From the Nominator

As a big university in a small town, Mississippi State University is unique, with a family atmosphere that welcomes and includes all in a rich, academic, character-building environment where excellence is expected and service to our communities is celebrated. Ranked among the National Science Foundation’s Top 100 research universities and the best in Mississippi, MSU has an abundance of stories to share about the university’s world-changing research and accomplishments. Even though Mississippi State’s heritage and reputation are well established in Mississippi, research revealed an overwhelming lack of awareness of MSU among external audiences, with less than 40 percent of respondents to a national survey knowing anything about the university. Future enrollment growth is also a concern, as fewer students will graduate from high school in Mississippi than in recent years, pushing us to market more competitively to in-state students and expand our reach to out-of-state students. Therefore, we are pursuing many channels to share our story with a broad audience, including television and digital advertising. This year, we worked closely with an external production company to create a television spot that would not only invoke pride in our current student, alumni, and fan base, but also one that would appeal to prospective students.

From the Judges

The quality of this entry is marked by the excellent submission, and the depth of insight undertaken to understand the audience prior to developing the storyboard for the video. This is the only entry that indicated that market research had been undertaken to understand the needs and motivations of the target market. The objectives were clearly articulated and measured, and the results impressive. The view through rate for the ad is particularly strong. The execution of the video is of very high quality, giving a real sense of community and focusing in on the student body, specifically. Importantly, the tone was warm, inclusive and authentic, and we think both inspired and connected with the audience–which is no mean feat when the video is trying to engage a prospective student, current student, and alumni demographic. We have no doubt that the video will meet the aim of invoking pride in Mississippi State University.