Not your regular presidential inauguration
April 28, 2017.
It’s our president’s inauguration day… but where is he?
The procession has ended, everyone is on stage and waiting, the crowd is quietly murmuring. Did we forget a critical part of the ceremony where he marches in by himself? No, the president’s partner, is visibly distressed.
As the master of ceremonies, he approaches the microphone and makes apologies for the president’s absence. Awkwardly, he fumbles through his robes for his iPhone, which surprisingly projects above the main stage as he begins making his call. He is calling the president, who answers, seemingly nonplussed. He softens the perception of his tardiness with a light-hearted tone and assures us he’ll be there soon.
We hang up. But our president doesn’t.
Instead we are flies on the windshield of his car full of students en route to his inauguration. But then, the music starts and suddenly they’re gone…
A new university president, really?
I haven’t done much (any) research, but I’m willing to bet that the dreaded presidential transition period is well-known and equally feared across marketing departments in higher education institutions without exception. Sure, we’re all optimistic – but let’s be honest: that trait’s more of an evolutionary adaptation than a natural resting state.
If I may speak candidly – we, marketers, are easy targets.
Low enrollment? We’re not getting the word out enough.
Bad reviews? No one knows all of the great stuff we’re doing!
Not being taken seriously? Obviously no one has touted those cash cow professors churning away research in the fourth floor labs.
Students aren’t staying? WE NEED A NEW WEBSITE!
So when the email comes through that leadership is changing we steel our stomachs and we brace ourselves because deep down, we have a pretty good idea how this is going to go.
Meet President Joe
Those first months were filled with a healthy dose of self-consciousness, renewed vigor for details, proactivity and idea production. He called himself a “PR president” and we were eager to provide. But there was a significantly different dynamic to “President Joe” – as he chooses to be addressed. Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) President Mark Ojakian may have planted the seed for it. Didn’t he say: “He is the right president for this university at the right time,” in his welcome speech of President Joe?
He did. And, so far, he’s absolutely right.
Carpool Karaoke for the President’s inauguration: how did that happen?
Historically, inaugurations have the potential to become lengthy affairs that can end “up costing several hundred thousand dollars.” But, President Joe never wanted that.
He wanted instead to celebrate Southern as it is, and to demonstrate his new style of leadership through “action and deed,” a mantra constantly repeated and deeply embedded in his own pedagogy.
The idea for a light-hearted inauguration video to accompany his big day was President Joe’s alone, and when the vote came down to make that video a mock Carpool Karaoke video a la “Late Late Night with James Corden,” our marketing unit recognized a make or break moment.
If we did this right, it had the potential to kick off something entirely unexpected at Southern, a university often seen on the fringes – geographically and academically – of Yale’s all-encompassing downtown presence. This could be our edge.
While we all happily envisioned a car cam following Joe singing around town, our videographer told us we weren’t taking this seriously enough.
His vision included a contained set, which turned out to be our field house, with a rented car surrounded by professional lights, cameras, and four projection screens simulating a drive through New Haven to our campus. In the driver’s seat, President Joe sat fully outfitted in his academic regalia, prepared for four hours of singing the same song over and over again. Almost famous.
Faculty, staff, student groups, alumni, and even my daughter made cameos alongside the president enjoying the timeless significance of Journey’s hit “Don’t Stop Believing,” each group living up their moment in the spotlight as eagerly as the next.
It was grueling, stressful, and required a lot of patience, coordination, and re-dos, but thanks to a united cross-campus collaboration, I can honestly say that the shoot went phenomenally smooth, overall.
The proof is in the… analytics data!
That video tripled our highest-viewed video record with 102,000 Facebook views, most of which were accrued within 7 days.
We spent $380 boosting it from the university account to anywhere in the United States using the “people who like my page and friends of people who like my page” option. We did separate ads for high school students and parents of high school students.
We also shared it across Twitter, Instagram, and the President’s social accounts. It has received 3,300 views on our relatively new YouTube channel (recommendations for how to grow this welcomed.)
Lessons learned from our university president on social media
I asked a smattering of faculty, staff, and students who were a part of Joe’s Carpool Karaoke video what they thought made the project possible. The answer all around has been simple and unanimous: “he did.”
President Joe told us he was a PR president, and we didn’t just go along with it, we capitalized on it – quickly and early.
His social media accounts were up and alive before he stepped foot on campus. His first university photo shoot was surrounded by two dozen students. Before the end of his first month on campus, he already had two videos produced and delivered – giving everyone on- and off-campus an inside look at our new @SCSUTopOwl.
So, how does one convince their president to take on the personality of a late night sketch comic for the good of social media?
I’ve searched for ways to subtly toot our own horn here but the answer is: you don’t. Unless he volunteers.
After our first few photo shoots, stories, videos, and social media interactions we got the memo that our president was open to having fun. So we went further with a festive holiday video, transforming “The Night Before Christmas” into adult story time for overworked students.
After watching him have fun with kids during a Giving Day video appeal, we decided to share this really endearing outtake with an interrupting 3-year-old (yes, that’s my daughter again).
We also created a short campaign around #ActiveJoe when the president decided to get fit, giving everyone a glimpse at his personal struggle to find balance in healthy living.
The success (37k Facebook views – a big one for us early on) of our intrusively corny holiday video is perhaps what made it possible to justify locking the president’s schedule up for a four-hour video shoot in a lightless fieldhouse in his academic regalia.
In spite of its obvious drawbacks, President Joe loved it. We loved it. And they loved it!
Through his open and willing collaboration with University Communications, our president capitalized on his two greatest assets: trust and authenticity.
Now, we’re looking for new ways to go even further and use these assets across our university marketing. Thank you for watching!
Meet the Author: Allison O’Leary
Allison O’Leary is the Assistant Director of Public Affairs at Southern Connecticut State University.
She is also a graduate of Higher Ed Experts’ professional certificate program on social media marketing for higher ed.