Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/72038
7" x 4.75" We're building a bold business future by preparing results-driven, innovative and agile UC Davis MBAs who can adapt quickly, lead responsibly and collaborate effectively to make a positive impact. GLOBAL RECOGNITION FULL-TIME MBA PROGRAMS U.S. News & World Report PART-TIME MBA PROGRAMS U.S. News & World Report TOP 6 TOP 8 gsm.ucdavis.edu % % NO. NO. WORLDWIDE FOR FACULTY QUALITY The Economist DIVERSITY OF CORPORATE RECRUITERS The Economist 6 4 Full-Time MBA in Davis | Part-time MBA in Sacramento • ming with people because the event had been timed to coincide with the end of several classes to ensure a large audience. "While we did a pretty good job of keeping the event quiet before- hand, it's hard to keep anything involving that many people a total secret," notes Thompson. The entire production was cre- ated in-house, with Rudolph acting as producer and Bryan Koop, the Carlson School's videographer/ photographer, shooting and edit- ing the piece. The video, which can be seen at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=uH8FvERQHtM, was posted on December 1 and imme- diately started garnering attention. Within five days, it had almost 164,000 views. By the beginning of January, almost 2 million. "It is far and away the most- watched video for the Carlson School," says Thompson. Thompson stresses that the video was created, not as a mar- keting tool, but as a holiday greeting that could be sent to alumni, benefactors, faculty, staff, and students—a greeting that sub- tly reinforced the school's brand essence. "We believe the video accurately reflected our brand, which emphasizes the words 'savvy, engaged, and authentic,'" he says. It also sparked pride in alumni who saw the video and called or emailed to say how pleased they were to be associ- ated with the university. And even though the video isn't about management education, it did serve to raise the school's pro- file. A significant number of people who watched the holiday video were intrigued enough to look for more information on Carlson. "We noticed marked increases to the viewing of most all of our other videos posted on YouTube," says Thompson. In fact, between Decem- NO. WORLDWIDE FOR HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF FEMALE FACULTY Financial Times, 2011 1 San Francisco Bay Area PREPARING INNOVATIVE LEADERS FOR GLOBAL IMPACT ber 1 and December 15, traffic to the Carlson School Web site was 19 times higher than average. While it might be hard to quantify the benefits of those additional views, he says, "We believe that the more people are exposed to our brand, the more favorably we'll be regarded. The fact that the video went viral only served to extend our brand to a wider audience." While there's no way to predict what will or won't go viral on the Internet, Thompson has some sug- gestions for other schools. "Start early. Take risks. Go big. There is no possible way we could have achieved such success had we not started nearly a year ago and been willing to try something new, bold, and creative. By January, we'd already started to think about the 2012 holiday card, and our initial discussions are every bit as exciting as those of a year ago." BizEd July/August 2012 47