Inside Higher Ed recently featured Wheelock College’s bold new “Tough Enough” marketing campaign in its article “Boston institutions try to grab attention with provocative marketing efforts.”
A SimpsonScarborough client, Wheelock had never before engaged in a comprehensive advertising or marketing campaign in its 126 year history. But leadership knew that competing in the crowded Boston higher education landscape—on the heels of a recession and faced with the demographic reality of a shrinking national pool of high school students—meant taking action.
If those challenges were not enough, Wheelock—a former women’s college primarily known for its programs in the helping professions, particularly early childhood education, child advocacy and social work—wanted to attract a more diverse student body in terms of race and ethnicity, geography, socioeconomic backgrounds and learning styles. And while not the primary goal, they also wanted to attract more males. Despite being a coeducational institution for 60 years, males still represented less than 10% of students, a figure leadership seeks to double by 2020. Meeting these admission goals would mean not just finding more students, but finding the right students, those who shared a passion for the school’s mission to “improve the lives of children and families.”
But there was concern that this focus on improving lives was too narrow and limiting. To find out, Wheelock turned to SimpsonScarborough in 2011 for extensive qualitative and quantitative research. Instead, the research revealed that current students, faculty, staff and alumni all identified this as the institution’s most distinctive attribute. According to SimpsonScarborough CEO Elizabeth Scarborough, “Wheelock College is one of very few colleges or universities I have ever worked with where every single person you talk with can recite a portion of the mission statement.”
This mission statement also resonated strongly with prospective students, who identified it as the most appealing attribute in their decision where to enroll and who strongly associated this attribute with Wheelock. In other words, this mission was not only a point of pride for the Wheelock community, but a clear differentiator in the Boston higher education market. The implication was clear—keep the brand intact and market it more. But how?
The answer came through Wheelock’s work with creative firm Mindpower in late 2012 and 2013. “The Mindpower team told us that in interviews, they were consistently being told that outsiders didn’t understand the extent of the challenge faced by practitioners in the helping professions,” said Wheelock marketing manager Stephen Dill. Wheelock had the opportunity to reinforce its mission and elevate the helping professions. They could show what it means to be “tough enough” to inspire a world of good.
Mindpower began the work of delineating the personality, values, promise and creative expression of what it means to be “tough enough.” Anything new involves a transition,” said Beth Kaplan, communication and external affairs manager at Wheelock. “We had some alumni who were really supportive and some who were very critical. But whether feedback is negative, positive or neutral, it’s important that everyone’s thoughts are heard.” This feedback was essential in refining the strategy over the course of the year leading to the fall 2013 brand launch. In preparation for that launch, the leadership and marketing team worked diligently to explain to the Wheelock community how they arrived at “Tough Enough,” the emotion and intent of the brand platform, and what it meant in terms of creative expression of the brand. Wheelock “tough,” they explained, isn’t about being rough, mean or aggressive, but rather about the inner strength needed to work in the helping professions. As Wheelock President Jackie Jenkins-Scott explains, “It takes resilience, persistence, and patience to help a child learn to read, to advance human rights, or to steer a teenager back on track.”
As noted in the Inside Higher Ed article, the campaign is already showing results. While not wholly attributed to marketing, as the branding changes were being made as a full rebuild of the undergrad admissions process was instituted, campus visits have increased 60% over last year, the class entering in fall 2014 is 35% larger than the fall of 2013, and male applications are up 20%.The influence of the design and implementation of the “Tough Enough” campaign cannot be denied.
“When we started working with Wheelock, the leadership was worried that the focus on ‘improving the lives of women and children’ was too narrow and limiting,” said Elizabeth Scarborough. “But we discovered the opposite. By focusing even more on this positioning, Wheelock opened itself up to so many more people. That’s Great Branding 101—focus your positioning so that people who share your passion and vision can find you.”
To see more of the campaign work visit www.wheelock.edu/toughenoughcampaign.
