Beautiful, immersive, innovative, creative and vibrant are words that Ball State University's Web site, commercials and pamphlets use multiple times to describe its campus experience. And potential students have taken notice.
The current marketing campaign has helped increase undergraduate applications for the 2008-2009 academic year to more than 10,000 at the end of December, Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president for marketing and communications, said.
"It's going very, very well," he said. "It's getting the results we're looking for."
Since the end of the Fall Semester 2005, the number of submitted applications has risen every year by that same time, he said.
More than $1 million has been spent on the multifaceted ad campaign, Proudfoot said. Most of that has been spent on four TV commercials, he said.
"[They] convey what a beautiful campus [Ball State] is and how inspiring it is," he said.
He said the ads ran from September through November and would run again in February until April in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and South Bend.
Sophomore Levi Jones said the commercials looked better than last year's and seemed effective. He said several of his friends from high school were considering coming to Ball State.
Proudfoot said the other plan's aspects included the remodeled Ball State Web site and ads in community newspapers throughout Indiana and in more than 50 high school newspapers. The plan also includes an aggressive high school recruitment process and billboards posted in Indianapolis and along Interstates 65 and 69, he said.
Al Rent, director of relationship marketing and community relations, said Ball State had three different newspaper ads. They're simple and focus on the ranked programs and recent expansion at Ball State, he said. The idea is to peak high school students' interest and to guide them to the Web site.
The Web site is where prospective students and parents get most of the information, Rent said. It contains loads of information aiming to show viewers every aspect of the university, he said.
"It reflects the quality we have now and the vibrance on campus," Proudfoot said. "The Web site really tells our story."
Tom Taylor, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications, said to insure the word got out, recruiters had been visiting high schools throughout Indiana and some in the surrounding states and Atlantic region. The goal is to grab the attention of sophomores and juniors who are the most likely prospects to apply and enroll at Ball State, he said.
"We're trying to reach kids early ... who have strong academic backgrounds and are interested in active learning," Taylor said.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
