In order to soar through the U.S. News and World Reports national rankings of universities, as well as maintain the number one ranking of internships and co-ops, Northeastern University must sell itself to the nation.
Semester conversion plus the branding campaign and three million dollars divided over a three year period equals the solution to reaping success according to university officials.
“The primary goal of Northeastern’s marketing campaign is to increase the awareness of Northeastern throughout the country, particularly our unique approach to integrated learning which combines academic excellence with real world experience,” said Northeastern Director of Communications Ed Klotzbier.
As of last fall, the university began posting billboards across the northeast in places including Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New Jersey to promote the university and its ability to apply classroom content to the real world workplace.
The use of these promotions, part of the Leadership Campaign, which will spend $3 million over a three year period, is being piggy-backed by the co-op department in attempts to bolster the top ranked program.
“Being number one helps with recruiting,” said Vice President and Dean of Cooperative Education Richard Porter. “It is definitely a plus to have the number one program in the country.”
Apparently, the number one status is not enough, as the university continues to move into the second phase of the branding campaign. The second phase features ads and billboards highlighting the two unique aspects that Northeastern has to offer incoming students.
“Northeastern ads promote the Northeastern brand with a ‘both sides’ pictorial, enhanced by our tagline ‘Higher Learning. Richer Experience.’ The ‘both sides’ advertising campaign capitalizes on Northeastern’s renowned cooperative education model and juxtaposes students in classrooms with their co-op assignments, communicating the message that Northeastern students practice what they learn in real world environments,” Klotzbier said.
As the promotional campaign moves forward, the university will use vehicle graphics, wrapping university buses and vans. The university is also sponsoring the programs American Experience and Ken Burns American Stories on WGBH 2, both of which air on Monday nights at 9 p.m.
Klotzbier insists that money is not an issue.
“The marketing campaign represents just two tenths of one percent of the university’s overall budget. This project is being managed very carefully to ensure that moneys being spent are maximized, affording us greater opportunities to be in a creative range of media vehicles – from print to outdoor; from radio to television; as well as outside-the-box elements like our partnership with the Boston Red Sox and our new arrangement with US Airways – in key markets,” Klotzbier said.
Despite the ads, billboards and signage, Dean Porter said that the university’s co-op program speaks for itself.
“We don’t want anything but number one. It is important to recognize the eagerness of our students, without which we would not be number one,” Porter said. “Co-op is part of the identity of Northeastern, which is what we offer. We need to make sure the quality is reinforcing.”
It all comes down to, “Higher learning. Richer experience.”
