A Tale of Two Billboards

Here's a variant on the billboard I've seen that is part of the same campaign. (Photo Credit: SLU)

Driving into work every day, I get to read a lot of billboards. Sad as it may sound for someone working in the marketing profession, billboards are one of the few types of advertising that I actually encounter. I don’t read many magazines, I listen to NPR, Slacker radio or podcasts on my commute, I watch my TV on the Internet, and I have an ad-blocker installed on my Web browser. Billboards are probably the most reliable way to reach me with a marketing message.

As I cross the Mississippi from Illinois to Missouri, I’ve noticed two billboards that are promoting the same product, but in very different ways. One is marketing its product based on personal attributes like convenience and ease of use. The other is taking a far more emotional approach and encouraging people to jump on the bandwagon.

Ready for a shocker? These billboards are for educational institutions. The utility-based approach comes from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE), and the bandwagon approach comes from St. Louis University (SLU).

The SIUE billboard shows a woman smiling, and the copy reads something along the lines of, “My classes are designed around what I need.” And then, the tagline is “The power of e”. (The little “e” refers to Edwardsville in their logo.) The billboard is very attractive visually, clearly the product of a graphic design professional. But, at the same time, it presents a forgettable message and a baffling tagline to anyone who is not a part of the campus culture already. I certainly would not be influenced by it, and I have long questioned the expense that has gone in to this lackluster campaign.

The SLU billboard, on the other hand, is very simple. It’s all white, and in blue Helvetica letters, it simply says, “Be A Billiken.com”

And I have to say, I’m impressed.

What SLU has done is to create a memorable campaign that uses a bandwagon approach to entice people to gain more information on the Web. They aren’t focusing on features or educational quality or the history of their campus (as they have done in the past with questionable effectiveness). Instead, they are simply encouraging people to be part of an elite group of students who can call themselves Billikens (the unique mascot of the University that is well known in St. Louis).

I asked one of my marketing professors once why big-name schools like SIUE and SLU were advertising so much recently, and he said it’s because they are afraid of losing quality students to the inferior schools in the area who are advertising. They don’t like advertising, but they have to in order to keep their names top of mind.

I must say, though, that SIUE is showing very little understanding of the reasons why students select a school. I haven’t seen data to support this,  but my suspicion is that the decision is more emotional than practical. SIUE is trying to persuade people that the school is right for them. SLU, on the other hand, is trying to convince people that they are right for the school.

What a difference that change in perspective makes. I’m done with school for awhile, but I can tell you that the simple billboard campaign SLU is staging has certainly made me wonder if I’d consider them for future programs. After all, being a Billiken in St. Louis is something you can brag about. Being an SIUE Cougar? Not so much.