Getting Their Attention

In higher ed, everyone is doing the same thing and it's my job as the Director of Creative Services to figure out how to stand out in the mailbox. Prospective students get ridiculous amounts of marketing collateral from colleges and we all know that 90% of it winds up in the recycling bin, sometimes unopened. When I started at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, I brought my direct experience of a parent who had just gone through this as my son was a Senior and heading to college in the fall and my daughter is in college. Nothing stood out and I wanted to design a piece that I would want to get as a parent, and one that would grab my kids' attention. I did some unscientific research and talked to my two college kids about what would grab their eye. I floated the ideas I had by them, and they liked them, but had great feedback about what would keep them from just breezing past it. I then collaborated with our Director of Marketing and our Admission office to gain insight and feedback from them. After a few failed mock ups and seeing what didn't work, we landed on this piece. This is a mock up of what Juniors are going to receive from Saint Mary's. I'm super psyched about this piece, because it has research, collaboration and full buy in behind it! It's engaging and interactive with a perfed wing that reveals a key quote from a successful Saint Mary's alum. The card is a pullout that gives you reveal #2 of a quote from a current student. The card takes the place of a multi-page brochure that everyone else sends. We skipped the Marketing fluff copy and got right to the point. No one has time for the BS, and they see right through it anyway. Look for this view book if or when you have a Junior in high school.