Drake Advantage: What It Means to Be Courageous- Stamats Higher Education Marketing Blog

Sep 20th 10 Posted by Fritz McDonald in Featured Articles, Marketing, Strategic Creative

Drake Advantage: What It Means to Be Courageous

At Stamats, whenever we develop creative concepts for a client, we build them in three categories: “traditional,” “surprising,” and “courageous.” “Traditional” means offering a creative look and approach that will be classical and elegant perhaps, but won’t rock any boats—a look, in other words, that can be found on many college and university recruiting publications, websites, and brand campaigns. “Traditional” is expected—it’s not a bad thing, just safe. The next category, “surprising,” pushes the envelope enough to be noticed—it may not be the most radical work out there, but it is different enough to turn heads at least for a moment. “Courageous,” the third category, is the most challenging. “Courageous” creative work is always unexpected, striking new ground and differentiating our clients in the most powerful and exciting way. Of course, it’s also the most nervous-making because it requires clients to take a big chance. We believe that big chance leads to a big payoff. In a higher education marketing landscape in which it is getting increasingly harder to stand out, “courageous” creative work empowers our clients to make a big impact.

The recently launched Drake Advantage campaign is a perfect example of what we mean by “courageous” creative work. In just a few weeks, the symbol for the undergraduate recruiting portion of the campaign—the by now famous D+—has attracted national and international press. But instead of talking about it myself, I thought the creative team that came up with the concept—Eric Sickler, Principal Consultant, Vinu Warrier, Principal Writer, and Chris Reese, Principal Designer—could do a better job of articulating why this is an important concept.

We Created the D+ Symbol on Purpose

“We wanted to create an admissions campaign that was edgy and tongue-in-cheek, yet accurately captured the bold and confident institution that is Drake. We focused on how we could get our audience to stop, grab, open, and read our print pieces instead of stacking or trashing them. This campaign is intended for college-bound teenagers, a group that has been receiving 3,000 advertising messages per day pretty much since they were born. They are understandably cynical about advertising, so the hurdle in breaking through to them is very high. Drake is academically selective, so this specific target audience has a lot of choices when it comes to choosing a great college and are hotly pursued prospects for the region’s best universities. We had to get their attention and then get them to find out more about the advantages that Drake offers or the Drake Advantage. We wanted them to know that Drake not only offers a great education—they were hearing that from all of the recruitment efforts—but also the great overall experience that comes with Drake. The experience that is uniquely empowering and intentionally designed to be much more than the sum of its parts. We wanted to get them thinking about what a great college experience really means to them and show them how Drake University delivers the complete package.”

We Used Research to Support This Concept

“In a survey of nearly a thousand high school students across the Midwest and the nation, more than three-quarters of the respondents indicated the cover grabbed their attention and nearly 90 percent felt the concept was unique from other college and university materials they have seen. For background on the current landscape, for higher education recruitment to reach the target audience more than half the battle lies in getting them to look at your material, then getting them to open it. When asked if the Drake Advantage concept conveyed that “attending Drake would give me a distinct advantage that might not be available from other colleges and universities,” 75% of the participants responded affirmatively and more than two-thirds of the respondents indicated the concept differentiates Drake from other institutions being considered. Perhaps most importantly, more than 60 percent of those who completed the survey indicated that receiving a brochure based on the Drake Advantage concept would make them more likely to want additional information about Drake.”

The Client Loved the Idea

“Stamats came up with two very different, exciting concepts. Our partners at Drake immediately and unanimously got them both, which instantly elevated the conversation toward execution, channels, platforms and next steps. Both concepts resonated so well in fact, that we were torn as to which one to proceed with. It is an exciting initiative to work on with Drake because they are passionate, smart, sophisticated, and bold.”

We Thought It Would Get a Reaction (But Not This Big)

“We were pretty sure it would get attention, but our focus was whether it would get attention from our target audience. The important thing for us, on this and any project, is whether it is helping the client achieve their specific and stated marketing objectives in the specific ways they intended it to. In this circumstance the answer is yes. The Drake admissions team reports ‘a 63 percent increase in inquiries over the same two-month period last year, and a 22 percent increase in campus visits.’”*

The Client Stands By the Campaign

“In spite of recently removing the D+ symbol from its website, Drake stands behind the campaign as a whole. They have been phenomenal—from the president, to the admissions team, to the marketing team, to our audience of prospective students. This is an institution that is really embracing the significant changes in marketing in recent years and newest forms of digital communication. As a creative team, Drake has been an exciting and refreshing partner!”

We Are Always Trying To Do Something Like This

“Our approach varies from client to client based on who they are, the nature and character of their community, and their specific marketing objectives. Our goal is to consistently produce creative that delivers the specific results our clients require. We like to push the envelope with our clients in terms of creative quality and courage. Not because that’s good or bad, but for strategic reasons. A unique creative approach is necessary to differentiate themselves and produce the desired action and results. Whether it is a concept that surprises, executions that inspire, or a mix of media and channels that empower, what we do try is to ensure our creative is rooted in a strategy that produces results.”

*Tom Delahunt, Vice President Admission & Financial Aid for Drake University

Okay, now it’s your turn. Tell us what you think about this campaign and doing edgy creative for higher education. Feel free to ask us more questions about it. I’m sure we will be talking about it for a long, long time.

Photo by Drake University

http://topsy.com/blog.stamats.com/index.php/2010/09/10/drake-advantage-what-it-means-to-be-courageous/?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2 Tweets that mention Drake Advantage: What It Means to Be Courageous- Stamats Higher Education Marketing Blog — Topsy.com

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Stamats and Scott Kubie, Steve Lewis. Steve Lewis said: RT @Stamats: "Drake Advantage – What is Means to be Courageous" blog post by Fritz McDonald http://bit.ly/af1PGq [...]
Justin Brady

While traditional education (and education marketing) may have it's place, that place is shrinking by the year. The new type of student requires a different type of college experience. One that isn't limited by “academics” or as I call it, regurgitation.

The new class needs to be creative, aware of change and empathic. Repetitious uncreative tasks like crunching out reports or filling in spreadsheets are skills that are quite worthless in our new economy.

So how do you attract this new student? That's easy. Pure sarcasm (NOT obvious sarcasm). Why? Because the new student gets it. They understand that language. The “old” approach doesn't. The old approach is what generated such a negative (and repulsive) reaction against the almighty “D+”. It's a generation that is previously fixated on grades that define true success, and who can blame them, that IS what they were taught.

Unfortunately, it seems that people with big endowments and alumni with considerable amounts of money also believe in the old system. (They are targeted students, but just remember, it's about money, that IS what is most important.)

And when the removal of the D+ happened? Old thinking reigned victorious. (but it won't for long…)
http://twitter.com/jamesrunkle James Runkle

I was really disappointed that you canceled your much-hyped Twitterview on Sept 7th. Seems like, if you truly stand behind the campaign as much as you claim, it would be easy to stand up immediately in public and not come forward days later behind a carefully-crafted-PR-Department-vetted written response.

http://academicoatmeal.com/forum/topics/drake-cancels-twitterview-on-d
Connie

Was your purpose to attract attention or help the school brand itself and establish a firm identity. Anyone can attract attention…
William

This has to be one of the dumbest things I have ever read.
Fritz Mcdonald

Thank you, Justin, for an eloquent response, and one that should be listened to. You're dead-on–everything has changed, and finding ways to speak to the new student should be everybody's chief mission. It was certainly ours with this campaign–and we really appreciate your insightful and well-spoken response!
Fritz Mcdonald

Our purpose was to attract the right kind of attention, the kind of student who would catch the irony of it, a smarter than average student. This was not intended as a national brand campaign, just a recruiting campaign…and from that angle, it's been very successful. Thanks for asking, Connie!
Fritz Mcdonald

That was done by Drake, not by us, because the day the twitterview was scheduled the marketing team there was focusing on the death of a student and they thought drawing attention to the University’s recruitment campaign would appear to the dead student’s family—and to others in the community—as a bit heartless. The Register reporter has not been back in touch with Drake about re-scheduling the twitterview. It’s worth noting that the twitterview was scheduled with Drake, not with Stamats, and that we were happy to be involved at or client’s request. Thanks James!
Fritz Mcdonald

I have to say this is probably the most creative and informative response I've seen in a while. Thank you for sharing–and everyone should follow your link!
http://buildingmarketingstrategies.wordpress.com/ rickhardy

Fritz, thank you for shedding light on what I would call your “curious” admissions branding campaign.

While it's hard to argue with those numbers, the backlash shows just how admissions campaigns do not happen in a vacuum. While the “D+” campaign was evidently successful with high school students, in my opinion the “D+” element had a negative effect on the overall brand for Drake.

I agree it is a new day and a new student to whom we communicate. But it is also a new market environment. Admissions branding campaigns, as you know, are experienced by just about all university market segments–internally and externally–across the world within minutes of the start of the campaign.

Outsiders who have no idea of the quality of the institution hear about the “D+” campaign and casually think it's an inferior institution. Alumni react because they are proud of their alma mater, and don't want the stigma of a “D+” on their resumes. And insiders–faculty and staff–who have worked hard at becoming a better academic institution choke on hearing a “D+” associated with their beloved university. Hence, why I assume the “D+” was taken off of the website.

Why were they offended by the “D+”? Because meanings of words are found in people, not in the words themselves. To think that an admissions branding campaign would overcome the cultural stigma of a “D+” is thinking too highly of admissions branding campaigns.

You had other options that may very well have produced similar numbers (BTW, were the increases because of marketing tactics or the brand messaging?). I'm surprised that Drake took the risk, when they should have seen the backlash coming. It just seems so obvious to so many of us.

I have a lot of respect for Stamats, but this time you just lacked common sense, in my opinion. Of course, I'm an outsider looking in. Thanks for the opportunity to respond.
Lynne

Personally I enjoyed this campaign – hats off to Stamats and Drake University for really, REALLY thinking outside of the box and doing something different. While I understand faculty and alumni concerns about the “D+”, many simply don't understand (or want to admit) how this campaign stands out in higher education marketing and raises the bar for all of us. We all use our campuses, labs, classrooms, housing, and diverse student body to promote our schools. How are these ad-savvy teens and their parents going to tell the difference between us? Is higher ed marketing destined to remain conservative and “typical”? I sure hope not. Debate the “horrors” of the creative, if you must, but do consider what the purpose of this creative did/does and that it was targeted toward teens (who, according to Stamats research, liked it), not those of us 30+.
Lynne

Fritz et al.,
This is from Seth Godin's daily blog (today's, actually). After all of the comments, rants, and raves about Drake's campaign I think this is apropos.

“Taste is the ability to select, combine and create experiences that the tribe likes–before they know that they like it.

John Waters, the filmmaker many accuse of having bad taste actually has great taste–according to a small tribe of people. He establishes a look and a feel and a story that (for this group) is then emulated.

Successful chefs like Thomas Keller invent restaurants and the dishes they offer–and are then rewarded for having the good taste to make precisely what we like. But of course, the 'we' isn't everyone.

Martha Stewart, according to a larger group, also has good taste. She's not merely copying what came before (that's not nearly as difficult or as valuable)… no, she's staying half a step ahead of her tribe, establishing the standard as she goes.

Great graphic designers have good taste. They understand how to use type and imagery to create objects and advertising that resonate with people likely to buy. Copying a book cover or a business card or a mayo label isn't good taste, it's copying. The difficult work is doing a new thing in a way that people who have never seen it before will 'get it'.

The other difficult work: understanding that your standards might not be the standards of the tribe you're seeking to connect with. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's in bad taste. If the market respects the creator, takes action and then adopts the work, it's in good taste.”
http://topsy.com/blog.stamats.com/index.php/2010/09/20/drake-advantage-what-it-means-to-be-courageous/?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2 Tweets that mention Drake Advantage: What It Means to Be Courageous- Stamats Higher Education Marketing Blog — Topsy.com

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by amy mengel, ljn1230 and Christian Burk, James Townsend. James Townsend said: STAMATS spin on the Drake D+ fiasco http://ht.ly/2KrYR #highered [...]