New ‘Worlds Ahead’ campaign plans to put University on the map

by Melissa Caceres

After answering the question of “What is FIU?” the University Division of External Relations continues to develop ways to expand the new long-term marketing campaign, Worlds Ahead.

The launching of the initiative brought together University members to the Graham Center Ballrooms during early March to provide and cement a concise definition of FIU; one that focuses on its diversity, location and innovation. Now as the campaign takes its first steps in the open, the External Relations team is looking into its year-long research to decide the best ways to approach the community and the world on what FIU means.

“This is actually something that the University has been on for at least four or five years,” said Sandra Gonzalez-Levy, senior vice president of External Relations. “We’ve been trying to put something like this together, and it seemed like now was the time for it.”

Throughout the University, Worlds Ahead is becoming a part of the landscape as the metal map of the world at the entrance of the Graham Center was moved and placed above the doors and the jumbotron at the football stadium flashes the campaign slogan. Through what is now called “Panther-ization,” the campus community will be seeing the campaign more through banners and other marketing strategies. The neighboring city of Sweetwater, which has been partnering with the University on community programs, will also be seeing FIU colors soon.

According to Gonzalez-Levy, members of the University have embraced the initiative by incorporating the concept into their announcements, presentations and language. The College of Architecture and the Arts specifically has created a special award to be given out in the near future, based on the idea of achievement that is “Worlds Ahead.”

While the campaign is still young and coming up with ideas for the new school year, much of its focus will be based on the results of the extensive research that External Relations conducted within the past year.

“In 2009, my division worked with Stamats, one of the country’s top education marketing firms, to reach out to nearly 4,000 prospective students, current students, parents, alumni, supporters, donors, faculty, administrators and community leaders. We surveyed their views of FIU, held focus groups and conducted in-depth interviews,” Gonzalez-Levy said.

With this $270,000 marketing research study, which was funded by private dollars from the FIU Foundation, the division was able to see the perception of the University from different groups.

From the investigation, it was concluded that FIU held strengths in its amount of ethnically diverse students, cost to attend and in preparing students for success in a global society. Campus aesthetics were ranked high which was followed by the location within Miami. Though, in turn, weaknesses lied in the lack of up-to-date classrooms and technologies, lagging athletics and academic reputation as well as national reputation.

Many of those who scored FIU low as “good or better” were prospective undergraduates who were at the high school level. They have become one of the main groups to focus on when it comes to spreading the word on the strengths of the University. To assist this, External Relations has worked to set up University representatives to visit local high schools and their counselors.

“We know there’s a problem when the counselors aren’t recommending FIU to their students, so we’re planning to change that,” said Terry Witherell, associate vice president of External Relations who has been one of the main directors of the campaign since it first began.

In the end, what Stamats informed FIU was that “the biggest perceived challenge area is FIU’s lack of recognition, a particularly troubling finding among in-state students. Nearly 50 percent of persons questioned have little or no familiarity with the University.”

They recommended that the marketing initiatives should aim to increase recognition by moving beyond having prospective students only knowing the University’s name. This meant focusing on “key branding messages” so that those considering FIU know what it is about and what its strengths are.

Through the new Web site worldsahead.fiu.edu, that will be launched on May 1, the campaign will showcase the experiences of faculty, students and alumni while providing their own definition of what FIU is.

“You can’t be ‘worlds ahead’ if you can’t show that you’re ‘worlds ahead,’” Witherell said.