Picture This… The Sequel

“Picture This…” is back and better and coming to a billboard and television near you this spring. The college launched its second version of the “Picture This…” recruitment advertising campaign in mid-April. The 2004 campaign keeps last year’s successful catch phrase, but is using it with a new treatment, says Allison Matthews, Marketing/Recruitment coordinator. The advertising campaign will be an important element to reach the college’s goal of 11,000 students for the fall semester.

The new campaign was strategically started in April as thousands of high-school seniors prepare for graduation. At the beginning of May, applications for fall 2004 were up 24 percent compared to last year at the same time. New freshmen applications at in-district high schools were up 19 percent.

“Traditional-age students and their parents are finalizing college plans in the spring. This is particularly true for community-college students,” Matthews says.

Last year almost 60 percent of local high-school students chose Gulf Coast for college.

Television will once again be a large part of the campaign and contain some of the most obvious changes. This year’s commercials will have a different look and feel but still retain the catch phrase “Picture This…” One major difference will be the smaller role for the “Picture This… Girl” played by Gulf Coast sophomore Savannah Fryfogle, who will graduate on May 12. Instead, a trio of students will invite the public to picture the benefits of an education from the college. Fryfogle will still be seen briefly in the commercials, delivering her trademark line.

The first of three TV commercials began airing April 19 on WLOX. Each of the three TV commercials will target a different demographic– traditional student, workforce student and mature learner.

The 2004 campaign officially began on April 15 with a new round of billboards across the college’s four-county district. The billboard ads also have a new look, featuring just one student instead of group pictures. The billboards will once again contain the “Picture This…” catch phrase but will also include key wording about the college’s benefits, for example, “Picture This… Better Jobs.” Students featured on the billboard will match the three demographic areas of the TV commercials.

Radio and newspaper ads will mirror the messages in television and billboards and will begin later in May. Matthews says, “A strong and positive response to the ‘Picture This…’ campaign established a new brand identity for the college. People in our area are familiar with the phrase and with Savannah, and we need to build that awareness.”

The “Picture This” marketing campaigns continues with new billboards targeting traditional, workforce and mature college students.