The University of Indianapolis has launched a new ad campaign, which will include a television spot that will air primetime during local broadcasts, according to a press release from the university. According to University President Robert Manuel, the idea came to be after he realized an element was missing from the university’s portfolio of communication work.
“Part of that was how do we look at visual representation of the university, especially since we added quite a bit to the university over the past eight years,” Manuel said. “We wanted to express that visually … we thought that we needed to fill out that portfolio and look at the visualizations [that] could be played in digital spaces.”
Manuel said the university was able to make the digital representation come to life with the help of Sara Galer, vice president of communications at the University of Indianapolis, and Caldwell VanRiper (CVR), an ad firm the university partnered with to produce the ad campaign.
According to Account Supervisor for CVR Kendra Geiger, UIndy issued a request for a proposal to ad agencies. She said UIndy narrowed down their final four choices, selecting CVR because of the concepts the agency presented. The concept behind the campaign, according to Geiger, was to produce a 30-second TV advertisement that highlighted the people and the city’s closeness to Indianapolis in a unique way. Geiger said the best method to capture the uniqueness was using a drone.
“Every college has the B-roll of the students and the buildings and the music and the VO [voiceover] like ‘our university is the best,’” Geiger said. “How can we separate ourselves from that? Using the drone allowed [us] to show off a lot of campus and how beautiful it is and how much bigger it is. And the quick transitions with the way that it flew allowed for quick transitions from frame to frame. We really loved the sweeping, the moving shots and just thought it would be better serving for the university.”
According to Galer, the university worked very closely with CVR to identify the images they wanted to include in the video. She said they partnered with one of the best drone pilots in the country to capture the images.
Another concept that was used in the video, according to Geiger, was not using a voiceover. She said they chose against using a voiceover because she wanted to change things up and get more people’s attention.
“I liked that we made something that made UIndy stand out and look different,” Geiger said. “ … We wanted the images and the call-outs to tell the story.”
The ad, according to the press release, features buildings such as the Health Pavilion, R.B. Annis Hall, Greyhound Village and University Lofts, which were built as part of the University’s Vision 2030 strategy.
“We highlighted all different areas of campus to highlight specific programs, different buildings and some of the developments that people might not be aware of,” Galer said. “That was one of the goals of the campaign is to raise that awareness.”
Geiger, a UIndy alum who graduated in 2011 with a double major in marketing and sports marketing, said it was an honor to come back on campus and promote the university that gave her the best years of her life.
“…it just kind of goes to show what I remember about UIndy and that sense of pride and like all coming together to do something cool,” Geiger said. “…every person we went to that represented the department was so helpful and kind and willing to be a part of it. I think that really just tells a lot about the UIndy spirit.”
The campaign’s purpose was to reach out across the range of influencers, according to Galer. She said it is not necessarily students who apply, but rather their families who may have an impact on their decisions.
“When they see our name, then they also may trigger their memory,” Galer said. “If they get an application from a UIndy grad, then they will be able to kind of make that association. And there’s just bigger brand awareness in that process.”
