Drake Gets a D+

Posted on 20. Aug, 2010 by in Art & Design, Marketing & Advertising

The image below can be found on Drake University’s website.  I’m embarrassed :(

In what world is this a good way to market an academic institution?

Update:  Listen to Drake University’s Tom Delahunt talk about the marketing campaign on Iowa Public Radio

Also, read the email that was sent to Drake faculty and students to explain the Drake Advantage campaign

Should a good marketing campaign need an explanation?  Does Delahunt’s explanation sell you on the concept?

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  • Tim

    Well, it would get my attention, that’s for sure. And just getting someone to pull your materials out of the pile and have a second look means a lot.

  • David

    I’m with Tim. College promotional stuff all looks alike. At least Drake has the courage to buck the trend. Anyone who judges a college by the cover of its brochure isn’t ready to go to college anyway. This makes me want to read more about Drake. Isn’t that the whole idea?

    Bravo Drake!

  • http://fluffytaildesign.com Betsy

    Medical bill for almost cutting finger off with an exact knife. $150. Emergency room visit after ripping my eyebrow in half on one of the dorm bunk beds $500. Study Abroad semester in Italy. $10,000. Weekly Bar tab at West End $75. Annual Tuition $26,400 (X4). Art Supplies that I’ll never use again. $15,000+ Getting a D+ Education? Priceless.

  • Kate

    This may get your attention, but it’s definitely the wrong kind of attention. Who wants to be a joke?

    • http://www.karriwells.com Karri Wells

      Kate – I totally agree – something I learned at Drake was that your imagery shouldn’t need an explanation. Yes this might catch your eye, but what message is it sending? It would be like a restaurant marketing itself with a slogan that says, “Our food is awful!” That gets your attention, but does it make you want to eat there?

  • Connie K

    D+ argh, if it can be misinterpreted than its poor messaging. Come on Drake marketing…

  • Andrea Klaassen

    I’ll second that Karri. If it’s meant to be comically ironic they didn’t pull it off well. It’s like they weren’t fully committed enough to pushing the envelope to legitimately push it and be successful. I tried to think it through and give them the benefit of the doubt before getting annoyed, but I’ve been totally dissatisfied with their explanation and defense of the ad campaign. It feels too much like “Dad trying to be hip.”

    Plus…and it kills me to say this because I sound like an old crumudgeon…but their audience for this campaign is not just 16-year-old prospective students. It is anyone for whom the Drake brand matters. The way they market to prospective students is a big part of their larger brand and it does reflect on me, you and the entire Drake community. I’ve always been really proud that I have a Drake degree in advertising and communications. That THIS is what Drake itself produces for advertising and communication? Oh boy.

    • http://www.karriwells.com Karri Wells

      Andrea – I could not agree with you more. I understand that they were targeting prospective students with the marketing campaign – but definitely think that they needed to consider how this would be interpreted by the larger Drake community, such as the current student body, alumni, and faculty.

  • http://ginnyray.wordpress.com Ginny

    This is hilarious, terrible, full of awesome and full of negativity. But wait, there is a plus sign, so it has to be positive, right?

    Karri, how does it feel to know what your education is now worth a D+? I’m kidding, really. (Just take Drake off your resume from here on out)

    When Smash (Raygun, whatevs) starts selling “I went to Drake and all I got was a D+” I’m buying one.

    • http://www.karriwells.com Karri Wells

      Ginny that is BRILLIANT.

  • Dago T

    Drake grad.
    Advertising degree.
    Been turned down for a job a Drake a couple times.
    I have a slogan I’d love to sell Drake, they won’t give me the time of day.
    Karma’s a bitch, ain’t it DU?

  • http://www.waycoolkid.com Thomas

    I think the email is the funniest part of all. To attempt to justify a rather mundane campaign as edgy now that they have realized that it was a really, really stupid idea epitomizes the inability to accept criticism and, when needed, blame for a profound lack of foresight.

    If they are indeed serious about the research it shows just how bereft of critical thought much of the marketing world is. First off I can not agree more completely that getting eyes on paper is a naive and simplistic goal. Secondly, using high school sophomores and juniors as the complete set of the focus group is idiotic. I would think you would get a great success rate among 15 to 18-year-old males by putting big boobs on the brochure. Would that justify a really bad idea???

    As anyone who has worked with me in any way could attest I can provide a justification, and probably some research, for just about any idiotic position. The ability to justify something in no way means it is a good idea.

    I think what offends me the most is the attempt to hide behind calling this campaign edgy. First it is an insult to actual edginess. But even worse it implicitly puts out a position that all those who are not on board are simply to ignorant or conservative to understand the campaign, that, unlike those sophomores and juniors, we are too simple-minded to, “easily understand and appreciate the irony of the D+.”

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