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‘Change’ in admissions campaign
A page from the viewbook for the new undergraduate admissions campaign, “Change It.”
Students hang gliding in Brazil, taking a snowy expedition to the Arctic and exploring bat caves in Central America are just some of the scenes you’ll find in the UB’s new undergraduate admissions campaign, “Change It.”
What you won’t see in the new campaign is even more telling. Nowhere is the stereotypical scene of students studying under a tree, often amusingly referred to as “three under a tree” by university admissions departments across the country.
Replacing the “Be” admissions campaign that was used to recruit undergraduates for the past five years, “Change It” is a bold statement about what it means to attend UB and how students have the opportunity to change themselves and the world through academics and research.
Designed to showcase everything the university has to offer a prospective student, the undergraduate recruitment campaign consists of materials about academics and life at UB. From the viewbook—the showpiece brochure about the university and often the first experience a prospective student has with UB—to the accepted student packet that details housing and meal plan options, the “Change It” campaign guides students through the entire college-decision process.
UB’s Office of University Communications, part of the Division of External Affairs, worked collaboratively with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to create a theme that incorporates UB’s branding initiative “Reaching Others” into the new undergraduate-recruitment campaign.
Patricia Armstrong, director of admissions, feels the “Change It” admissions campaign is an excellent way for potential UB students to grasp how they can fit into the “Reaching Others” equation. “Having the opportunity to change themselves and the world. I think it’s a very powerful message,” Armstrong explains.
The “Change It” campaign consists of more than 30 different printed recruitment pieces and stories and quotes from students making a difference across the globe. The design relies heavily on photography taken by students in settings not normally portrayed in recruitment campaigns.
According to Alan Kegler, University Communications creative director, the decision to take the imagery in a nontraditional direction was intentional. “Ninety-nine percent of the campus viewbooks out there are over-posed, pretty quintessential campus shots,” Kegler says. “We purposely chose a different shot. I think it helps it stand out.”
Since the new campaign began in mid-August with a mailing of viewbooks to prospective students for fall 2010 admission, Sara Meskill, an undergraduate admissions counselor, reports that students have been very receptive to the new campaign.
“I hear more positive and excited reactions to the student pictures and stories because they come from all over the world; it’s not just student faces and quotes they’re seeing, but landscapes that are pretty impressive for our students to be engaged in,” Meskill says.
The “Change It” campaign also has been incorporated into the overall look and feel of the UB admissions Web site. The students profiled in the print pieces have expanded profiles on the Web and there is also a plan to add new student profiles as the recruitment campaign continues. The admissions Web site also added more social media callouts and embedded its Twitter feed directly on the home page.
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