Thoughts on the KNOW/WONK Campaign?

Colleges and Universities A-Z American University
1

<p>Following Anderson Cooper’s New Year’s Special on CNN, a lively discussion on AU’s KNOW/WONK campaign ensued about whether or not AU should continue the campaign in future years. </p>

<p>To get up to speed:</p>

<p>Carter Gibson, AU alumni and CEO of LittleBigFund, wrote an OpEd for InTheCapital: [American</a> University: AU’s WONK Campaign is a Failure [Video] | InTheCapital](<a href=“http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2014/01/02/american-university-aus-wonk-campaign-is-a-failure-video/?fb_action_ids=10201704244672462&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=[418380958264994]&action_type_map=[“og.likes”]&action_ref_map=[]]American”>http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2014/01/02/american-university-aus-wonk-campaign-is-a-failure-video/?fb_action_ids=10201704244672462&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=[418380958264994]&action_type_map=[“og.likes”]&action_ref_map=[])</p>

<p>And AU VP for Communications, Teresa Flannery, wrote a response the following day: <a href=“http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2014/01/03/american-university-au-vp-for-communications-statement-about-the-wonk-campaign/[/url]”>http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2014/01/03/american-university-au-vp-for-communications-statement-about-the-wonk-campaign/</a></p>

<p>What are incoming/current students and parents opinions, thoughts, criticisms of the KNOW/WONK campaign? </p>

<p>I started at AU one year after the announcement of the campaign and find it damaging to the branding of the university. However, I feel it is too little too late to end the campaign and the WONK of the Year Award. It seems that incoming students/parents have a better opinion of the campaign and if this trend continues I have no problem with it.</p>

<p>Any other thoughts?</p>

2

<p>I’ll bet you that more than 75% of applicants refer to themselves as wonks in one form or another in their essays.</p>

3

<p>From the dictionary:</p>

<p>wonk noun ˈw</p>

4

<p>Visited AU last summer, liked the school and the WONK was memorable.
Not going to influence a decision one way or the other.</p>

5

<p>Read Politico cover to cover today - full eagle WONK!</p>

6

<p>Eh, it’s a playful bit of marketing and like any playful bit of marketing it has no conscious impact on my decision to purchase the product that it is selling. Subliminally? Who knows? I visited the school in August and liked what I saw. I even grabbed a WONK pin they had in a bowl, but then never wore it. There was nothing about it that turned me off and at least it is better than the stupid random hash tags some schools sent me in some deluded attempt to get me to advertise for them for free. </p>

7

<p>I thought the WONK idea was cute. D ended up not liking American, but she kept her WONK pins on her backpack. I find that op-ed piece reflected poorly on the writer. To claim that no one knows what a WONK is? It might not be a widely used term outside of politics, but within the political sphere it’s been used for years. People are often described as policy wonks. I’m a bit disappointed in Anderson Cooper.</p>

8

<p>Re: Andy Coop, the good news is that he is on CNN. That means relatively few people know who he is or about his supposed WONK gaffe. If he were on Fox News, it would be a different story–then significantly more people might know what the six of us on College Confidential are talking about; and a subset of them may even care.</p>

9

<p>@pswillia - I think it says a lot more about you considering you just trashed Anderson Cooper and CNN on American University’s CC page. Are you serious? </p>

10

<p>A lot of the students don’t like the WONK campaign; yet it really does fit a lot of the students on campus–</p>

11

<p>@pswillia
<a href=“Only 1 Fox anchor makes most trusted list”>http://mobile.wnd.com/2013/05/fox-news-anchor-ranks-dead-last-for-trust/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“Here Are The Most Popular Anchors On Social Media | HuffPost Latest News”>http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4473852/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“You’re Worth How Much? TV Anchors, by the Numbers”>http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/08/you-re-worth-how-much-tv-anchors-by-the-numbers.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>He’s not that popular and doesn’t get paid that much not to be well known.</p>