platform "Discover the Unexpected". We asked five students and two professors to tell their stories of inspiration to help shift perceptions and compel high school students to explore how Dalhousie University will inspire them. [b]Actions[/b] Using an integrated mixture of mass marketing, guerilla marketing, cinema advertising and a content-rich website, we brought these compelling stories to life and ensured that they connected with, informed and engaged the target market. We drove traffic to the website where we delivered relevant information in an equally relevant and engaging way. [b]Results[/b] In a year where enrollment at Maritime universities saw an average 10% decline, Dalhousie experienced an 11% increase - turning a projected 400 student deficit into a surplus. Dalhousie's student recruitment department receives positive feedback from prospective students across Canada who see a bit of themselves in the "Discover the Unexpected" campaign.