Think PCC First

THE NEED:

As the economy was making a gradual recovery in Oregon and the unemployment rate slowly declined, institutions of higher education across the state have experienced a marked drop in enrollment. Despite several years of steady growth, many local institutions, including Portland Community College, have experienced declining rates of enrollment during the 2013-14 academic year. To get ahead of these trends, PCC made it a priority to position itself at the forefront of people’s minds as the best option for affordable, quality education in our community. This a vital message because despite slight economic recovery, college costs and rates of student debt continue to rise. An institution committed to providing affordable access to education, we needed a highly visible campaign to emphasize that PCC isn’t a “back-up plan,” it’s a first choice for education.

OBJECTIVES:

PCC needed to modernize its recruitment efforts and extend a consistent “look” for the college to its prospective students. This aesthetic was to capture the determination and energy of students who chose PCC to help them get ahead—students who embody PCC’s four spirit words: bold, fearless, proud, powerful.The target market for this campaign was more traditional students (straight out of high school) and their supporters (parents, mentors, high school counselors). It was important that the campaign have a dynamic social media presence to build engagement with this group and build the conversation around the campaign.We also wanted to distinguish our campaign from other college recruitment materials, avoiding common tropes of smiling students and sunny campus. Instead, we wanted to emphasize the gravity behind the fact that our students come to PCC to help them build a better life for themselves. Our students take their education seriously, and nothing will hold them back.

TACTICS:

Taking inspiration from our four PCC spirit words, we developed an aesthetic for “Think PCC First” that embodies the bold, trail-blazing spirit of our students. With imagery of students making direct eye contact and holding confident stances, coupled with mottos like “nothing will stand in my way,” “my future looks good,” and “my eyes are on the future,” the students of Think PCC First show that they are unstoppable.The phrase “Think PCC First” captures the sentiment that PCC is a first choice for higher education. Combined with a variety of different reasons for why someone would chose Portland Community College first like affordability, accessibility, and diversity, this slogan becomes not just a tagline but a conversation starter. Online as the hashtag #thinkPCCfirst, students were encouraged to tweet and Facebook the reasons why they’re thinking PCC first. Examples tweeted by @PortlandCC include “When you think about a college that won’t put you in debt for life, #thinkPCCfirst,” and “If you want to attend a college that believes in opportunity for all students, #thinkPCCfirst.”

The highly visible campaign blanketed the city of Portland in “Think PCC First” including outdoor media (city bus wraps, billboards, and murals), a robust social media campaign, and paid media.

RESULTS

Within the first three months of the “Think PCC First” campaign, marketing efforts generated the following results:

• Facebook - Reached 119,065 high school students with exceptional rates of engagement and over 1,000 registering for college.

• YouTube/Video Ads - 49,844 organic views of the ad with 8,265 clicking through to PCC's registration websites. Eventually, the video earned almost 250,000 views.

• Targeted email to graduated high school seniors  - Open rate of 36.9% and 18.4% clicks.

This campaign won multiple Gold awards at the National Council of Marketing and Public Relations' Paragon Awards and the Council for Advance and Support for Education Circle of Excellence Awards.