OU attempts to rebrand by launching new ads

Attempting to set Ohio University apart from other universities in the competitive age of student recruitment, University Communications and Marketing launched a years-in-the-making re-branding campaign last week to entice prospective students.

The “It’s You” campaign, which features four exclusive concepts Ohio University has to offer students in the form of four different commercials, is now being aired in markets throughout Ohio and surrounding areas.

The four concepts, Bobcat Pride, Supportive Professors, Home Away From Home and Love At First Sight, were developed through a years-long process of advertising research and quantitative studies that were brought to life after campaign workers interviewed 31 students on campus about their experiences at OU and compiled their answers into four short commercials, including a teaser trailer.

Heather Bartman, who at the time of filming was a Scripps student, was featured in two of the commercials. She explained that the interviews captured what differentiates OU from other colleges and universities.

“(The interviewers) knew what kind of answers they would get, but the answers were real. They were sincere,” she said. “We were definitely able to speak from our hearts and from our minds about how we all felt about OU.”

Nicole Spears, a UCM student who helped conduct interviews, saw the same message that the campaign sought to brand OU with.

“I’d hope that someone looking for somewhere to go would see there was a spot for them here,” she said.

Spears also spoke on the “realness” of the interviews, explaining that none of it was scripted and students weren’t coached on topics.

Although the interview answers were left in the hands of raw student perspectives, the campaign was carefully formulated through years of careful research in order to brand OU as effectively as possible.

Renea Morris, the executive director of UCM who helped spearhead the campaign, explained that the need to re-brand the university came from the increased competition against other schools to draw in the desired 18-24-year-old pool.

“We talked to students everywhere to try and get an idea of what they know and think about OU... [about] what was important to make the decision about going to college,” she said. “It’s important that we continue the momentum to get the message out to prospective audiences to get growth in applications and a freshmen class.”

Craig Davis, an assistant professor of advertising who worked on the marketing advisory counsel for the campaign, described a detailed targeting process that started several years ago. An advertising firm came in and performed analyses of all the major universities in Ohio, including OU, to determine what set each school apart from the rest. After conclusions were drawn about what made OU different from schools like Miami or Ohio State, the It’s You campaign was born out of the collaboration of advertising research and a Bobcat consensus.

Davis explained that that together they found that OU’s signature was, “Helping people become the person they want to be.”

“We want prospective students to get the message that [at OU] they can develop potential they didn’t know they had before they came here,” Davis said. “Part of OU is we want people to be confident and intellectually curious. We want a university that opens to that.”

Both Davis, along with Morris and Director of Creative Services for UCM Mark Krumel, said it was important for OU to have a new, specific message to send to prospective students. The Promise Lives campaign, which was used for about five years, was used until the “It’s You” campaign was launched to create a more specific message to prospective students.

“There is a unique opportunity for OU to feature student-created work,” Davis said. “Our students have a message that’s unique.”

The campaign hopes that by sending a message voiced by students about the pride, sense of home, support and love of campus, their audience will find reason to choose OU over other options.

“It all came down to the students. After looking at all that footage and transcribing all the things they said, even though they didn’t all know each other, we were hearing the same thing: ‘Once you get here, you’ll feel at home,’ and how professors are supportive and accessible. That lead us down the path we took,” Morris said. “We didn’t create it because we thought it was a good idea. It truly was the students. It’s something we should all be proud of…Being able to spread what the Ohio University experience is all about.”