Challenge
Choosing which college or university to attend is a big deal. It’s a pivotal decision that marks the start of a well-earned, transformational journey for students. At the same time it’s a decision that creates excitement for families, friends, and the community as they share in the celebration of past achievements and a promising future for their college-bound students.
Alverno College wanted to find a way to empower their confirmed students to “shout it from the mountain top” that they were coming to Alverno, said Liz Paulsen, Director of Admissions for Communication & Visitor Experience. Specifically, Alverno wanted to give its students a way to share they were coming to Alverno and show off their pride in a way that wasn’t just on social media.
Solution
To connect with its students, Alverno worked with Magellan Promotions to design an eye-catching polybag mailable yard sign. When students submitted their enrollment deposit, Alverno would mail each a sign along with a note of congratulations. Easy to mail, and impossible to miss when displayed, yard signs provided an excellent mechanism to celebrate and connect with those joining the Alverno community. Bold colors, active language and a sense of forward movement helped make Alverno’s yard sign stand out, wherever it was used. Paulsen added that for those students living in apartment buildings or other places where they couldn’t put a sign in the yard, no problem–they could use it as a poster!
”Because we are a very local institution, drawing students primarily from Milwaukee, its suburbs and northern Illinois, the yard signs were a great way for students to not only display their pride in the college they chose, but it was also a way for Alverno to gain a little extra brand awareness,” Paulsen said. “It was a way to instill a sense of Alverno pride, which hopefully had an anti-melt effect, too.”
Outcome
The yard signs had their intended effect. According to Paulsen, students loved the signs. And, a testament to the intelligence of the strategy, faculty and staff continually shared with the Admissions office when and where they spotted signs in yards, windows, and even on social media.
