Does this campaign work? The University of Hawaii uses dramatic imagery and real-life stories to convey the concept of wide-open access. (First Look).

It's the students and faculty who are the life force of the University of Hawaii, and differentiate it from other institutions of higher education--that is the university's message, and why student and faculty stories are the focus of UH's most recent print campaign. An initial, intriguing "opportunity knocks" ad opened the newspaper campaign and was followed by eight ads on consecutive days, highlighting the "real people" vignettes. The tenth ad--the closer--summed up the campaign.

"This is the beginning of a new marketing approach to speak to our internal and external audiences about the limitless opportunities available here," said Paul Costello, the university's VP of External Affairs and University Relations. How close did UH come to getting its message across? Our panelists tell all.

BEST FEATURES

* The best feature of the campaign is it's well intentioned theme: that anyone, from any walk of life, at any time in his life, can go to college and improve or change that life; that college is accessible to everyone.

* The way each individual's story had a beginning, middle, and an end made for a very powerful sequence of entries. When I got to the final "Your Story Can Be Here," ad, all I could say was, "Wow!"

* The diverse group of individuals portrayed in the ads pulls the audience in. With different ages, races, and occupations represented, most people would be able to identify with one of the vignettes.

* The approach is much more compelling than the usual brick-and-mortar academic superiority claims. It is more likely to lead to greater institutional awareness.

* The final ad in the campaign helps to translate the human-interest stories into the self-interest that can make a campaign relevant, remembered, and repeated to others.

* The use of the word "home" is effective; it makes the reader Feel the university is not only accessible, but welcoming--a place where she will belong.

* The visual images are strong, and interesting to look at (for example, the image of the Hawaiian master sledder).

* The University of Hawaii logo is well positioned in the lower righthand corner. Surrounded by white space, the eye is drawn to it.

* The tab ("1 of 8," etc.) right over the text in ads two through eight is an interesting graphic device to encourage readers to look for more entries in the series.

NEEDS WORK

* It takes too long to work your way through an ad to get to the point about open access. At first, I thought the campaign was about all, the interesting people who attend the university's schools. Perhaps the lead-ins should have been, "At UH, everyone can have a success story"? (And that line should read, "At UH, everyone can be--or better still, become--a success story.")

* We now know UH is accessible, but this target audience needs to know up front if the college is affordable. In such a tough economy, that could be addressed--unless it's a sticking point.

* Younger college-age students may not want to read the ads because it seems like the campaign is targeting older students with a career, who are returning to school.

* The first ad, "opportunity knocks," was problematic. The visual did not have the necessary impact because the headline was slightly confusing and I didn't even notice "Admissions" over the door (too small and light). I had to read the ad several times before I "got" it.

* The large/small/bold text on the headlines is so busy, it makes comprehension tough.

* Use of the second person "you" could make the copy more reader-relevant. Take the tagline, "A world of learning open to everyone." As the reader, I do not consider myself "everyone," I consider myself "someone"--a unique someone.

SUGGESTIONS

* Run the series several times so that people coming into the campaign midway can get the impact of what the university is trying to say. They say it well, but since it's a story with a beginning, middle, and an end, they'll need to run it more than once, to ensure coverage.

* Feature some younger students in the ads, and perhaps a person with physical or learning disabilities.

* Don't use lead-ins that have too many components or are not instantly understood. When you combine that with the multi-sized fonts used, the reader gets "stopped." That's what happened to me when I read (and re-read) the "fireman" ad lead-in.

* Make sure the grammar and cliche usage is correct. In the "surfer" ad, the lead-in uses "one in the same" when the correct usage is "one and the same," and throughout, everyone can be a success story, not have a success story.

* Include something to answer the question, "Why should I visit the Web site?" Is it just because the URL appears in the ad? So I can see other ads in the series? So I can get contact information for the various campus locations? So I can find out more about various programs of study? Or costs? Will I have an integrated experience if I go to the Web site--something that makes the information there an extension of the campaign?

* If the campaign is truly about real people, provide a central telephone number and a line that says something like, "Call us--we'll answer your questions and help you get started." Why make the target audience (already intimidated by the prospect of applying to college) wade through the Web homepage to hunt for "Student Central," "Admissions Contact Information," the various campuses, and then the telephone number?

* The captions on the left (individual's name and degree program) are hard to read; bump up the font size, or incorporate that information in the story accompanying each visual

* I found myself wanting to see what the campuses look like. It may not be possible to do that in the ad itself, but a "visit our Web site" line could easily promote "virtual" campus visits.

* One of the best higher ed print campaigns I have seen. It would be interesting to see how other media deliver these stories.

PANEL:

Yvette Christofilis works in advertising, sales promotion, and graphics services, most recently for Young and Rubicam and WPP Group PLC. She is also an editor for Fordham University Press, where she copyedits and proofreads books for scholarly and academic use.

Kathy Grayson is the parent of a recently prospective college student.

Liz Lefrancois is a guidance counselor at Bristol Eastern High School in Connecticut.

Our fourth panelist is a marketing professional and the vice president of a well-known marketing consultancy. He wishes to remain anonymous.