<p>I'm actually speechless about this one. The money involved...the message it's sending...wow.</p>
<p>An</a> article in the New York Times talks about Wilkes University's new marketing plan that targets students specifically. A sample of what's being done:</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
“Laureen Jones, you help shoppers find the perfect pair of jeans,” reads a sign on a kiosk in a mall in Stroudsburg, Pa., near the Aeropostale clothing store at which Ms. Jones has her after-school job. “So do you mind if we say that Wilkes University would be a perfect fit for you?”
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]
“Megan Smith, at Wilkes University we’ll help you become a journalist,” reads a billboard near West Scranton High School in Scranton, Pa., attended by Ms. Smith, a would-be writer. “Lesson one: get used to the thousands of people reading your name.”
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]
“Kate Murtaugh, with all your activities at Whitehall, you might not have time to read this,” says a sign on a kiosk at a mall frequented by Ms. Murtaugh and other students of Whitehall High School in Whitehall, Pa. “So, if you’re Kate’s friend, tell her Wilkes University is interested in her.”
[/QUOTE]
How would you feel if you saw one of these sorts of things directed at your child? Delighted? Put off? Annoyed?</p>
<p>Well, I don't know exactly how I would feel if it was directed at my child. It's not nearly as annoying as some of the mail she received from schools. </p>
<p>The idea that they actually KNOW where these students work and hang out with friends is a little creepy. I would think it was clever if the names weren't real. </p>
<p>As far as the expense goes, a poster is not as expensive as the dozen viewbooks my daughter received from WUSL.</p>
<p>WUSL is in it's only league when it comes to publications. I'm so curious as to how much money is allocated to marketing at that school.</p>
<p>Anyway, the article talks about how they came up with the ads. They picked a few cities where they were popular and then visited some schools to interview students about where they went for fun (movies, shopping, etc.). The students in the ads were contact ahead of time and gave their persmission.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Flabbergasted and annoyed.</p></li>
<li><p>But yes, it would probably get us to look to see what the hell Wilkes College was.</p></li>
<li><p>But "desperate" and "over the top" would perpetually come to mind in thinking about it.</p></li>
<li><p>I've read reports of recruited athletes' official visits to places like USC, where stuff like the student card section spelling out their names in the middle of a game happens. It seems to work pretty well. If a school wants to target prospective journalists and student leaders in a more modest way, I suppose that's positive.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>EDIT: Cross-posted with Dean J. If the students involved gave permission, I think it sounds like pretty intelligent advertising. It would catch people's attention -- especially kid people -- that's for sure, and stand out from blander college advertising. I imagine it would spark curiosity about the school, and also get people who knew the students involved, even peripherally, to ask about it. And create buzz. Good for them. (Not every school has The Gilmore Girls to make its desirability a significant plot element for years and years.)</p>
<p>That would have been a very cute gimmick had it been a personalized mailing using information from the kids' application. The public postings would be a complete turnoff for me.</p>
<hr>
<p>After reading that the kids approved it before hand, makes it not as intrusive.</p>
<p>According to the article, Wilkes is also making the most out of Facebook, MySpace and teen social networking. Somehow, I am not surprised that "its unusual media plan [is] the creation of an agency in Philadelphia called 160 Over 90, named after a high blood-pressure reading" - the whole campaign is enough to make my blood pressure go through the roof. Actually, that blood pressure reading is on the low end of high - as ad folks well know, ad campaigns that generate a negative reaction can be quite effective - this one has drawn a great deal of attention to Wilkes already.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Bob Stinson, you scored 2400 on the SATs as a sophomore, and won the National Math Contest! Harvard is the only place where you'll ever learn what it's like to feel inadequate!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
Preethi Jafree, you have won the state robotics championship three years running, and you can kick all kinds of butt in World of Warcraft. Now let MIT take you to the next level, and we have guys who might actually like you, too!"
<p>Another tactic in the enrollment management game? If these six kids end up going to Wilkes, it means $720,000 in tuition over the four years they would be undergraduates there, to quote the story -- which would pay for the ad campaign plus. They've all been accepted already, but haven't decided whether to go. </p>
<p>I wouldn't give my permission to have my kid used in an ad campaign like this. But this is the sort of thing that many teens seem to like, getting their 15 minutes of fame (at least, that's my interpretation of the way they put their life in pictures and words in their myspaces and facebooks and blogs).</p>
<p>this reminds me of that fascinating, creepy futuristic movie with Tom Cruise, [ senior moment here] where each advertising kiosk he passes bywhile walking through a mall, calls out to him by name with some sort of personalized advertising spiel. Yuck! Is the future here already?</p>
<p>I'd feel like my kid were being stalked, and I'd make sure that he avoided that university. I'd also probably call the college and tell them to take down that sign.</p>
<p>If you really want to be appalled, snoop around your football coaches' offices and ask them what they do to attract UVa recruits. I'm willing to bet that they fly in many more prospective students than the admissions office does. </p>
<p>Apparently, it's routine to have a jersey made up with the recruit's name and have it hanging in "his" future locker when he tours the locker room. Often, the recruit's name will be in 10-foot lights on the scoreboard as he sees the stadium for the first time. </p>
<p>And does UVa still have its female hostesses, like most of the colleges do? When a group of football recruits visits, the football office actually has coeds to escort these high school kids all weekend. Who knows what happens over those weekends, but if I had a daughter who said she had joined the football hostess club, I'd yank her home immediately.</p>
<p>If the school doesn't have official "hostesses," like Texas has its Texas Angels, Georgia Tech has its Solid Gold Girls and Maryland its Black-Eyed Susans (feel free to roll your eyes here), an old trick by the football coaches is to pair recruits with a group of recruits for the girls lacrosse or soccer teams. </p>
<p>By comparison, I think, a few tacky billboards around town by Wilkes or what Wash U spends on its mailings pale in comparison to what BCS-conference schools let their football programs get away with.</p>
<p>
[quote]
this reminds me of that fascinating, creepy futuristic movie with Tom Cruise, [ senior moment here]
[/quote]
That's "Minority Report" - excellent movie and very creepy indeed.</p>
<p>I agree with those who find this off-putting. I'd be appalled at the invasion of my kid's privacy. Knowing that the students in question gave permission for their names to be used eases my mind a bit (though I am wondering why they did).</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
And does UVa still have its female hostesses
[/QUOTE]
The alumni in this office, going back to the 1960s, have never heard of a group like this. </p>
<p>Comparing athletic recruiting to this marketing plan seems a bit odd to me. After all, high school athletes are mentioned in the media all the time. In my travels, I've seen cities where the half hour after the late news is dedicated to the high school football report. </p>
<p>Regarding the original topic of the thread, I thought Wilkes' marketing was interesting and clever, but my sense was that some people, not knowing that the students featured were involved, would be uncomfortable with it.</p>
<p>Certainly some would be uncomfortable with it but would that be students at the High Schools in the area or adults? Look at the recent article posted here (maybe the New York???) about kids and the internet, reality tv, etc making privacy no longer an issue for this generation. i believe the tag line was the future belongs to the uninhibited. </p>
<p>My guess is that the parents also agreed to this, everyone at the High Schools in question know the kids gave permission, the kids are mini celebrities now and are getting questions about the University. These ads don't just target these six kids but those in the whole area. Creeps me out but I am not a High School senior. </p>
<p>Robert E Cook Honors college had an interesting take on this. They let the honors kids design the whole marketing brochure without much editing rather than the universities marketing group. Didn't follow most of the marketing rules and they acknowledged that up front but definately got my student's attention.</p>
<p>the same message was sent by one of the most prestigious universities? Isn't the negative reactive not rooted in the mere fact that the campaign is generated by Wilkes and not Harvard or Yale.</p>
<p>How many times have we read about someone who receives a mailer from "Hyper Selective School X" and really, really believes it means something? </p>
<p>Depending on the "quality" and name recognition of the school, the same message can be enjoying ... or flattering.</p>
<p>I wouldn't like it even if Harvard were sending the messages. The messages still seem creepy and stalkerish, like Big Brother is watching.</p>
<p>Also, I have no idea why the students and parents would agree to having those ads posted. I would not want my kid or myself getting that kind of attention. Who knows what kind of wakko might be attracted to the person who's in such an ad? The subject of such an ad could attract attacks by someone who's jealous. mentally ill or who is a rapist or other kind of person whose attention one would not want to attract.</p>