Challenge

 

Recruiting your backyard is often seen as one of the hardest conversions in higher education. In addition to the usual difficulties, FLC suffers from a local reputation of being a place to go play outside for four years by parents of our target first-year recruits and is seen as “not a real school” by some local high schoolers. The constant tourist traffic doesn’t provide the marketing boost you might imagine since the school is located on a mesa 300 vertical feet overlooking the town.  Out-of-sight, out-of-mind.  In sum, tourists don’t know we are here, and the locals don’t know what they are missing.  Yet they are all in Durango for the same thing: outdoor adventure. How can we leverage our location and use strategic storytelling and advertising to introduce both tourists and locals to an FLC that is more than its perceived value?

 

Solution

 

I developed a multifaceted strategy to build brand perception and name recognition with both audiences.  For example, we designed an interactive advertisement at the local airport and partnered with the city to build a welcome center downtown to grab the attention of tourist traffic.  We negotiated with the local ski area to secure a free ski pass for all incoming, first-year students and market this perk in enrollment materials to adventure-seeking prospective students and tourist influencers.  Student interns are sharing their own experiences and those of their friends for an authentic take on life at FLC through social media content. Additional local and regional partnerships and targeted advertising have been built to deepen the reach to these audiences.