Does this campaign work? The College of New Rochelle uses humorous (and sometimes provocative) images to sell liberal arts and humanities programs. (First Looks).LIKE SO MANY SCHOOLS founded in the early 1900s that were dedicated to instructing Roman Catholic women, the College of New Rochelle New Rochelle (rōshĕl`), city (1990 pop. 67,625), Westchester co., SE N.Y., on Long Island Sound; settled by Huguenots 1688, inc. as a village 1858, as a city 1899. (New Rochelle, NY) has since been pushed to appeal to a broader audience in order to stay competitive. But in recent times, the college has determined it has another goal to meet, as well: It also must sell students on the relevance of the liberal arts liberal arts, term originally used to designate the arts or studies suited to freemen. It was applied in the Middle Ages to seven branches of learning, the trivium of grammar, logic, and rhetoric, and the quadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. and humanities. The school's newest and most ambitious advertising campaign is designed to tackle both of these challenges. It uses humorous--and sometimes downright provocative--images to draw attention to the liberal arts and spiritual topics covered in its curriculum, Fortunately for CNR See riser card. CNR - Communication and Network Riser , one of the world's most reknowned advertising firms--McCann-Erickson Worldwide--stepped in to produce the campaign gratis GRATIS. Without reward or consideration. 2. When a bailee undertakes to perform some act or work gratis, he is answerable for his gross negligence, if any loss should be sustained in consequence of it; but a distinction exists between non-feasance and , since one of the company's executives is a CNR trustee. The school's communications department did, however, have to cough up the $2 million to place print ads in The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times (with circulation throughout New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. ; northern New Jersey; Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States:
BEST FEATURES * The "burka" ad is powerful and especially relevant, given the events of September 11. I'm sure this is top-of-mind for many these days, especially students in the College of New Rochelle's key marketing area, which is the New York City, tri-state area. * The mysterious eyes in the "burka" ad attract attention, and I like the strong use of black in the ad layout. One of the objectives of the campaign is to communicate how vital intellectual curiosity and spiritual life are to CNR. The challenge is also to speak to a sophisticated audience. With its powerful imagery and sleek delivery, this campaign does that. * The "burka" ad definitely got my attention. It told me that there are a lot more than just scholastic issues being talked about on this college campus. Through these ads, I definitely felt this was a school that offered a strong humanities environment. * The College of New Rochelle broadens its audience by reminding potential students in each ad that they can take one course at a time, as opposed to signing up for a full load. * The radio spots carry the tone of the print ads. Both use humor to get attention--and they make their point. HEEDS WORK * I commend the school for taking on this level of graphic sophistication so·phis·ti·cate v. so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing, so·phis·ti·cates v.tr. 1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly. 2. . Unfortunately, the "burka" ad sets the bar high for the rest of the campaign. The problem is that the other ads seem to fall short of this sophisticated, intellectual approach. This inconsistency will send a mixed message to target audiences. For example, the image of a woman taking control of the TV remote in the "Women, Gender and Power" ad is a cliche. This ad is less sophisticated than the other. * The print ads don't match the sophistication of the radio spots. * To say a woman is powerful because she now has control of the TV remote is demeaning de·mean 1 tr.v. de·meaned, de·mean·ing, de·means To conduct or behave (oneself) in a particular manner: demeaned themselves well in class. ; you would think that advertising firms would know that by now, wouldn't you? * Perhaps a more forceful "battle of the sexes" moment could have been captured in a different picture; maybe a husband getting the morning coffee while his wife reads the newspaper. * The photos so dominate the ads that I wonder if the casual reader will be drawn in enough to recognize the ads as being CNR's. SUGGESTIONS * Be sure to "piggyback piggyback 1. A broker trading in his or her personal account after trading in the same security for a customer. The broker may believe the customer has access to privileged information that will cause the transaction to be profitable. 2. " the print ads with the same images on the Web; in other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , make sure the Web site reflects the ads that are currently running. * The e-mail address given at the bottom of the print ads turns out to be the URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. for the Web site, but who would know that? Why not add the more conventional URL that is being offered in the radio spots? Otherwise, it seems as though CNR is not trying to drive interest to the Web site--and the school actually is. * The mix of light humor in some ads and the use of more serious images in others, creates a feeling of inconsistency in the campaign. Mixing these emotions confuses the reader. I prefer consistency--either use light humor throughout, or focus on intellectual curiosity. Don't mix the two. CNR'S "INARTICULATE inarticulate /in·ar·tic·u·late/ (in?ahr-tik´u-lat) 1. not having joints; disjointed. 2. uttered so as to be unintelligible; incapable of articulate speech. " RADIO AD The 30-second spot is targeted at those who need to improve public speaking skills [Spot, opens with a round of applause.] Man: Thank you. Whoo! I didn't know there'd be so many of you today. Urn, I was planning to ... uh, there are just so many of you. Whoa! Is it hot in here? Announcer: Public speaking. One of many courses at the College of New Rochelle. One of many chances to change the course of your life. Visit us at www.cnr.edu. The College of New Rochelle. Wisdom for the real world. CAMPAIGN EVALUATION PANEL Yvette Christofilis (yvka@aol.com) works in advertising, sales promotion, and graphics services, most recently as a director with Young and Rubicam, and WPP Group PLC. She is also an editor for Fordham University Press The Fordham University Press is a publishing house, a division of Fordham University, that publishes primarily in the humanities and the social sciences. Fordham University Press was established in 1907 and is headquartered in the Canisius Hall building in the Rose Hill Campus of , where she copyedits and proofreads books for scholarly and academic use. Wendy Graham is the parent of a high school junior, and is president of Graham International, an import and retail sales firm. She is actively assisting her daughter in her college search. Peter Livingston (peter@starklivingston.com) is co-owner and CIO CIO: see American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. (Chief Information Officer) The executive officer in charge of information processing in an organization. of Stark/Livingston, a consulting firm that helps colleges and universities market their credit union and campus-card programs. Bob Topor (topor@marketinged.com) is founder of Topor Consulting Group International, assisting IHEs with market research and communications strategy. |
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