Selling Higher Ed

I have a very cool position at Moberly Area Community College.  As the Director of Institutional Development and Alumni Services (that's a mouthful when answering the phone), I play dual roles of evangelist and money guy.  The nice thing is that I'm pushing a great product... As open enrollment institutions, Community Colleges are the gateway to education for a swath of folks who might not otherwise take the plunge into higher ed.  And for those who are top-drawer smarties, but also budget conscience, you can't beat the value over a typical 4-year school.

It just so happens that I'm pretty close with the Director of Marketing at the College (said without a hint of irony).  A lot of what I do is marketing related so I spend a lot of time with Jaime and Chase, our amazing graphic designer.  Over a year ago, Jaime and Chase started working on the next marketing campaign for the College.  It's focus is alumni story-telling... examining their motivation to choose MACC, their experiences on campus and thereafter.  Since it's all about alums, I got swept into the mix.

One of the key components is the introduction of video to our campaign.  The College hasn't employed video as a marketing tool to this degree... hence the other reason I got in on this project.  I suppose you could say I've done a bit of shooting/editing in the past (heavy irony here).

The campaign is called Release.  As in "Release a Trusted Physician" or "Release The Great Outdoors."  It's our job as educators to help students release the doctor or park ranger or engineer locked away inside.  After several months of photo shoots, on location filming and lots of editing, we kicked off the campaign at the Fall Faculty workshops just before the semester started.

As an MACC staffer & alum, I couldn't be more proud of what we produced, both in our work and in the students that have gone on to become successful in their fields.  The College is creating great stuff every semester and it shows!

I've linked one of the videos below... Hop over to our profile page to check out the other bios and clips of our first set... enjoy!