Anne Elliott | STAFF WRITER
ae259306@ohiou.edu
Ohio University students driving through the Columbus area may be met with the familiar faces of their friends or classmates ' though the faces will be about 10 feet tall.
OU's new ad campaign, The Promise
includes billboards, television, radio, print and online advertisements, targeting prospective students and those who influence them, such as parents and guidance counselors. The ads will run in southeast Ohio and the Columbus area, said Gina Calcamuggio, senior director of marketing communications for University Communications and Marketing.
The commercials first aired Monday and will continue through November. The primary objective of the project is to tell Ohio's story of academic excellence to support admissions efforts during peak recruitment season according to Calcamuggio's report to Faculty Senate.
Our promise is certainly our students and the talents they have she said.
Analysis of the Admitted Student Questionnaire, which polled accepted students, indicated that people were already aware of the social and aesthetic strengths of Ohio University.
The three television commercials, filmed on campus the first week of Fall Quarter, feature four OU students who were chosen for their nationally prominent achievements,-
but it turned out to be really nice. It was put together really well
said senior Matt Barnes, who appears in a television commercial and on a billboard.
Creating the commercials involved a good deal of input from students and faculty, Calcamuggio said. Two OU film students worked with assistant film professor Thomas Hayes to edit the commercials; a third student helped film.
The billboards depicting students from the commercials will likely be up by the end of next week, Calcamuggio said. There will be 13 at a time posted in the Columbus area and 16 more around the Athens and regional campuses.
The president's office, the executive vice president and provost, the deans of all colleges and communications and marketing are all funding the $378,000 campaign.
Reactions from the screening at last week's Board of Trustees meeting were also positive.
We're starting to hear from people who are very excited about what they're seeing
Calcamuggio said.
It was one of the most remarkable projects I've had a chance to be a part of. It was like writing a love letter to your alma mater
said Calcamuggio, who graduated from OU in 1992.
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