Consumer branding combines everything we do best at Gotham. Logos, print,
television and radio ads, brochures, billboards, packaging design, videos,
websites, public relations— as a consumer marketing firm, we turn
the spotlight on your company, products, services and messages. But just
because we can be wildly creative doesn't mean that we are just plain
wild. Everything we do for you is focused, refined and directed through
our strategic approach to business to “consumer” marketing
as well as our commitment to giving you the maximum return for your money.
Consumer Marketing Campaigns
CLIENT Appalachian State University, Office of Extension
and Distance Education
Western North Carolina
OBJECTIVE
Appalachian State University’s beautiful mountain campus in Boone,
North Carolina, boasted a 2009 enrollment of 15,000 students – the
maximum the on-campus infrastructure will support. But, applications for
enrollment continue to rise at ASU, which for nearly a quarter-century has
consistently ranked as one of the top 15 southern regional universities.
The limits of the Boone campus and the growing demand for enrollment have
come together to make distance learning programs a tremendous growth opportunity
for the university. Now, full- and part-time distance education is available
at 18 physical locations in 10 western North Carolina counties. In addition,
degree programs are offered online within a 50-mile radius of Boone. Flagship
off-site locations are Appalachian State University Centers in Hickory, Hudson
and Morganton, North Carolina. These centers comprise the Appalachian State
University Greater Hickory Partnership.
Appalachian asked Gotham to produce an executable plan to attract,
retain and graduate prospective off-campus students. The plan was to
target prospects who are graduating from high school, or who hold associate’s
degrees. Appalachian also asked Gotham to produce branded deliverables
promoting their distance learning programs across the 10-county region.
The goal was to:
Raise awareness in western North Carolina that Appalachian
offers off- campus programming at the Appalachian’s
Greater Hickory Partnership centers.
Increase by 50 percent the number of students in
both off-site and online programming.
Make prospective students and
communities aware of the new partnership among Appalachian,
Western Piedmont College, Caldwell Community College and Technical
Institute, Catawba Valley Community College and the North Carolina
Center for Engineering Technologies.
Generate a strategic marketing plan for
the Greater Hickory Partnership to serve a broader
purpose across the larger 10-county Appalachian Learning Alliance.
CHALLENGE
The Appalachian State University Greater Hickory Partnership (ASUGHP)
was a new entity, but Gotham had considerable experience with marketing
secondary education in western North Carolina, having worked with
the Hickory Metro Higher Education Center (ASUGHP’s predecessor)
for five of its six years. Appalachian’s past efforts to promote
distance education were largely piecemeal, this resulted in weak
brand cohesion or identity. Compounding the challenge, state cuts
limited the marketing budget for this initiative, so highly focused
messaging and delivery were crucial.
SOLUTION
Gotham interviewed all key stakeholders at the ASU Greater Hickory
Partnership and leveraged the information with past data collected
from the Hickory Metro Higher Education Center, using the input to
create a comprehensive strategic marketing plan. The plan included
messaging strategy and suggested deliverables including newspaper
ads, multimedia presentations, radio ads, billboard, print brochures
and specialty advertising. Non-traditional media utilized for
promotion include Google Pay-Per-Click, Search Engine Optimization,
local cinema, and mall advertising.
RESULTS
To jump-start public awareness of the initiative, the campaign launched
with a series of billboards on major interstate highways. The billboards
rotate the core messages – Appalachian is Available, Affordable
and Attainable – with board locations and messaging changing
monthly. Supporting the billboard campaign are print and radio initiatives
across the target market. Customized packets for high schools and
community colleges will contain USBs with testimonial videos and
pertinent print brochures. Microsites appealing to the target demographic
will allow Appalachian to accurately measure the results of these
efforts through Google Analytics.
According to the ASU GHP Director, Gotham’s campaign has been
highly successful in accomplishing its goals. Since the campaign rolled
out in early February 2010, foot traffic and phone calls have increased
dramatically in the Appalachian State University Greater Hickory Partnership,
and web traffic has risen 100 percent. Perhaps more importantly, prospective
students are more aware of the specific Appalachian programs offered
in the region, are more likely to strongly consider applying to an
Appalachian off-campus program and are more academically organized
when they visit a center. The result was substantially increased brand
awareness, which led to a tripling of enrollment from 2004-2008.
