Houghton’s most recent marketing campaign YOU WILL speaks to prospective students directly about the transformative experience of being a student at Houghton College both in and out of the classroom. It promises the following: “At Houghton, you’ll get a tailor-made, one-of-a-kind Christian educational experience that supports your individual interests, dreams, and goals. We not only prepare you for a job after you graduate — we lay the groundwork for an amazing rest-of-your life.”
Previously, the marketing & communication office promoted Houghton through it’s previous campaign, the RETHINK campaign. In RETHINK, the focus was primarily on leading with what Houghton had to offer prospective students. With YOU WILL, the focus is led by the student’s story and matching Houghton to it, making it more personal for each prospective student.
Jeff Babbitt, Director of Marketing and Communications, gave insight into this distinctly different marketing approach. “Right from the outset, this campaign is talking about the student. Instead of presenting why Houghton is so great, we put the focus on the student asking, ‘What do you want out of your college experience?’ YOU WILL is referencing the student’s story and then telling how Houghton can fit in with that.” Although the foundational truths about Houghton have not been altered in this new campaign, YOU WILL gives a fresh glimpse into the Houghton experience.
Babbitt and the rest of his team conducted extensive research before launching the new campaign. “We did a ton of research before we came up with this idea. Last spring, we sent out surveys to the student body, recent alumni, and parents of current students.” The purpose of these surveys was to get to the core of the question: “What is so great about Houghton?” so as to put forward an authentic vision of Houghton to prospective students.
After reading through hundreds of responses, the team pulled out themes that were repeated over and over throughout the surveys. Babbitt said, “We did all this research, we came up with key themes, and then developed as a staff three very different marketing concepts, YOU WILL being one of them. We took those and developed them further.” With five focus groups of high school students, current students, and faculty and staff, each group discussed each theme, and then voted on their favorite. Each focus group preferred the same theme: YOU WILL.
As a member of one of the focus groups, Carolyn Case ’19 agreed with the preferred theme. She said, “Out of all the campaigns that we saw, this one had the most optimistic attitude and we thought it was also the most encouraging message for high school students looking at colleges.”
Autumn Stone ’18 was also member of one of the focus groups, and said, “Of the three different ideas, YOU WILL felt the most empowering and motivational. This campaign is unique because Houghton is unique.”
Babbitt thinks YOU WILL is a unique campaign because it has a “distinct personality.” He added, “We used actual handwriting and hand-painted textures throughout the material to make it feel more personal. Houghton is known for the personal touch.”
Houghton’s marketing and communication team is currently working on a series of YOU WILL videos to put on the college website, as well as other parts of the campaign that will be launched throughout the year.
As prospective students become current students, who become transformed students, YOU WILL promises an authentic picture of the kind of experience Houghton provides. Stone is one of them. She said, “The YOU WILL campaign accurately describes my time at Houghton. The opportunities that God has given me here will benefit me for years to come. I’ve grown in every aspect of my life, and that’s something to expect from a college like Houghton.”