CENTRE COLLEGE: THE CENTRE EXPERIENCE
Showing Evidence and Relatable Faces
Centre College has long been known as a leader in higher education both in the state of Kentucky and in the nation at large. Even with top-50 rankings and a great reputation in their pockets, competition for the best and brightest is tougher than ever.
More than marquee rankings or media accolades, Centre knew that students with many options needed concrete evidence of the promises the college made in their materials. They also needed to see real students from diverse backgrounds to make it easier to see themselves thriving on campus. Enter the Centre Experience campaign.
THE CHALLENGE
Drive prospects with outstanding academic profiles to choose Centre College.
Lack of Precedent
Despite its prestigious reputation, a concerted effort to launch a consistent marketing campaign was not something the college had attempted at the time. They had run topical ads in print publications sporadically, but never with a theme and never for a prolonged period with specific goals in mind. They also hadn’t established a visual signature in photo or video content.
A Consistent Approach
While the “Centre Experience” is a fairly broad theme, we took great pains to build consistencies in the approach to photography, videography, typography, and layout to let viewers know that these pieces belonged together. Photos taken on campus needed to have the same feel as photos taken in London or a rock quarry. Video interviews with professors needed to feel as relaxed as those with students. All of these messages also needed to be repeated and emphasized on the website and in print materials.
THE SOLUTIONS
The Centre Experience was consistently communicated in advertising, editorial pieces, videos, print materials, and on their website.
PRINT ADS
Video Features
It was important for us to repeat the folks featured in print ads in video features. This allowed those with interest to dive in deeper on each story.
Video Ads
Video ads with similar topical and visual choices were also produced during this period. These settled in a space somewhere between the preview of the print ads and the deep dives of the video features in communicating our messaging.
Video may be the single most effective vehicle for storytelling created to date and we used it to our advantage. We were able to feature students, faculty, and alumni in-depth in a mini-documentary style. This further thins the path of resistance for potential students to visualize themselves experiencing Centre.
We also redesigned the suite of recruitment brochures that were mailed out to prospective students each year. This allowed us more opportunities for repetition as well as more space to tell more detailed stories and display more impactful imagery and infographics.
