By Steven Stites
The familiar face on the south side of the Curry Student Center isn’t only overlooking the Robinson Lot. It’s also gazing over I-95 in Philadelphia and New Jersey, the Southeast Expressway at Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, and in smaller versions at assorted spots all over campus.
The billboard, which is part of Northeastern’s “both sides” advertising campaign, shows a female student holding a beaker on the left side and the same student walking through campus on the right side. The campaign is meant to contrast the co-op vs. classroom experience offered at Northeastern.
The familiar face belongs to Trazana Brown, a senior at Northeastern. She’s become known on campus as “the beaker girl.”
Brown is not a model and has not appeared on any other billboards. She just saw an offer last year to get $100 for taking a few pictures, and thought the offer was too good to pass up.
“I thought I’d try it, but I didn’t know I’d get picked,” she said.
She was and her billboard is one of two featuring the “Higher Learning, Richer Experience” university motto.
Brown, who is African-American, believes she may have been picked to encourage more minorities to apply.
“I don’t think a lot [of minorities] know there are a lot of us here,” she said.
Brown’s billboard has been so successful, it has won several awards. This month, the Counsel for Advancement in Support of Education (CASE) awarded Northeastern a gold medal for outdoor advertising for the ad campaign at a conference in New York.
It also received an honorable mention from Viewbook magazine.
“She’s along with other students in projecting the school in a positive way, whether they’re on the Zhakim Bridge [as another billboard depicts] or on the athletic fields or elsewhere,” said Ed Klotzbier, NU’s director of communication.
According to Klotzbier, the “beaker” billboard is effective partly because it brings attention to the well-known science departments at Northeastern.
“[The billboard] highlights the types of programs we have here,” he said.
The desire for diversity was also a factor in the billboard’s marketing success.
“The reason we selected students of all different backgrounds is to add to diversity,” Klotzbier said.
Brown, a criminal justice major, admitted “I didn’t know what I was doing” holding the beaker.
Since the “both sides” campaign was running behind deadline last spring, “talents” such as Brown were featured even if they did not major in the field focused on by the specific advertisement.
That won’t happen again this year.
“In year two, we have the leisure of advertising success,” Klotzbier said.
Successful or not, Brown admitted she still blushes when she passes the billboard.
“I get so embarrassed,” she said. “All my friends tease me.”
The “beaker” advertisement has appeared in the Boston Globe and New York Times, as well as the aforementioned locations. It also is on the main page of Northeastern’s Web site.
Brown also plays hockey for Northeastern.
