PA college uses personal ads to woo students

[madmax]

Originally Posted by nittanyalum

It really is a whole new world out there these days....

Pa. college woos students with personalized ads

The campaign is an effort to reach media- and marketing-savvy teenagers

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Wilkes University badly wanted 18-year-old Nicole Pollock to be part of its freshman class this fall — so much so that it made her the star of her own ad campaign.

The small, private school in northeastern Pennsylvania plastered Pollock's name on billboards, pizza boxes and gas pumps — and even aired a commercial on MTV — in hopes of getting her to enroll. As one message put it: "We just hope you're on your way to Wilkes University next year."

full story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24391900/

I think the writer missed the point. Wilkes doesn't really care about getting Pollock. They wanted to use her face to attract every kid within 100 miles who can afford 25k a year tuition. Who cares? Penn State plasters Joe Paterno's face on all of their ads. Wilkes doesn't have Joe Paterno. Who did you expect them to use in their ads, a coal miner?

I don't think the ad campaign is much different than most schools. Instead of alumni, current students, or models, they used some local kids.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by madmax

Penn State plasters Joe Paterno's face on all of their ads. Wilkes doesn't have Joe Paterno. Who did you expect them to use in their ads, a coal miner?

No, I expect them to use a person who is actually a student. What they did is kind of like McDonald's using pizza in their ads.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by 33girl

No, I expect them to use a person who is actually a student. What they did is kind of like McDonald's using pizza in their ads.

But these were real applicants, applicants that they hoped would enroll and were generally the type of student they wanted to attract. I don't see how your analogy works.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

But these were real applicants, applicants that they hoped would enroll and were generally the type of student they wanted to attract. I don't see how your analogy works.

If I see a billboard for McDonald's with a pizza on it, I expect to be able to go to McDonald's and order pizza and get one.

If I see a billboard for a college with a student on it, I expect to be able to go to that college and see that student walking around or have other proof that she is enrollled.

I mean, what happens if they get applicants who say "what happened to that Nicole girl that was on the billboard?" "Oh, umm, she ended up going to Haverford." "You made a BILLBOARD for her and pursued her to those lengths and she didn't come here? God, this place must suck."

Clarion pursued me to a degree, but if they'd done something like this, I would have run in the other direction.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by 33girl

If I see a billboard for McDonald's with a pizza on it, I expect to be able to go to McDonald's and order pizza and get one.

If I see a billboard for a college with a student on it, I expect to be able to go to that college and see that student walking around or have other proof that she is enrollled.

I mean, what happens if they get applicants who say "what happened to that Nicole girl that was on the billboard?" "Oh, umm, she ended up going to Haverford." "You made a BILLBOARD for her and pursued her to those lengths and she didn't come here? God, this place must suck."

Clarion pursued me to a degree, but if they'd done something like this, I would have run in the other direction.

Well, they would have asked you first, so it probably wouldn't have gone down like that.

I think as long as they were real applicants, it's not a bait and switch. I think the ads made clear that the students hadn't enrolled yet.