Introduction
At Capilano University Continuing Education, Fall 2008 registrations are already outpacing those of Fall 2007. The course calendar, as our primary marketing vehicle, is arguably the key reason for this increase. As will be demonstrated throughout this submission, there are many text and design elements that were incorporated into the brochure that we feel have contributed to this increase in registrations.
Objectives
In addition to the goal of increasing registrations, other marketing objectives included: • position the Continuing Education department as a friendly, unique, and innovative • differentiate Capilano University Continuing Education from other educational institutions • raise the profile of the department throughout the university • lay the groundwork for replacing the passport theme with a new look and brand for Fall 2009, while leveraging the brand equity and recognition that the calendar had built up
The Overall Creative Concept
The overall concept of the Fall 2008 course calendar is one that we have been using for the last four terms: the passport. We did, however, modify the look substantially. We went with this approach for several reasons: • BRAND IDENTITY: A passport conveys the ideas of discovery, exploration, adventure, freedom, and expanded horizons. These are all characteristics we want our customers to associate with Capilano University Continuing Education. • CONTINUITY: Since we’ve been using the passport format for the last four terms, and we mail to the same geographic area each term, the passport is familiar and instantly recognizable to our customers. We felt this strong recognition factor, combined with the extremely positive feedback the passport has garnered, could only increase the probability of people actually keeping the brochure and reading through it when it arrived in the mail. In light of this, we decided to stick with the passport format, but also to give it fresh look at the same time. In other words, we chose to make a good thing even better. • FAMILIAR, BUT RADICALLY DIFFERENT: By injecting an eye-catching graphic and lively text into the passport format, we were able to build on the branding we had created over the last few terms, while taking it in an entirely new direction. The big, bold exclamation mark is attention-grabbing. It also makes for a crisp, high-impact layout. But the real strength of the cover lies in the concept of EUREKA-VILLE. We’ve basically
reinvented ourselves. Rather than just the Continuing Education department, we are now “EUREKA-VILLE”. Eureka-ville suggests a very particular, very memorable place: a destination where people go to discover just about anything. We also felt the term “Eureka-ville” had a strong ring to it, and would stick in people’s minds.
Individual Elements of the Course Calendar
Since the overall campaign concept is a passport, the brochure—from the cover to the inside pages—was designed to look like one. The Cover The cover incorporates elements common to most passports. The text, for example, is placed where text usually appears on actual passports, and the graphic is sitting where graphics usually do on a passport. The difference, however, is the nature of both the graphic and the text we used. Where a traditional passport invariably features a coat of arms or a formal crest on the cover, our brochure has dispensed with such conservative imagery and instead used a giant exclamation mark with the text “PASSPORT TO EUREKA-VILLE”. This single, clean graphic adds punch to the cover, makes it eyecatching, communicates passion and excitement, and—since the exclamation mark is often associated with the word “eureka”—complements the text perfectly. In addition, the term “Eureka-ville” is completely made up, and communicates in no indirect terms that Continuing Education is the place to go for great ideas and exciting discoveries. More importantly, since Eureka-ville is a made-up place, it makes the reader curious because it is so unexpected, encouraging people to open the brochure to find out more. The Inside Pages The passport concept is maintained throughout the inside of the calendar, most notably on the title pages that kick off each section. These pages include a black-and-white passport photo of a person; a stamp that includes a clever tie-in to the section it introduces; and a block of text in typewriter font that describes reasons to take a course and includes a touch of humour. All of these elements are set on a patterned background, similar to what is found in real passports. There are numerous advantages to this graphic execution: • It let us put a human face on the university The passport execution turned out to be an excellent vehicle for humour. From the “bad” passport photos and the playful names to the pun-charged stamps and clever wordplay of the descriptive text, the use of humour portrayed Capilano University Continuing Education as a fun, inviting and friendly place to learn. Examples of humour that have received the most feedback include: The Stamps: • THE GEEK ISLANDS (for Computers & Technology), p 9
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• WOOLFSVILLE, BARDWALK, POELAND(for writing) p 19 • WHITE CLEFS OF DOVER; ARIA 51 (Music) p 33 Names: • Brushell Crowe (Applied Arts), p 4 • Johnny Cache (Computers & Technology) p 9 • Frank Lloyd Write (Writing) p 19 • Lady Chatterley (Languages) p 21 • Annette Funwi’ cello (Music) p 33 • It let us target customers according to course areas The ability to use photos and text in an imaginative way on the title pages let us craft messages that would resonate with customers interested in specific areas of study. A few examples are: • On the Applied Arts title page (p 4) we mention that the typical arts student has “the creative itch”. This is an ideal message for students who want to “try out” an art course, or satisfy their nagging curiosity about whether they can develop their artistic talent. And the photo, instead of showing a generic, predictable image of a smiling person, takes a humourous approach and shows a person (in this case the Director of Marketing for the credit side of the university), wearing a gladiator helmet to complement the “Brusshell Crowe” name. • For the Writing section (p 19), we speak to directly to people who “have a passion for putting pen to paper”, and indicate that by taking writing courses, a concrete result can be achieved, in this case putting together a writing portfolio. • The Computers & Technology title page (p 9) presents the reader with a photo of “Johnny Cache”, and the text underscores the importance of keeping up with technology, especially MS Office 2007, which differs significantly from previous versions of MS Office. • It let us connect on an emotional level with our customers On page one—the table of contents—we begin with a direct reference to our customer base by placing “YOU” on the NAME line. In addition, the small text description makes reference to the characteristics of people who take our courses. This approach is sustained throughout all the section title pages, except they use photos instead of drawings. The photos demonstrate the many different types of people who take our courses, and because they’re presented with humour, they enhance our image as being a friendly and approachable place, which was one of our marketing goals. • It let us raise the profile of CE across the campus Because most of the photos are of college employees, and were shot in a way that played on the idea of the “bad” passport photo, interest in the Continuing Education brochure soared across campus, demonstrated by the fact that staff members were asking to see to
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see the calendar even before it had come back from the printer. After all, who can resist seeing themselves and their colleagues featured so prominently (and unusually) in a college publication? • It let us generate enormous visual interest on a tight budget Due to the prohibitive cost, using full colour on the inside pages was not an option. We also wanted to cut the page count to 48, so placing traditional photos on every page was going to be problematic as well, as they would eat up valuable space. Which is where the passport concept came in. It allowed us to get away with using elements such as “bad” black-and-white photos, well worn stamps, coffee stains, tape effects, faded typewriter lettering and other embellishments that are rough looking, but are organic to the overall concept. In other words, we could create visually interesting pages while saving money (no colour or expensive photo shoots required) and time (there was no need to spend hours of design time touching up photos). • It let us differentiate ourselves from other institutions Using a rough, coarse look provided a refreshing contrast to what is usually seen in academic calendars. We strongly differentiated ourselves from other institutions in a memorable and attention-getting way, which was another goal we set out to achieve. Inside Front Cover The first thing on the inside front cover is a headline informing the reader that the next stop is Eureka-ville. The body copy goes on to explain the kinds of things that can be discovered in this place called “Eureka-ville”. This text essentially positions Continuing Education as a place to go to learn some genuinely useful stuff, and further develops the concept of Eureka-ville, which in and of itself establishes Capilano University as a fun and innovative place, since Eureka-ville is something we made up, and takes the reader by surprise. Also, to keep the calendar fresh and to hold our audience’s attention from term to term, we put the “What’s New” section on the inside front cover. Immediately after the “What’s New” information is a “How to Read a Course Listing” guide. This feature was included to make it as easy as possible for the customer to register. The Table of Contents The Table of Contents page is easy to read, and uses the same visual treatment as the title pages, except that we did not use a photo. Instead we used a “Your Photo Here” drawing with “YOU” as the name. This approach places the customer front and centre, which helps build strong relationships with our customer base. The Registration Forms In addition to projecting a consistent tone and preserving the marketing messaging, the inside of the calendar also has to make it easy for the customer to register. To this end, the footer on every right-hand page informs the reader where to find the registration forms. The registration forms themselves (p 47) occupy the right-hand page in a spread dedicated to helping the customer register quickly and easily. The spread informs the
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reader of the five ways to register, and the forms let customers register for three courses. We’ve also included two forms as opposed to one to increase the life of the calendar and to encourage more registrations. The Back Cover The back cover is almost as important as the front cover, so we make sure it pulls its weight in selling our courses. The back cover design used for Fall 2008 features colour photos of some of our courses. There is also a page number under each photo. The seven colour photographs arouse the reader’s curiosity, and the page number indicates what page the course description is on, encouraging readers to flip through the brochure until they find the page he’s looking for. Getting readers to open and browse through the calendar is key to exposing our courses to more people. Running along the bottom of the photos is a rough stamp (to tie in with the passport theme). The stamp contains the text “Your eureka awaits. Any day of the week.” along with a graphic treatment of the exclamation point. This phrase extends a tantalizing promise to customers, and lets them know there’s something for them at Capilano University Continuing Education.
Did it work? Response to the calendar
The calendar has proved to be a huge success. Registrations are up by 6% (when compared to the same time as last fall), and response from the college as well as our customers has exceeded expectations. • Customer feedback has been incredibly positive, which suggests to us that we have been successful in meeting our marketing goals of connecting with our customers on an emotional level and establishing us as an approachable, fun place to learn. Most of the comments we receive praise the humour and cleverness of the calendar, while quite a few have remarked on how easy the brochure is to navigate and read. In addition to the numerous verbal compliments from our customers, we received this e-mail from one of the continuing education directors who works at one of the colleges in the Vancouver area*:
... just got your Eureka-ville Passport. Congratulations on a first class job. It's attention-grabbing, clean, crisp, attractive,and fun. Great theme, playing on the passport idea... I think you used it before and it worked well then too. I bet you and your folks had a lot of laughs while producing it... what a bonus... doing an essential task that is also a team building exercise! Please pass along my commendation to your gang for their creativity and imagination... your collective personality really shines through.
The comments about creativity, imagination and collective personality are particularly encouraging, since one of our goals was to project a friendly, innovative and unique image.
*We were unable to contact this individual at the time of mailing, so have not included the person’s name. We can forward it to LERN upon request when we contact the individual.
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• College response to the calendar has been strong, largely because many of the photos in the calendar are of college employees. Many of the employees were asking for the brochure even before it came back from the printer, and others wanted extra copies to give to friends and family. Since one of the marketing goals was to raise the profile of the Continuing Education department within the university, this development was considered an important success. • Enrollment is ongoing, so final figures are not available. We do know, however, that registrations so far are outpacing those of Fall 2007 by 6 percent.
Looking Ahead
Although there are many strong elements pulling together in this brochure, the strongest feature of the new catalog is the very concept of Eureka-ville itself. Eureka-ville can be built up over time, with new course calendars taking the shape of city guides, maps, and town histories, to name but a few potential executions. A fictional place is also ideally suited to the web. We can feature guided tours, interesting photos, humorous videos, maps, and testimonials from citizens of Eureka-ville (instructors) as well as testimonials from people who visit Eureka-ville (students). Another advantage of the passport format is that it is an ideal way to introduce Eurekaville. Eureka-ville is very much about destination, place, and discovery. All of these things are equated with passports, so the transition to Eureka-ville will be seamless, and will be able to retain much of the brand equity that the passport built up.
Summary
The Fall 2008 calendar has turned out to be a big success. The number of registrations has increased (as of the date this submission was sent, registrations were up by 6% from where they were at the same time last fall). Also, the amount of positive feedback has been even greater than last fall, with glowing praise coming from customers, fellow educational institutions, and employees of Capilano University. People love the humour, the look, and the attitude of the Fall 2008 brochure, and this seems to have motivated more people to register.
The passport format, in addition to letting us create an eye-catching calendar that struck a chord with customers, also made it possible to create strong visual interest on a tight budget. Furthermore, the actual concept of Eureka-ville has gone over well with our customers. Several have used it in conversation with our receptionists, including one customer who wondered out loud whether “Eureka-ville is on the way to Nirvana?” This indicates that the term Eureka-ville is memorable, and has that rare quality of getting inside a person’s head and staying there. We find this type of response extremely encouraging and look forward to expanding on the Eureka-ville concept in the future as we continue to position ourselves as a fun, innovative and unique place to learn.
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