'We’re able to set the bar for this'

Lola Mauer, director of Annual Giving Programs for the Office of Development, calls the Y’ALL Campaign a model to follow. Other universities have yet to market such a comprehensive multimedia approach to their young alumni.  

“We’re able to set the bar for this,” she said. In fact, a website development company from London has contacted Carolina, requesting to have the Y’ALL Campaign submitted for its “Best of” competition. Numerous universities have made inquiries.

VOTES READY TO ROLL IN   

With more than 1,000 young alumni responses before the videos were posted, the outpouring of popularity for the website, www.thefaceofyall.com, has been phenomenal. The amazing number of hits prior to final voting dwarfs anything direct mailing can muster, Mauer said.  

The Pursuant Group of Dallas, developer of the external website, can track who has or has yet to open their e-mail so that reminders are sent; who is forwarding campaign e-mail messages to other young alumni; and even the time of day the videos are viewed the most. The Y’ALL campaign’s promotional videos have already been posted on Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.

Steven Farwick, assistant director of Annual Giving Programs, said the Y’ALL campaign is designed to boost contact opportunities with more than 38,000 young alumni who have graduated the past 10 years. Before the campaign, the university maintained e-mail addresses for about 13,000 young alumni.   

As young alumni vote online for their favorite video finalists to represent the faces of the Y’ALL campaign, Annual Giving Programs will be increasing its database of contacts, Farwick said.

As young alumni advance through their careers, “stopping by” to revisit the Y’ALL campaign and vote each year, “Hopefully, it’s going to help with philanthropy, too, to get young alumni thinking about their alma mater.”