The Facts: The University filmed a new set of television advertising spots on Wednesday. They attempt to show the University’s true ideals and differ from last year’s campaign. The project cost a relatively thrifty $142,000.
Our Opinion: The new television advertisements are a bright spot for the University, and a marked improvement from last year’s campaign.
N.C. State creative services recently spearheaded the creation of a new set of television advertising spots for the upcoming year. The two television spots, filmed Wednesday on Centennial Campus, attempt to show the innovative ideas the University brings to real life situations. The primary spot, which is 30 seconds long, will showcase “5 or 6 visual examples” of students actively participating on campus.
The advertising campaign is a marked improvement from last year’s vague slogans and air of pretension. The previous advertising spot, “Red means go,” featured beautiful production and not too mush else. The empty slogans didn’t say anything about the campus.
The campaign was not particularly well received by students either. Students found it attractive, but void of any real substance or meaning.
Rather ironically, the opaque spots perfectly mirrored the lack of transparency provided by the University’s top administrators.
Chancellor Woodward and his administration are striving toward higher University transparency this year — likewise, the advertising campaign is being revamped to provide an honest appraisal on the sort of real-world solutions the University produces.
Stephanie Hlavin, director of creative services, said, “[before this year] there really was no brand.”
Hence the goal with this year’s spots — according to Sasha Levinson, their director — was to show “N.C. State [as] a place that fosters big ideas.”
The changes this year were especially challenging in light of the budget cuts facing the University. Hlavin said creative services has experienced serious fiscal restrictions but was still able to produce the advertisements.
With the production assistance of an outside firm, creative services was able to generate the spots for $142,000. The figure is lower than last year’s expenditure and significantly less than the national average for a 30 second television spot, $318,000.
The spots are the sort of fiscally responsible project the University should be taking on to reestablish its humble and prestigious reputation as one of the nation’s finest land-grant institutions.
The only qualm with the new spots was the lack of communication on campus about them. Many students seemed confused about the blockage on the Centennial Bridge — even some basic signage would have been nice.
The spots, which will premiere during the first football game on Sept. 3, are a marked improvement over last year’s campaign and should serve as a marketing lesson to the rest of the University.
