Ad campaign hits on PSU character traits

Portland State is increasing its visibility this month with new print advertisements and a TV commercial, after the University Communications office conducted a public survey to determine how best to reach potential students.

The survey, which posed questions about familiarity with Oregon and Washington university programs, indicated that 47 percent of the population is interested most in PSU for its curriculum. 42 percent is interested because of PSU’s location, the survey said.

PSU can improve its public image and visibility if the university focuses most on being beneficial to local and regional businesses, being culturally diverse and showing support for sustainable programs, such as energy-efficient buildings and recycling, the survey indicated. It was sent out to 575 people in six counties.

Sockeye Creative, which designed PSU’s current logo in 2006, also helped create the print ads and the commercial, which focuses on popular university activities, such as bike culture and sustainability.

Cassie McVeety, vice president of university communications, said the increased advertising resulted from the efforts of the Integrated Marketing Task Force, a group formed within the university president’s office in 2005 to determine the best way to market PSU.

“We’ve been working to broaden our horizons, to reinforce the messages about why we enjoy Portland State to people that have heard it before,” McVeety said. “And to new groups of interest, groups representing potential students.”

Portland State paid $54,500 to Sockeye Creative to cover the creation costs of the TV spot and print ads, according to Julie Smith, PSU director of marketing. The university has not been billed yet for the cost of running the ads on TV or in print.

Business leadership is a key issue for the ad campaign, and the print ads will run in The Oregonian, Portland Business Journal and Oregon Business Magazine, McVeety said. The ads began running in January and will continue through May, said Smith.

Brittany Clark, a student and office assistant for Campus Recreation, said she saw the ad one night at an on-campus bar, The Cheerful Tortoise. She said she saw it twice–once while watching a Portland Trail Blazers game, and again during a PSU men’s basketball game. Both ads aired on local Comcast Channel 14.

“I’m not sure I’d come to PSU just because of the video, though I liked seeing it as someone who is already a student here and who likes being outdoors,” she said, referring to the ad’s focus on the outdoors. “But there was a suspicious lack of rain in the spot, probably because it wouldn’t sell the school very well.”

The TV spot will continue to run through April, McVeety said. The Task Force will convene around then to determine whether or not to continue broadcasting the spot, she said.