When it comes to marketing for higher education, you'll quickly learn
there's no better authority than Gotham. We've worked with some of the
most prestigious institutions of learning in North Carolina, creating
programs, promotions and identities designed to help them build awareness,
increase enrollment, introduce new programs and raise funds. Our expert
staff studies each institution carefully then uses those key learnings
to develop and execute a strategic plan designed to satisfy your educational,
business and marketing objectives.
Educational Marketing
CLIENT Hickory Metropolitan Higher Education Center (HMHEC)
Hickory, NC
OBJECTIVE
To establish a brand identity for and increase enrollment at the HMHEC,
which offers working adults in 12 western North Carolina counties.
CHALLENGES
The target market was unaware that the HMHEC offers:
Degrees from the
sponsoring university rather than the HMHEC
2-year completion programs
through community colleges, graduate degrees and non-degree continuing
education credits
Evening, weekend and online programs designed to work
around the schedules of working adults
SOLUTION
Gotham devised
a marketing strategy that repositioned the HMHEC by:
Redesigning its name, logo and print collateral
Creating a new newsletter
format and corporate brochure
Launching a three-part integrated campaign
throughout its four-county core market, including:
Public relations
Billboards
Demographic-specific radio, TV and newspaper ads. This six-month,
integrated multimedia marketing
campaign targeted the HMHEC’s
two principal target demographics:
Working
adults age 30-40
20-30
year olds
RESULTS
In February 2005, Gotham launched a PR blitz, followed
by two months of heavy billboard placement. In May 2005, Gotham mass-saturated
the target market area with radio and cable TV ads, followed by another
public relations campaign, giving the target market a real education
about the HMHEC.
