UTPB: Recruiting Target-Adjacent Fans

Situation

As part of a new effort to focus recruitment on the local regional area, we helped UTPB establish a stronger brand presence beyond just the high school in each of the 30+ individual towns of the Permian Basin. To illustrate the opportunity, we selected Stanton, Texas (population 2,654), about 45 miles east of the university, to illustrate marketing and recruitment opportunities that went beyond the traditional standard techniques.

Solution

Thanks to the strength of the education programs at UTPB, the university had many alumni teaching in classrooms throughout the entire region. We saw this as an opportunity to engage with young students in the local schools. We invited an alumna who was teaching at Stanton Elementary School to co-host an art contest with us for her third grade class, and made a proposal to two local establishments to help us distribute the art once we published it. We chose a theme for the artwork (centered on nature) and invited one of the classes to draw art that would be used on a bookmark which we would then distribute via the library, and the other class to draw art that would be used on the cover of a greeting card which we would distribute at the local drugstore (a general purpose stop that included a prominently displayed greeting card display).

Once the contest was completed, we published the two sets of artwork and branded them with the university logo on the back. Over the course of the next two months, on a weekly basis we announced over social media the availability of the “Bunny in a Meadow” bookmark by Katy K. at the library, or the “Shark Attack” greeting card by Chris H. at the drug store. We made them available free of charge, knowing that at the very least the family and close friends of the student of the week would be picking up copies!

Success

This effort took place shortly after the covid pandemic started while cities and towns like Stanton were trying to recover and re-engage with the community. We were able to use initiatives like this one to benefit both our own recruitment efforts and the renaissance of the city. It also served as a concrete and powerful example to the recruitment and admissions team of innovative ways to build a brand presence in the cities of the region, the most important populations the university serves.