Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/59297
G Attention Making It Real It's not often that business school ads rile the media and whip up controversy. But that's what happened when Arizona State Univer- sity's W.P. Carey School of Business launched its "Get a real MBA!" campaign last year. The goal was to let local MBA candidates know that the Carey School was "the only comprehensive accredited business school in the metropolitan Phoenix area," says Craig Smith, director of marketing and communications. Thunderbird, which is also located near Phoenix, focuses on international pro- grams, so it was not considered a true competitor; University of Southern Cali- fornia and University of Los Angeles were considered too far away to appeal to candidates who didn't want to leave the city. Of course, the University of Phoenix is right in town—and virtually across the street from one of the billboards purchased for the "Get a Real MBA!" campaign. It was quickly clear that many Phoenix residents viewed the new slogan as a direct assault on the for-profit school. "It created quite a stir," says Smith. "I was interviewed on television. There were editorials in the paper. So temporarily the campaign became about 'us versus them,' which wasn't where we wanted to go. Eventually we relocated the billboard to avoid that one-on-one comparison." According to Smith, the basic message of the whole campaign was to encour- age prospective students to consider what defines a "real" MBA, whether it's delivered online or in a classroom. That required first defining the term internally. ASU administrators hammered out a three-part answer: thought leadership, as demonstrated by Ph.D. professors and ongoing research; alumni networking, as represented by the Carey School's more than 50,000 alums; and career advance- ment, as exemplified by the school's nationally ranked career placement center. 22 BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2006 rabbers In a crowded market where all competitors are offering similar products, it's difficult for any one organization to break through the clutter and grab the attention of its target market. This is particularly true for business schools, which face local and global competition from other institutions all striving to offer excellence in management education. To engage the interest of potential candidates, business schools must craft ad campaigns and branding promotions that are unique and memorable. Easier said than done, of course, but a handful of schools have man- aged to make a remarkable impact with creative, sometimes controver- sial, approaches to marketing their programs. Utilizing every medium from billboards to the Internet, the four schools profiled here have found ways to make students and stakeholders stop in their tracks and think hard about the advantages of a business education. Four very different marketing and branding ideas focus a spotlight on management education. by Sharon Shinn