Marketing of a University

[HoustonCajun]

This article was in yesterday's Houston Chronicle about how universities in Houston are utilizing billboards and other media to market athletics and academics. It would be nice to see UL doing similar advertising around Lafayette and throughout Acadiana with things like billboards and pre-movie advertising at movie theatres. Imagine going to a movie and seeing a commercial for UL football with our fight song, pictures of the new field turf and IPF, highlights of Desormeaux and Fenroy and seeing billboards all over Lafayette and Acadiana with football action pictures about our coming season. A start to building ties between UL and the community (not just Lafayette but all of Acadiana) and getting fans excited about UL and UL football. With a new President, this is a new beginning for UL and we should have a full marketing campaign to proclaim it.


Texas Southern University unveils a new billboard on Interstate 10 near Uvalde and Market streets. The University of Houston and Rice University also have billboard campaigns.
STEVE CAMPBELL: CHRONICLE



July 6, 2008, 11:09PM
Colleges take battle for students to freeway
Billboards are seen as prime ads in a mobile city


By JEANNIE KEVER
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

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"Feel The Boom," the billboard urges, touting the University of Houston's economic impact.

A few miles away, another promotes an entertainment degree offered by Texas Southern University.

As colleges here and elsewhere in the state jostle for the same pool of top students, one aspect of the competition has taken on a uniquely Houston look.

Call it the battle of the billboards. UH and TSU have new billboard campaigns, promoting schools that sit just blocks apart. Rice University, the University of Phoenix and other schools are doing it, too.

"In a mobile town like Houston, a good way to reach people is through billboards," said Laura Hubbard, director of marketing at Rice's Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management. The school has used billboards around town since 2005, she said. In other markets, it advertises primarily online and through other media.

"Houston is still, for good or bad, the billboard capital," said Wendy Adair, vice president of university advancement at TSU. "We all travel by car, and we all get stuck on freeways. It's a great way to get the message out."

Both TSU and UH have new presidents and are beginning new fundraising campaigns. That's considered a good time to launch a billboard campaign, said Ken DeDominicis, a vice president at the University of St. Thomas, which ran its own billboard campaign from 2001 to 2005.

Karen Clarke, vice chancellor for university relations at UH, said the campaign is intended to pique people's curiosity about UH, making them more receptive to more detailed missives later.

UH President Renu Khator will announce more specific plans for the school this fall, and the marketing campaign will change accordingly, Clarke said.

For now, the UH campaign is focused on 12 billboards at rotating locations, highlighting what Clarke calls "pride points." That includes UH's economic impact, pegged at $3.1 billion; campus diversity, with students from 133 countries; and its highly rated entrepreneurship program.

TSU's billboards are aimed primarily at recruiting students and highlights programs including urban planning, aviation and the Ocean of Soul band.

As TSU sheds its open admissions policy, it is trying to recruit better-prepared students. UH is aiming for more top students as part of its push to become a highly regarded research institution.

"We're all in competition for the same students," Adair said.

jeannie.kever@chron.com

[anhil8tor]

This makes too much sense.

[RaginCajun2010]

_ This makes too much sense. _

So that means it probably won't happen. But who knows, new president and all the positive things i have heard about all the practice facilities and programs on the rise. Who knows it could happen.


By sayin that i feel like the kid from angels in the outfield. Always saying "it could happen"

[anhil8tor]

So that means it probably won't happen. But who knows, new president and all the positive things i have heard about all the practice facilities and programs on the rise. Who knows it could happen.


By sayin that i feel like the kid from angels in the outfield. Always saying "it could happen"

I hear you there....

I wonder how the season ticket drive is going? Maybe they have been out to some of Lafayettes bigger businesses letting them know the improvements to the field and that they expect (hope?) to be competitive this year. Asking some of them to purchase season tickets and whatnot to football....

It could happen....

[CrazyCajun]

yeah whatever happened to the huge season ticket drive? granted with dvr i dont watch commercials much anymore but i would still notice them as i fast forward. i dont think i have seen 1 commercial. i also listen to 1420 and local radio quite often and have not heard one radio spot. i could be wrong, has anyone has heard or seen a commercial? maybe they are busy designing all the tailgating flags!

[ULtimateCajun]

UL has done a smaller scale version of this, with the "See Red" "Feel the Rage" billboards on Bertrand and around the campus, also those Long red UL logo flags that hang on Light poles, those are visible in various areas such as Congress, Bertrand, University, Johnston, etc... More could be done, but an attempt has and is being made. I like the pre movie ad idea, if mom and pop shops can place ads on there it can't be that expensive. I would love to see Desmo and Fenroy running around on the big screen with the UL fight song in theatre sound.

I was also wondering the same thing about the big ticket drive. I almost want to send a letter to the athletic dept. stating that all of their ideas are great but it may serve them better to not "unveil" a plan or scheme or idea until it can actually be done. ie RCAF.

[Kal]

I really think you may be on to something with the commercials before movies in the theatres in Lafayette. I just wish someone would step up and do it.

[RaginCajun77]

I can tell you the idea for billboards was brought up to one Eric Maron. The plan was for billboards on I-49 heading south outside of Opelousas, I-10 west bound near Breaux Bridge, Hwy 90 between New iberia and Broussard, and I-10 east bound as you leave Crowley.

[HoustonCajun]

_ UL has done a smaller scale version of this, with the "See Red" "Feel the Rage" billboards on Bertrand and around the campus, also those Long red UL logo flags that hang on Light poles, those are visible in various areas such as Congress, Bertrand, University, Johnston, etc... More could be done, but an attempt has and is being made. I like the pre movie ad idea, if mom and pop shops can place ads on there it can't be that expensive. I would love to see Desmo and Fenroy running around on the big screen with the UL fight song in theatre sound.

I was also wondering the same thing about the big ticket drive. I almost want to send a letter to the athletic dept. stating that all of their ideas are great but it may serve them better to not "unveil" a plan or scheme or idea until it can actually be done. ie RCAF. _

I used to live in Austin and about this time of year as we are approaching the start of football season, you can go to almost any college bar and at various times during the night, they will stop the music and play the Eyes of Texas. Everyone stops and puts up the Hook 'Em Horns sign. It is pretty nice to see. Just another reason why UT football has the following it does. And, UT is now double-decking and enclosing one end of their stadium to increase seating capacity to over 90,000.

I was just thinking how nice it would be to have that same kind of thing at the college bars in Lafayette. Stop the music, play the UL fight song and everyone puts up the UL hand sign. If anyone knows the bar owners downtown, ask them to start doing that. It is the UL students that keep them in business. They should be supporting UL. If we start doing things like that, playing pre-movie commercials at the movie theatre and running UL football commercials on tv and the radio along with billboards all over Lafayette, I-10 and Acadiana, more people will develop an interest in UL. Let's spend a little money on effective marketing and a ticket drive and turn this thing around. It has to start somewhere.

[HoustonCajun]

_ I can tell you the idea for billboards was brought up to one Eric Maron. The plan was for billboards on I-49 heading south outside of Opelousas, I-10 west bound near Breaux Bridge, Hwy 90 between New iberia and Broussard, and I-10 east bound as you leave Crowley. _

Seems to me we should also have some key billboards within Lafayette, around Acadiana Mall, on Johnston St. around Pete's, around Blackham Collesium, around the Airport on Evangeline Thruway, on I-10 at Ambassador Caffery where people exit to go to the athletic complex, and somewhere around campus where students can see it. We need to advertise IN Lafayette as well as the surrounding area. We can't assume that just because people live within Lafayette they don't need to be marketed as well.

[cajun4life]

You want to see marketing, go to the USM game and just look at the street signs. They are all Black and gold with the USM logo on one side. That is every street sign in the city. Thay have the flags as well on just about every pole that will hold one. I think we should have UL flags on every single light pole in Lafayette as well as all of the street signs bearing the UL logo or seal.

[HoustonCajun]

_ You want to see marketing, go to the USM game and just look at the street signs. They are all Black and gold with the USM logo on one side. That is every street sign in the city. Thay have the flags as well on just about every pole that will hold one. I think we should have UL flags on every single light pole in Lafayette as well as all of the street signs bearing the UL logo or seal. _

Agreed. And, we all know what city UL is in, so there is no need to put the Lafayette on the flag! Maybe the City of Lafayette could do it, so the university isn't forced to put the UL Lafayette on each flag.