Marketing may be an academic major in the W.P. Carey School of Business, but it's also a strategy to increase masters of business administration enrollment.
During the past year, the W.P. Carey School of Business has been working on what is being called an "aggressive" advertising campaign to promote enrollment of the MBA program.
The school plans to spend about $250,000 on the six-month campaign that includes two billboards, marquees in Terminal 4 of Sky Harbor Airport, a mobile billboard that drives around Phoenix, advertisements on three radio stations and online advertising. The school also hopes to do some advertising with newspapers.
Though he does not credit it completely to the campaign, business school Director of Marketing and Communications Craig Smith said MBA enrollment is up about 17 percent from last year.
The campaign slogan is "Get a real MBA." Smith said the slogan is related to for-profit MBA programs, which are not accredited by The Association to Advance College Schools of Business.
"We are not saying they are inferior," Smith said. "We want to talk about why we're better. We are the only comprehensive business school in Phoenix."
Smith said faculty, career networking and job placement are the elements that make ASU's business school the better option.
One of the billboards in the campaign is on Interstate 10 near the 42nd Street exit. It is directly across from the University of Phoenix.
"We have had three e-mails in the past week from alumni telling us that was great placement," Smith said.
The campaign targets potential students who work full time and commute, Smith said.
"They are spending a lot of time in their car and in Terminal 4 of Sky Harbor," he said.
Smith added that Terminal 4 is the most common used for working travelers.
The target student is male, ages 24 to 44. While that demographic is most likely to seek an MBA in a slower economy, Smith added the school would like to see more diversity.
Most of the campaign is being done in the greater Phoenix area, but some advertising is going to other large cities around the country.
Reach the reporter at katherine.ruark@asu.edu.
