With the 2014-2015 academic year in full swing, Durham College (DC) recently launched its multi-platform Experience DC campaign – and this is most progressive marketing campaign in the college’s history to date.
The campaign will run over the next year, and was to bring the college experience to prospective and current students; parents; teachers; and the community via a unique group of students representing a wide cross-section of programs, personal interests and personalities. They will each offer a unique perspective of what a year in the life of a DC college student is really like through a specially designed website, personal interaction and other social media platforms including blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
“We are giving the world a view of the walking path of 15 very different college students for a year,” said Josephine Spitale, an Experience DC team member and second-year Paralegal student. “We will interact with fellow and prospective students, share our experiences and illustrate the amazing community Durham College is. Those following our stories will watch our highs, our difficulties and our growth in this period. They will be part of our journey and, in some way, we will be part of theirs. This is Experience DC. This is Durham College. This is us.”
Experience DC was created, developed and executed by the college’s Communications and Marketing department to uniquely support the college’s recruitment strategy, enhance reputation and build the DC brand including attracting the attention of the Durham Region, Peterborough/the Kawarthas and Markham/Vaughan markets with robust campaign marketing initiatives in all three areas.
“At Durham College we pride ourselves on our mission statement – the student experience comes first,” said Carol Beam, executive director, DC Communications and Marketing department. “The Experience DC campaign will provide a new marketing platform in which to tell our story through the very real and authentic experiences of our students – both new and returning – throughout their time on campus. We are very excited about this new approach to our marketing strategy, which in turn will help support the college’s recruitment efforts, and we look forward to connecting with these students and following their stories throughout the year.”
A 15-member student team was selected over a two-month span through interviews and team-building exercises to be the faces of the campaign, moving forward the campaign will be supported by a multi-layered advertising strategy, which is aimed at getting the college’s target markets to visit the website and interact with one or more Experience DC students. Their faces will be featured at GO Stations, on hundreds of websites, Cineplex theatres, taxi cabs, transit buses, newspapers, shopping malls, radio and more.