Marketing the University

[crusadermoe]

I have to give a shout out to the name "Crafty" anything!   Mine was just a borrow from the "CrusaderJoe" was another recent poster.  Crafty, your kind feelings have inspired me to commit to the whole MVC tourney next year.

No matter the outcome of the season or the MVC tournament, I am EXTREMELY proud as an alumnus to be represented by Matt Lottich and Mark LaBarbera.  These two men appear to have impeccable integrity, do not cut corners, and have high credentials.  Matt is very mature and his achievements as a great NCAA player at Stanford create just about the best fit for Valparaiso you could imagine.  If he was not effective in coaching this year, his players would not have fought bask so many times.

Mark LaBarbera has done just AMAZING things at Valpo since he started about 10-12 years ago.  While I think he can improve the staff marketing schools greatly, Mark is hamstrung in terms of financial investment.  The university will probably not give him more resources until it can achieve three goals related to three questions. 
1) What is the core mission and identity of the university in concrete terms. "Passion" is not an end or a purpose. 
2) What is a cohesive target student group that can reach the goal of 6,000 students which is cited in the 2013 campus masterplan? 
3) How soon will VU complete the "ValpoForeverToGoal" fund raising campaign that includes the 2011 chapel gift of $15 million?   

[FWalum]

1) What is the core mission and identity of the university in concrete terms. "Passion" is not an end or a purpose.

I really don't like the "Passion" commercial. 

[VU2014]

1) What is the core mission and identity of the university in concrete terms. "Passion" is not an end or a purpose.

I really don't like the "Passion" commercial. 

I wish I could like this post 10 times. I couldn't agree anymore. AWFUL commercial.

[FieldGoodie05]

1) What is the core mission and identity of the university in concrete terms. "Passion" is not an end or a purpose.

I really don't like the "Passion" commercial. 

I wish I could like this post 10 times. I couldn't agree anymore. AWFUL commercial.

Not worse than ALL NBA commercials.  In particular that nasal high pitch squeak box, the rapper.

[bigmosmithfan1]

The ad is actually okay as college ads go (really - it looks fine and checks all the boxes a college needs in a 30-second spot. I know y'all are hung up on the whole "Passion" theme, but different aspirational language isn't going to make a huge difference. You want an ad that looks professionally done, shows off the campus, shows different aspects of student life/sports, interspersed with the obligatory classroom/library/lab shots, so that a prospective student/parent watching goes "oooh, that looks like a nice campus, let me go to their website/put it on my list to research or visit, etc." That's it.)

Having said that, the ending is absolutely, stunningly, mind-bogglingly bad. No university logo or tagline on screen, you have a "SCHEDULE YOUR VISIT" call to action in big, generic typeface blocking out the woman delivering the closing line, which abruptly cuts off awkwardly. The ending comes off like a carpet outlet spot or something. At a minimum, it looks like a technical glitch.

The university clearly invested in some professional concepting, photography and post-production for this spot, only to have that all tossed aside with how they closed the spot. Which is often what happens when you have someone with no knowledge of advertising overruling the marketing/ad pros. (Which happens a lot in both the private sector and in higher ed). Not saying that's what happened here because I don't know, but if I had to bet, that's where my money would be.

[crusader05]

I love the Valpo Passion commercial and I know a lot of the younger generations do too. Students are looking for good programs and good experiences. Valpo wants to compete with other academic private universities and can boast the quality education to do so but they need to sell the students on the fact that coming to Valpo means more. It means something about who you are and what we achieve here. This incoming generation is very focused on experiences and making a difference in the world. Selling Valpo as more than just a college is key to that demographic.

[crusadermoe]

Fair enough on the buzz the "passion" ad may generate in a positive way.  Substance isn't really that important in advertising as you and the prior posters say.

The questions about the university's ultimate mission and strategic goals run a lot deeper.

Again, glad the ad is effective in its demographic if that is the case.   

[bigmosmithfan1]

I'll go a step further. Instead of having the actress deliver the final line with a close-up and the awful, awkward graphic placement  - fade out to a Valpo gold screen with the university logo tastefully centered and the web address proportionally set along the bottom (you can even add the "schedule your visit" in smaller typeface there if you want). The ad is immediately 100 percent better from just that little fix.

(Seriously, VU spent a lot of damn money updating the university marks and logos a few years back. That it appears *nowhere* in the ad is insane).

[VU2014]

I'm not too far removed from my college days and I thought the thing was as cheesy as can be. There were some good shots of the campus which was good but that commercial wasn't my cup of tea and I know some other fellow alums thought it was cheesy too. But like bigmosmithfan1 mentioned the bar is pretty low for college commercials.

[vu72]

I'm not too far removed from my college days and I thought the thing was as cheesy as can be. There were some good shots of the campus which was good but that commercial wasn't my cup of tea and I know some other fellow alums thought it was cheesy too. But like bigmosmithfan1 mentioned the bar is pretty low for college commercials.

Apparently it was well received by the experts!

University Commercial – Where Passion Meets Purpose
The video features students as they move from classroom to service activities and seek to harness their passion for service and leadership and find their purpose at Valpo. The University commercial has won four Telly Awards, a MarCom Award, a CASE Award, and was nominated for a Chicago Emmy.

[VU2014]

I guess it all depends in the eye of the beholder. TBH it's not the biggest deal in the world. It's a commercial. That's not going to make or break a kids decision to come to VU. We kind of got off topic on this thread.

[VULB#62]

I love the Valpo Passion commercial and I know a lot of the younger generations do too. Students are looking for good programs and good experiences. Valpo wants to compete with other academic private universities and can boast the quality education to do so but they need to sell the students on the fact that coming to Valpo means more. It means something about who you are and what we achieve here. This incoming generation is very focused on experiences and making a difference in the world. Selling Valpo as more than just a college is key to that demographic.

Based on everything I have read on the Valpo Fan Forum these past months (mmmm, maybe years) and attending some university events (both athletic and others), I can only conclude that the sad reality is that the Passion ad is pretty much fluff and a depiction of a university atmosphere that is more imagined than real. I believe, in general, that the student body is complacent and that the complacency has been carried over into the alumni population for many years.  Now, before anyone gets their knickers in a knot, I exclude everyone on this board from that generality (if we didn't have a passion for Valpo, we wouldn't be on it), and I laud the cadre of Valpo Alums who have stepped up and, in many cases, are continuing to step up, but in both I sense we are a small minority. IMO, passion must come from the top.  I think MH is a wonderful person and a good administrator. Harre and Schnabel were as well I'm sure.  But organizations, and universities, reflect the personalities (read: priorities, energy, and Passion) of their leadership.  I would suggest that top-down passion is infused into the students each and every year in all aspects of campus life.  They, in turn, internalize and act on that school passion as they move through school and on as alumni and as they expand their lives.  University presidents need to have a little cheerleader in their DNA.  And of the three I listed, MH is at the top of the list in this regard, yet ........

[valpopal]

I'm not too far removed from my college days and I thought the thing was as cheesy as can be. There were some good shots of the campus which was good but that commercial wasn't my cup of tea and I know some other fellow alums thought it was cheesy too. But like bigmosmithfan1 mentioned the bar is pretty low for college commercials.

Apparently it was well received by the experts!

University Commercial – Where Passion Meets Purpose
The video features students as they move from classroom to service activities and seek to harness their passion for service and leadership and find their purpose at Valpo. The University commercial has won four Telly Awards, a MarCom Award, a CASE Award, and was nominated for a Chicago Emmy.

Actually, this commentary references a different commercial from last year, which interestingly featured Jubril Adekoya.

[justducky]

Apparently it was well received by the experts!

University Commercial – Where Passion Meets Purpose

Anyone who has developed a passion or passions will never be without purpose. To those of you who have yet to experience this I suggest that you open your eyes to the magnificence surrounding us.

OK. I am a cynical old man who sometimes dislikes the commercial but I am not its target. For those it does target it should frequently connect.

[crusadermoe]

Can the moderator pull all of the VU identity/advertising stuff from the "Arch Madness" game thread over to this one?

It really belonged in a thread like this any way.

Goals and purpose of the university.  Where does athletics fit in the larger picture?

[valpo04]

Can the moderator pull all of the VU identity/advertising stuff from the "Arch Madness" game thread over to this one?

It really belonged in a thread like this any way.

Goals and purpose of the university.  Where does athletics fit in the larger picture?

Done.

[crusader05]

The new commercial was all over during the Big Ten Championship, at least in our region. Be interested if others saw it outside of the Indiana Area.

One interesting tidbit is that lots of the actions shots in the video were collected by the university handing out go pros to students and just having them wear them while they were out with friends/doing things. Definitely had a more grounded feel to it.

I get some people don't like the passion angle but it seems like a good sell for a religiously affiliated private university that's trying to sell students on the experience and engagement in college. I get that engagement in Athletics isn't what we want but other areas of Valpo have been growing.

[crusadermoe]

Great to hear  that some are growing.   Throw them out here on the board so we can celebrate them?

[vu72]

Great to hear  that some are growing.   Throw them out here on the board so we can celebrate them?

This is one of the best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Dszov2j7M

[crusader05]

A couple of things I've read about seen:
Greek Life numbers continue to grow with plans to have our first historically black fraternity to colonize here
Spring Break service and study abroad trips are in Ireland, Israel, Japan, Houston, Louisiana, DC and more with plans to revamp study aboard to make it more immersive for students, including a program that allows engineering students to go abroad and continue their studies without losing time back home.
The University will have a Cadaver Lab starting next fall which is huge to get STEM/pre-med students
The anniversary of the Conformation was so well received that they are going to continue it every year and make it a full campus experience
MLK Day has gotten some really interesting and quality speakers and revamped the programming to get more community involved
Continued addition of majors to the business college are also a benefit and working to get more students to stay on for graduate school by allowing them to begin taking classes their Senior year to cut down on their cost and time dedicated.

[vu72]

A couple of things I've read about seen:
Greek Life numbers continue to grow with plans to have our first historically black fraternity to colonize here
Spring Break service and study abroad trips are in Ireland, Israel, Japan, Houston, Louisiana, DC and more with plans to revamp study aboard to make it more immersive for students, including a program that allows engineering students to go abroad and continue their studies without losing time back home.
The University will have a Cadaver Lab starting next fall which is huge to get STEM/pre-med students
The anniversary of the Conformation was so well received that they are going to continue it every year and make it a full campus experience
MLK Day has gotten some really interesting and quality speakers and revamped the programming to get more community involved
Continued addition of majors to the business college are also a benefit and working to get more students to stay on for graduate school by allowing them to begin taking classes their Senior year to cut down on their cost and time dedicated.

Just a wild guess--might that be The anniversary of the Reformation??

[bbtds]

The anniversary of the Conformation was so well received that they are going to continue it every year and make it a full campus experience
MLK Day has gotten some really interesting and quality speakers and revamped the programming to get more community involved
Continued addition of majors to the business college are also a benefit and working to get more students to stay on for graduate school by allowing them to begin taking classes their Senior year to cut down on their cost and time dedicated.

Just a wild guess--might that be The anniversary of the Reformation??

I think a little Re-Con needs to be done before deciding who is correct. 

[FWalum]

The University will have a Cadaver Lab starting next fall which is huge to get STEM/pre-med students

This is huge! When going to different medical schools with my daughter it was made such a big deal in her interview that Wake Forest actually had cadaver labs. I hadn't  realized that it was such a rarity for a undergrad program.

[crusader05]

Haha yes, can you tell I'm not Lutheran

I also didn't realize a Cadaver lab was rare but one student told me all the pre-med students she knows are really really excited about that. Those little things are big sellers for students, just like the solar facility is for engineering and basically our entire meteorology program. The university will also be graduating the first class of the 5 year PA programming in 2020.

I have yet to hear how the Aviation program is going but I suggested they host a screening of Top Gun for the Valpo Community and slip flyers about the programs to all the pumped up people leaving to try and recruit some non-traditional students going through a mid-life crisis perhaps.

[VU2014]

I think the University marketing department really nailed it back in 1918 

https://twitter.com/KMPazour/status/971971453615726594