News
Harding University’s New Campaign Highlights International Programs, Diversity
Mangan Holcomb Partners Designed Ads to Mimic Interactive Web Features, Appeal to Young Adults
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Nov. 25, 2008) – Mangan Holcomb Partners has produced a new student-recruitment campaign for Harding University in Searcy, Ark., that juxtaposes the school’s image as the premier private Christian university in the region with its cutting-edge, forward-thinking curriculum and student body. The essence of the “Faith, Learning and Living” campaign is that Harding University is at the head of the class when it comes to unique academic offerings, campus diversity, and the integration of faith, education and everyday living.
The new “Faith, Learning and Living” campaign includes a series of three 15-second TV spots and accompanying print ads that encapsulate the diversity of each featured student and faculty member and how Harding has shaped him or her.
“It’s a lot of information to get across in 15 seconds,” said C.C. “Chip” Culpepper, principal and creative director of Mangan Holcomb Partners, an Arkansas advertising firm. “The diversity of the students and the academic programs, and the international flavor of both, was a challenge to express in 15 seconds, but we found an engaging and creative way to accomplish Harding’s objectives.”
Each student or faculty member is accompanied by “information tabs” that reveal descriptive traits and activities unique to him or her. These tabs illustrate the diverse personalities who are living and learning at Harding, in addition to the wide range of programs Harding offers its students. The info tabs were designed to mimic interactive and social media website features, appealing to the primary target audience of college-aged young adults. Each TV spot features a “star” student or professor interacting with peers, while the print ads feature one “star” student each.
For example, one TV spot features a handful of students walking through campus. The “star” student is accompanied by tabs that read “Studied in Zambia,” “Studying Public Health” and “Honors College Officer.” The students he encounters have one tab apiece that read “Interned in Washington, D.C.,” “Yearbook Photographer,” “Journalist in Palestine,” “Academic All American” and “Family’s First in College.”
Another spot, “starring” archeology professor Dr. Dale Manor, features students working in an outdoor classroom. Manor is accompanied by info tabs that read “Taught at Greece Campus,” “Created Authentic Dig Site,” “Digs in Israel” and “Ph.D. from University of Arizona,” while his students are illustrated by tabs that read “Home is El Salvador,” “Homeless Shelter Volunteer” and “Trustee Scholar.”
“The fast-paced TV ads are great for the ‘YouTube generation,’ who are well-equipped to take in a lot of information and process it quickly,” said Culpepper. “However, the depth of information offered in only 15 seconds ensures that parents and other audiences are engaged as well, and everyone sees something fresh and new each time they view the spots. Our goal was to really let the information tabs tell the story of the Harding experience.”
The 15-second TV spots were designed to connect as 30-second spots. This allows the spots to be paired up differently and gives the viewer a fresh combination of information about Harding during each viewing.
The spots also feature an original score, custom-composed by Steve Horner of Duluth, Minn. The music is fun and upbeat, inspired by the styles of contemporary Christian artists. The consistent music in the background of all three spots helps keep the transition smooth and the message seamless throughout the various 30-second packages.
The agency used Steadicam™ in the production, a unique technique that allows for a smooth, steady shot while encompassing a wide area. “The Steadicam allowed us a great deal of freedom to travel through the vignettes in only one take,” said Culpepper. “In the shot at the archeological dig site, we traveled about 270 degrees and still maintained a steady shot. The camera kept the spots dynamic and interesting by allowing us to capture so much.”
Harding University initially engaged Mangan Holcomb in 2006 to develop a campaign that would differentiate the Harding experience from that of other private and public colleges and universities in the region. The “Faith, Learning and Living” campaign, which launched in 2007, highlights key selling points of the university, such as academic excellence, opportunities to travel abroad, and the safety and beauty of the Harding campus, in an effort to pique interest among prospective students and parents and ultimately to increase applications and acceptances/enrollment.
The campaign exceeded first-year objectives, with Harding reporting an applications increase of 9.8 percent and a total acceptances/enrollment increase of 9.5 percent. Enrollment in the fall of 2007 was 6,333 and increased to 6,504 in the fall of 2008.
“We understand the unique challenges and complex issues that face higher education institutions in terms of awareness, recruitment, advancement, enrollment and capital development,” said Steve Holcomb, president and CEO of Mangan Holcomb Partners and the Harding University account supervisor. “Over the years, we’ve developed an expertise helping our higher education clients reach their objectives, and we appreciate the opportunity to work with Harding to help them excel in all areas.”
The first of Harding’s “Faith, Learning and Living” television spots won CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) awards in 2007. The three spots feature alternative views of the same moment as expressed through internal monologue by a professor, a soon-to-be-graduating college student and the mother of an incoming freshman.
“The new ‘Faith, Learning and Living’ campaign takes a successful concept to the next level,” said Culpepper. “This was a way to have exposition of more than one person in each scene, but maintain the same focus on the Harding experience.”
Higher Education Experience
With one of the most respected creative teams in the region, Mangan Holcomb Partners’ work has consistently earned recognition and produced measurable results for higher education clients, including
the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. UALR’s “A Difference of Degree” campaign, produced by Mangan Holcomb, won the District IV CASE Grand Award for Audio-Visual Communications TV Spot in 2008. CASE District IV includes colleges and universities in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as Mexico. Since the campaign began, UALR has been able to raise academic requirements and admission standards significantly and still maintain the same enrollment numbers.
Other institutions of higher learning on Mangan Holcomb’s current client roster include Centenary College of Louisiana at Shreveport, La., and Delta State University at Cleveland, Miss. The agency has also worked with Arkansas State University at Jonesboro.
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