Marketing & Communications: Raising the

University's profile and highlighting its successes

Advancing the University: Filming of former Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers and top students on the Horseshoe for the University's latest promotional TV spot, "Bring Out Your Best."  |  Watch the spot

The University of South Carolina's Marketing & Communications Department comprises Marketing, Strategic Communications, Media Relations, University Publications & Printing Services, Web Communications, Video Production, and Development Communications.

The University's marketing strategy and branding are integrated across communication channels--print, advertising, Web, e-mail, audio, and video. Marketing & Communications:

• Improves awareness and perceptions of the University brand and helps promote student, faculty, and business/industry recruitment, including the Innovista research and innovation district
• Raises the national profile and reputation of the University with key audiences such as media and academic leaders/influencers
• Informs and motivates individual donors, corporations, and foundations to support the University
• Strengthens the connection to alumni and increases the value of the Carolina degree

Some examples of current/recent marketing:

• "Great" Momentum, Minds, Discovery, and Recruits print and online marketing: Promoting academic quality and momentum, research innovation and rankings, and national leadership in the first-year student experience
• InsideHigherEd.com: Web advertisements, e-mail ads, employment listings
• Chronicle of Higher Education: Print and Web advertisements, e-mail ads
• AAUP and The Presidency: Print advertisements in leading academic publications
• Bring Out Your Best: 30-second TV spot that runs during national sports telecasts
• NPR: National underwriting during Morning Edition, and research on the University's national reputation  |  Listen: Changing the World  |  Listen: Student Excellence

Media Relations:

• More than 350 media releases sent annually, highlighting news, events, people, and projects from around the University
• Promoting experts from the faculty ranks as resources for news media
• Media coverage of the University and faculty experts during the January 2008 presidential primaries included more than 300 newspaper, magazine, TV, radio, and Web stories reaching an audience of 200 million.

University Publications & Printing Services:

• 800 design jobs produced annually  |  View portfolio
• 8,500 print jobs annually by Printing Services
• Breakthrough research magazine
• Carolinian alumni magazine
• Annual President's Report
• Print materials for admissions, fund-raising, alumni, academic departments, and a host of other areas from around the University

Web Communications:

• Site design, development, content creation
• Maintains University home page and main Web portal
• Specialty sites: Virtual Tour, Innovista, President's House Tour, Carolina's Ideas

Making a difference:

• Marketing recruiting efforts contribute to fall 2008 freshman class' highest academic profile in University history and record number of applications
• Support for University Development to help achieve the record-breaking $106.2 million fund-raising effort in fiscal year 2007-08
• Post-campaign research showing advertisements with National Public Radio increased perceptions of University's quality and stature
• Increased national perceptions of academic quality that helped lead to U.S. News & World Report's top-10 ranking as one of the nation's "Most Promising and Innovative Schools" for 2009

What They're Saying about NPR Visibility:

• "I heard the NPR University of South Carolina spot in North Carolina before, during, and after my job interviewing process and was very pleased to hear the University mentioned on NPR. I believe that advertising on NPR is a VERY good idea."
  --Beth Powers-Costello, PhD, new assistant professor of instruction and teacher education, University of South Carolina
• "I wanted to tell you I almost fell over this morning when I was listening to NPR and heard the reference to NPR sponsorship by the University of South Carolina--not that that was remarkable, for I am well accustomed now to hearing that; but what grabbed me was the tag line 'home of the National Resource Center for The First-Year Student Experience.' Now this is really something. This is great visibility for the University with parents of college-bound children."
  --John Gardner, director, Institute for the First-Year Experience, Brevard (N.C.) College
  
• “I listen to NPR regularly and have heard the University of South Carolina mentioned as a sponsor of Morning Edition for several months now. I think it is excellent that the University has targeted the NPR audience for radio spots. Keep up the good work!"
  --Jessica Hewitt, 2005 international master's of business graduate