Mount Allison University is schooling prospective out-of-province students with a new multimedia marketing campaign.
The New Brunswick-based university is trying to attract students from across the nation, but specifically targets Ontario with a comprehensive plan that includes print, interactive initiatives, posters, promotional activities, public relations and a new website.
The marketing push comes on the heels of the news that Ontario universities are over capacity, said Shelia Blagrave, director of marketing and communications.
“We know that we have a great product. We know we have what students would like if we could get them to leave Ontario and come here,” she said.
The redesigned recruitment portion of the website, mta.ca/apply, hosts photos, student-produced videos, blogs and an online application form. The school also has a banner ad in the education section of Macleans.ca—the school ranked as the #1 undergraduate university by Maclean’s in 2007.
The grassroots component, which kicked off in December, consists of posters that can be found in high-traffic areas across the GTA. All creative uses the tag line, “These are the good old days at Mount Allison University.”
Promotional items include a Mount Allison viewmaster for high school recruitment fairs. The 3D images allow students to “put themselves in the picture,” said Blagrave.
And to get more young people looking for a university to consider Mount Allison, the school created a promotion that reimburses transportation expenses for those that visit the school, up to $100.
The campaign is based on research and student focus groups conducted by Mount Allison grads and now Moosehead marketers Jim Eagles and Kendra Mills.
The marketing strategy, campaign photography and media buying were handled in-house while Tin Design in Sackville, N.B. took care of the design elements, and The Siren Group Inc. in Toronto provided PR support.
