Pandora has expanded its advertising from background ads to audio ads and has also added a new customer, Ohio University.
A $200,000 budget increase in the university's advertising budget has allowed it to adapt its advertising from traditional platforms like radio, television, billboards and print ads in newspaper and magazines and invest in research and 'new media' advertisements.
Renea Morris, executive director of Communications and Marketing, said that $50,000 of the additional money will go to research endeavors.
We're not necessarily looking for hard numbers. Part of it is just brand awareness
said Morris.
Websites the university now advertises on include Pandora, Google and usnews.com. OU adds started appearing on Pandora in September.
The added money has also funded four new TV commercials and extended the run of the advertisements into the spring, where before it was only affordable to have the ads run in the fall.
Morris added that online ads reach broader demographics and are a cost effective addition to other traditional advertising methods.
Not only can you target who you want to target but it also allows you to measure what the return on your investment is Morris said.
In a time where projected high school graduation rates are going down, and competition for students is going up, effective advertisements are crucial for attracting students, said Morris.
We need to make sure that those prospective students know what an Ohio University degree means
and we need to persuade them to come. And the administration understands that
Morris said.
Craig Cornell, vice provost for enrollment management, said that advertising is an integral component in reaching enrollment goals and that since launching its first advertising campaign three years ago, enrollment has reached new highs every year.
To facilitate with coordinating the ads, the university hired Cleveland-based advertisement agency Melamed Riley. This is the school's third year working with the firm.
They have established relationships with the advertisers. They have been able to negotiate an online presence on a print website
or they've been able to negotiate runs
Morris said.
The company is paid a percentage of the total cost for the advertisements. Morris added that the agency saves money by making deals with the advertisers.
However, some students said they feel uncertain about the Pandora ads.
Yeah
I think they can be annoying when you're listening to music
said Sarah Gwinner, a junior early childhood major. I guess I can see why they have them
but most people just mute them.
