"Ball State is cutting edge cool."
While driving around Muncie or on I-69, students may have noticed billboards sporting this slogan.
Ball State University has created a new statewide advertising campaign that touts the university's recent number-one ranking by Intel Corp. as the "Most Unwired Campus" in the nation, said Tom Taylor, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications.
"That was a major kudo for the campus," Taylor said, "and we certainly wanted to use that to get the word out about Ball State. We had a story to tell, news to tell and so we wanted to take advantage of that and use that in a quick advertising campaign."
The $192,000 campaign involves 51 billboards throughout the state, including some in Muncie, Indianapolis, South Bend, Fort Wayne and Evansville. These billboards will remain up through the end of December, Taylor said.
Ball State has also purchased print advertisements in publications including Indiana Business Journal and Indiana Monthly Magazine in order to reach business executives and corporations.
"They are very influential and helpful when it comes to budget time," Al Rent, director of university marketing, said. "It's a good group to know that Ball State is a viable place for either their children or their grandchildren or to partner with."
The university also purchased television advertisements, which can be seen on network and cable stations mostly in central Indiana.
Rent said the university bought time on cable programs to reach a younger demographic - students ages 17 to 25 - and the spots bought on network news programs were aimed at reaching parents of students.
He said the funds for the campaign come from private money in Ball State University Foundation, which allows flexibility in the campaign.
Rent said the university took on the campaign because it wanted to communicate to the general public in a big way.
"There is so much attention right now being paid to our chief competition," he said.
Indiana University was recently named a "Red Hot" campus by Newsweek magazine and has posted billboards around the state - including in Muncie - which say "IU is Red Hot."
"If they want to advertise in our backyard, I don't take any offense to that," Taylor said. "Quite frankly, I think that is an indication that they felt a need to get their word out, and I think to some extent, the rise of the reputation of Ball State has contributed to that."
While Ball State's campaign is not driven by the IU campaign, and Ball State is not advertising in Bloomington, the competition is prevalent, Taylor said.
"I mean, there is a certain playing off of they're 'hot,' we're 'cool,'" he said. "I'd rather be cool than hot."
The "Cutting Edge Cool" campaign serves as a transitional step for the university's marketing department as it continues to research and create a new profile for the university, he said.
"We're in the process of really rebranding the university," Rent said. "As a tagline, we have been 'everything you need' - powerful and personal. We're looking at reshaping the message for the university."
Taylor said the university hopes to have some of the revamped advertising campaign ready for Ball State during the Spring Semester.
Marketing firm hired to create campaign to begin in spring
In continued efforts to rebrand Ball State University, a new marketing firm has been hired to create a campaign to follow "Cutting Edge Cool."
Creative Communications Associates from Albany, N.Y., has been hired to redesign Ball State's image. CCA has worked with institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia University.
"Higher education is exclusively their business," Heather Shupp, executive director of University Communications, said. "In order for them to do spectacular creative work, they have to understand the essence of who we are."
The firm will be responsible for television advertisements and print materials, including brochures and mailers, Shupp said. The cost for this has not been set, Al Rent, director of university marketing, said.
"It's a little up in the air because we are not sure of the depth of the total scope of their works," he said. "The projected figure is between $80,000 and $100,000."
The campaign CCA creates will take the place of the temporary "Cutting Edge Cool" campaign created by Shupp. Rent said the last campaign, "Everything You Need," succeeded in getting Ball State's name known, but now the university needs to stand out from other institutions.
"The mid-major [universities] where we fit have really been working very hard to redefine ourselves," Rent said. "People are still having trouble differentiating ourselves from any other university."
The firm will meet with select students on Tuesday and Wednesday to begin creating the new campaign.
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