University Marketing and Communications launched a new marketing campaign Monday that a committee member said would be a more personal, human level of advertising, while representing the entire university.
The new campaign mainly features the immersive learning experiences of two current students and two recent alumni, as well as new billboard signs along Interstate 69.
Director of Marketing Mary Barr said it's time to tell some new stories from students' perspectives.
"It was unscripted, and the ad reflected what the university is doing," she said.
Fifteen-second commercials featuring the current and former students will run on local television stations in Indianapolis, South Bend and Fort Wayne this fall, Barr said. More in-depth versions of these commercials can be seen online at Ball State University's Web site. She said banner ads will also run in The Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis Monthly magazine for the next several weeks.
Barr said the committee started with a long list of students they might feature in the commercial, and they narrowed it down to four students who had accomplished great things at the university.
The commercials were made during the summer. This is the first commercial campaign launched in the last two years.
Senior Phylecia Thompson's commercial spot was "Innovation," which describes her hands-on experience creating iPhone applications at the Digital Corporation.
"It started off with a quote," Thompson said. "They asked me to make a quote about working at the Digital Corps. They decided they liked it and told me they wanted me to be in the commercial."
"Immersive" described senior Janet Kamiri's commercial spot. Kamiri worked with St. Vincent Health Center and Marsh Supermarkets on a campaign to fight childhood obesity. She was the only education major on the team and said sometimes it was scary to give presentations for the professionals she worked with.
Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president of Marketing and Communications, said the new billboards along I-69 are different from the previous ones. Single words - Create, Bold, Immersive and Innovate - take up the entire space on the billboards.
"They convey a sense of confidence," Proudfoot said. "They show we know who we are."
Similar banners will also be displayed at the Indy Center in downtown Indianapolis, he said.
Proudfoot said that as the campaign continues, Ball State will update progress on its Web site.
More information and video content is available on the university's main page and at bsu.edu/chronicles.
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