Using GOBOs to promote your campus

Current advertising methods for colleges

Marketing is often linked to the idea of products and businesses, but it is an important element for colleges to consider as well. After all, what is a college without its students, and there is stiff competition out there regarding which college to go to. A college needs to be presented as a desirable choice not only for education, but for life experience for would-be students. So, how do you stand out from the crowd?

With a mix of online and offline platforms, it can be difficult to know what to focus on for your marketing campaign. We’ve teamed up with Projected Image, a leading gobo specialist, to explore the most up-to-date methods of advertising you can use to stay ahead of the game.

Technological advances for signage

Signs are a great way to get noticed by both drivers and pedestrians, with 35% of people noticing signs as they travel. Investing in an illuminated sign can add immense value to your college and can run 24 hours per day to ensure that it is seen by anyone and everyone — using LED technology which is extremely cost effective and simple to read.

Why invest in signage? Well, it’s an essentially-free form of advertising that is highly effective. A case study found that when a business asked its customers how they found out about the business — 50% said by its signs. Other methods of promotions were used such as word-of-mouth (33%), newspapers (9%), Yellow Pages (6%), television (1%) and radio (1%) but didn’t deliver the same results. If it works for business, it’ll work for colleges too!

If you’re looking for a starting point, consider a projected logo. They’re cheap to install and to run! Colleges will be able to simply install a projector, design a custom gobo with an embedded logo and project it against a solid foundation such as the side of the building. Not only that, you can also get your projector to rotate which in turn will generate more attraction as your logo moves around and catches the eye of more passer-by’s. One key benefit to projected signs is that if you were ever to rebrand and had a physical sign, you would have to replace this — whereas redesigning a gobo to put into your projector costs next to nothing. It’s a great way to advertise special events or open days.

Statistics

Did you know that 68% of consumers believe the look of a sign indicates the quality of a product? The same goes for your college’s image. New sign trends and technological innovations have highlighted that it’s more important than ever to ensure that your college name always looks its best.

Most studies into signage concern businesses, but the principles remain the same: FedEx found in a study that 60% of people said that they didn’t go to stores that didn’t have signs. What’s more, 50% of people said that signs that were of poor quality, misspelled or had missing letters prevented them from entering the premises of a business. Consider this when presenting your college to potential students – your pride in your logo reflects your pride in your college.

Note as well that the same study found a huge 76% of people entered a business as a result of its signage, so a good sign can make all the difference. By maintaining your image externally, you can reap the benefits internally.

Furthermore, 75% of people said they spoke to other people about a business because of its sign. An eye-catching sign can have the same word-of-mouth effect for your college. Because of this, 60% of businesses said that they experienced a positive increase on sales — with an average of 10% after changing the design and enhancing the corporation’s image and by meeting the expectations of their target audience.

A new, effective, high-quality sign shows the word that you care about how your college is viewed by the community and the world. People will become intrigued to know more about what your college can offer, and if it is the right place for them.

Also, if your college is a little bit out of the way, signs can help to catch the awareness of a wider crowd. Research has found that around 35% of the public wouldn’t know a premise was there without a sign which could have huge implications and make it more difficult for you to bring awareness to your college in the local area.

Let’s have a look at some success stories from various sectors. For example, food chains that installed a monument-styled sign, which is a freestanding structure usually designed rectangular, found that the average increase in sales revenue was 9.3%. Similarly, when a large pole sign was installed profits grew by 15.6%.

The success has continued through to the retail industry too. When a chain identity was added to a shopping centre’s sign listing all of the stores — profits grew by 8.6%. Retail stores that placed two directional signs found their revenue growing by 7.7% and those that swapped their storefront wall sign with a larger sign witnessed an 8.9% growth which evidently validate our case on company signs.