UA rebranding

[Dave in Green]

More like, the smartest students realize how stupid this whole rebranding is and stay away in droves.

Instead of wild speculation, we could always check the box score to see how UA is faring with the first class to register in the midst of rebranding:

[skip-zip]

Oh my Dave, please don't tell me that you want to attempt to correlate a June "rebranding" of a University with it's next semester's enrollment, in which nearly all of those students would have already decided on their Fall selection long before?

The University would let you think that the admissions office had a line out the door, in order to support their position. I sure hope you're not serious.

[K92]

Instead of wild speculation, we could always check the box score to see how UA is faring with the first class to register in the midst of rebranding:

Wow. Impressive. I wonder how many of those freshmen made their decision before the rebranding story got legs. We'll never know. Pure conjecture on my part. I'm also going to guess there could be a couple of statistics about the incoming freshman class that an advertisement from the U might have conveniently ommitted. Maybe? Perhaps? Oh, never mind. You win. You're right. I'm wrong.

[Dave in Green]

So according to your theory, the smartest students will start staying away in droves next semester? The semester after that? How long do we have to wait to see if the rebranding has a negative effect on enrollment? In the meantime:

[K92]

No, I believe I said:

You're right. I'm wrong.

[skip-zip]

How long do you wait? For a marketing campaign, a long time. But at least long enough where you won't be conveniently counting the "customers" who would have predominantly already made a "buying decision" before the campaign was even launched.

I'd like to take a survey of all of the incoming freshman, and see if any of them say, "I changed my mind to Akron at the last minute because I wanted to attend a Polytechnic University".

Then we can take another poll and find out if any pulled out at the last minute because they did not want to go to a Polytechnic University.

Those are the only things that could have happened that are measurable, considering the short time since the campaign has been in place.

The FDR clip was funny though.

[Dave in Green]

You're right. I'm wrong.

We're both right if we agree that it's too early to know.

And, Skip, directly asking the polytechnic question to 18-year-old kids is probably not going to produce accurate results. The polytechnic thing is a single word, and there's way more to the changes being made than a single word. If UA continues to attract more qualified students as they did this semester, it's likely that some will continue to believe that it's at least partially due to the polytechnic thing and some will continue to believe that it's in spite of the polytechnic thing. People just tend to get locked into opinions and positions that no amount of data seems able to move.

[K92]

People just tend to get locked into opinions and positions that no amount of data seems able to move.

On rebranding & football.

[Dave in Green]

On rebranding & football.

And a whole lot more.

[zipsoutsider]

Ohio has a slew of state universities and colleges. The tag line allows UA to let students know there are focus areas before they even begin It might get Akron a few more looks than if they did not have a tag line. I really don't understand why it's so controversial. The bigger part will be in how the administration takes the focus areas and integrates with industry more effectively. That could be a significant differentiator.

When I think of a tech school, I am inclined to expect fewer nonsense gen ed courses and more courses related to the major (and this is coming from someone with liberal arts degree.)

It would be interesting to see that if the University can come up with any innovative ideas like Mitch Daniels is doing with Perdue's , "Bet on a Boilermaker" program.

[Balsy]

The tag line allows UA to let students know there are focus areas before they even begin It might get Akron a few more looks than if they did not have a tag line.

It'll get Akron a few more looks because of a tag line? Malarkey. Universities are a known quantity. "Polytechnique Institutions" are unknown quantities (I mean even the freakin new commercials have to explain what polytechnic means because no-one knows what it means).

[skip-zip]

I mostly only criticized the impact of the "tagline" because Dave brought it up along with current, public enrollment data when the "rebranding" (or whatever they want to call it) has just been launched, is vastly not comprehended, and is likely being credited by the University in some way for a freshman student population that was surely predominantly in place long before the word "Polytechnic" ever surfaced. One could just as easily make the point that all of the negative energy associated with the "change" has surely had a negative impact, at this point.

I wish I could pat myself on the back and take credit every time I do work for a client, and their sales are higher the next week or month. But, I know that these kinds of things don't work like that. And those are sometimes the kinds of sales that can happen instantly, much unlike all of the things that someone needs to have in place to make a college decision.

[g-mann17]

gmann17....

"Growing Enrollment" doesn't make you successful as a University. You can accomplish that by simply admitting more and more of your applicants.

Make the programs great, and turn out well-educated and successful alums, which results in higher and higher levels of student talent wanting to get a degree that says The University of Akron.

That should always be the goal. And at this point, I don't see how investing resources in a new and misunderstood tag line is going to accomplish any of that.

Growing enrollment is a mark of a successful university. Especially when we know that enrollment has been declining because we began denying applicants (that started in 2011, right when the enrollment started taking a nose dive). So as the quality of student goes up, and new student enrollment increases, the University is meeting two of the primary criteria to be a successful university.

But I also notice you mention making programs great, but have been critical of the Corp of Cadets program, the Dance Center, the Entrepreneurial Center, and the center for computer technology. All new programs, created out of cost cutting of nonessential university functions, or are those to be overlooked?

I can't help but think that the people who don't understand the tag line, are failing to help the university meet the criteria you state are a mark of a successful university.

[skip-zip]

Your last sentence in the first paragraph (increasing the quality of students) is the right train of thought.

I don't recall ever being critical of the new programs you mention. If so, please remind me about the reason that I may not have liked the ideas of any of those programs.

But please know that I was specifically referencing the greatness of our Academic programs, and the quality of those degrees obtained.

[Dave in Green]

... (I mean even the freakin new commercials have to explain what polytechnic means because no-one knows what it means).

We should expect any student qualified to attend UA to understand the meaning of poly (polymer, polyester, polygon, polygamy, etc.). Following are the only references to poly and polytechnic in the entire 2-minute video:

... We know genius is not just one thing and knowledge isn't one point of view. To us success is more than a data point, it's many things. The Greek word is poly, and at The University of Akron, Ohio's Polytechnic University, that means unlimited. ...

[Balsy]

We should expect any student qualified to attend UA to understand the meaning of poly (polymer, polyester, polygon, polygamy, etc.). Following are the only references to poly and polytechnic in the entire 2-minute video:

And that was part of the video that made me cringe. The poly wasn't being explained in the context of plymer, polyester, polygon, polygamy, polymerase etc., it was direcly being explained in the context of polytechnic. I mean it's obvious because it says Ohio's Polytechnic University...and no one knows, or really cares, about what a polytechnic university is. I mean University IS the actual name, not a tagline, and it comes from the latin word universus, which means whole or entire, why not explain that in the 2-min video? Oh right, that's because students qualified to attend UA already know what a University is.

I mean it's just my opinion, but if you have to explain what you are to the audience, it cheapens your appeal. I'll informally survey my college bound biomed students and let you know what they think of polytechnique.

[K92]

I'll informally survey my college bound biomed students and let you know what they think of polytechnique.

Ask a couple of English majors while you're at it.

[skip-zip]

I must say that I don't know any fellow colleagues who work in marketing and advertising as a profession who would say that it was a good idea to use a phrase or word in your marketing material that your audience would not easily understand. In fact, many people still subscribe to the old "talk to your audience on a 3rd grade level". I don't necessarily agree with that, but it's quite clear that POLYTECHNIC is still far beyond 3rd grade communication.

This is why I cringe when I see POLYTECHNIC being defined in an advertising piece. And it's not the only problem I have with this campaign. But it is a deficiency that needs to be pointed out.

[zippy5]

honestly I think you're making a mountain out of a mole hill. It's just a slogan. Heck the last one was UA - The Gold Standard. Gold isn't even UA on the periodic table but who the heck cared then? Plus it was incredibly cheesy. And that was during a decrease in enrollment.

[Dave in Green]

And that was part of the video that made me cringe. ...

It's like an allergy. Some are sensitive to pollen and sneeze like crazy while some are unaffected. Some are sensitive to the word polytechnic in connection with UA and some aren't. Fortunately allergies are not like viruses where sneezing spreads the disease.

As for Skip's mention of communicating at a 3rd grade level, does anyone really believe this applies to an institution of higher learning trying to attract the most qualified students who've completed 12th grade? Does anyone think it's smart for a university to dumb it down to a 3rd grade level when it's trying to achieve a higher academic standing and image?

Look, any kid considering UA as an option who doesn't understand what polytechnic means can find the definition in 10 seconds or less on their smart phone, which is permanently attached to their right hand. We're not living in the Dark Ages.

[K92]

I don't think it's that people don't understand what Polytechnic means as much as it is that it just doesn't resonate with anyone. It's a non-starter.

[zippy5]

I get that Keener, not disagreeing there. But did anyone read "The Gold Standard" and think "man I need to enroll at this place?" I mean, I just don't think it matters either way, and not really worth all this uproar.

[skip-zip]

Hey Dave. Just pointing out a well-recognized standard in writing advertising copy, so that it's easily understood. It's not "dumbing down". And I did point out that I don't necessarily agree that it needs to be that low. But, it's clear that throwing a word like Polytechnic out there could easily lose an audience.

Remember that you're talking about high school kids and their parents, who also may or may not have much education themselves. It's a bad assumption to think that you can speak to either of them at a high scholarly level. And just for the record, I'm in my 50s, college educated, and have a long sales and marketing career under my belt, and had NO IDEA what Polytechnic really meant.

Although, most people who know me would also point out that Scholastic Achievement was not my strong suit.

[K92]

I get that Keener, not disagreeing there. But did anyone read "The Gold Standard" and think "man I need to enroll at this place?" I mean, I just don't think it matters either way, and not really worth all this uproar.

No, but no one floated the idea of changing the actual name of the University to Gold Standard U., either.

Once the name change was leaked, the response from current students and alumni was overwhelmingly negative. If these same people were indifferent or actually supportive of a rename, it would have been a done deal. UA would be no more. The tag line was a consolation prize for those who were thinking bigger and if you think they weren't hopeful that the name change idea would grow on people as time went on and perhaps slide it on in a little later, you're gullible.

My 2 cents. I don't have any proof. However, the "proof" that this wasn't the plan is the word of Czarbourough. His word isn't worth 2 cents to me.

[Dave in Green]

I think zippy5 nailed it that polytechnic is a molehill that some perceive as a mountain. But the flip side of that is that the more some try to build it into a mountain by grumbling about it on forums and in the media, the more others become familiar with it and see that it's not a major problem.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."