The University has begun a first wave of a new branding campaign to market itself across the country.
“The objective of this whole project was to elevate the awareness of what N.C. State stands for to change perceptions that might not be fully formed as they should be in the minds of our audiences,” Debbie Griffith, associate vice chancellor of public affairs, said.
Previous marketing campaigns focuses on in-state audiences, she said, but this one – which includes two 30-second television commercials and print ads – is targeted to a broader range of people.
The first TV ad will air tonight during halftime of the Wolfpack’s first football game of the season against the University of South Carolina.
Titled “Gateway,” it features an actor using a “confident, yet focused attitude,” in delivering a number of lines about “innovation,” Griffith said.
The actor describes the University as the “Autobahn of innovation, the on-ramp to better thinking” and “the gateway to an amazing future,” along with other lines.
This first part of the campaign cost $200,000, Griffith said, and the money came from donations, most donated for the University to use as it chooses.
While the future of the campaign is uncertain, Griffith said after assessing its finances after the first round of ads, the University will decide whether to run more.
After reading the dialogue from the television ads, Maria Pramaggiore, a professor in film studies, said the ads could underrepresent parts of the University.
“[The ads are] focused on what would have been and would seem to be N.C. State’s historical strengths,” she said.
Pramaggiore said she found it limiting to focus on invention, with the ads mentioning “patents.”
“N.C. State’s image as a comprehensive institution ought to include ideas about a broader education, not simply getting a job,” she said.
Pramaggiore said she understands that the University feels the ad could help recruit students, but she hopes students expect a broadening of intellect as well as job placement.
Chad Weatherman, a senior in sports management and accounting, said he liked that the University was describing itself as “active in pursuing future activities.”
According to Weatherman, it could be difficult to recruit people in North Carolina based on an ad.
“People already have alliances, due to friends and family,” he said.
The TV ads were produced two-and-a-half weeks ago with Luquire Andrews, a Charlotte-based ad agency, and Griffith said some print ads are already circulating in U.S. News and World Reports and other, more regional magazines.
The University also circulated t-shirts with slogans from the ads, such as “Red Means Go,” during Wolfpack Welcome Week, she said.
During a sporting event such as Thursday’s football game, Griffith said participating Universities are permitted one free ad, so the University did not have to pay for the half-time spot.
She said they were interested in the chosen ads because they are different than ones other schools have made.
“To get the attention and results we want, we have to be bold,” Griffith said.
