Out of State, Much in Mind

As the snow started falling like crazy in Colorado on Wednesday of this week,  I came across an article about the ski industry in Colorado. Due to lingering effects of the economic downturn, the ski industry has shifted its marketing strategy from marketing nationally and internationally to marketing in-state and  regionally. People aren’t driving as much, aren’t planning to go too far from home and aren’t spending that much money on a luxury like skiing.

Similar, but not exactly the same issues are being felt in higher education. Rising tuition, lower income, loss of jobs are being faced by many families. Which is one reason why I was surprised to see many universities last week mention they are going to start, are thinking about, or are being to pressured to increasing their out-of-state admissions.  UC Berkeley, University of Colorado, and the State University of New York are thinking of ways to increase out-of-state and international student numbers.

A couple notes before I begin. While I understand the  state funding issues and other budgetary issues revolving around this  issue, I want to mention some of the  marketing issues these schools may face in the near future as they move forward in their decision, at least in the short term. Also, this is not a bashing on the schools strategic decision, but more of a brain dump on potential issues.

• Costs families have to weigh. Students and their families, for the most part, have less money and may not be able to be accepted for a loan. This means that many students and families will have to debate whether they actually can afford some of the additional costs of an out-of-state education:
  • housing
  • transportation, both for local driving and back-to-home visits
  • transportation,  family visits on campus
  • long-distance communication
  • parking
  • out-of-state tuition
• Scattered audiences. While there are still many families doing “okay” and are able to afford or receive loans for many of the items listed above, being able to market to them en-masse may be difficult.  So money will be needed to boost marketing for a more scattered and widespread audience.
• Angering the local stakeholders. Community members, alumni, donors, and others may feel slided by the nearby university’s decision to target more out-of-staters. Some may disagree with the idea their higher education institution is not educating their local community. Some may even feel so strongly about it, they will no longer donate to or cut ties with the school.
• Reworking marketing materials. Many organizations have a single search mailer or viewbook they send to prospective students and they often tend to focus the style, language, and voice to match their major audience. Depending on where they shift there attention to grab out-of-state students, the schools above may need to rework their marketing materials to effectively reach their new audiences.
• Understanding and communicating with new audiences. To increase out-of-state enrollment, many will have to look to new markets and new audiences to reach their goals. This means that marketing research should be done to find  potential students and understand their motives.  Also an increase in out-of-state or international recruiters may be needed.
• Increased competition. Trying to sway a potential student away from a less-expensive,  in-state  university may be hard sell. Also, many institutions have been increasing their marketing capabilities to reach the increase of potential students (via – more higher ed students during poor economy). They are also trying to protect the markets they themselves consider strongholds.
• Educating new audiences. Many schools have market strongholds where the audiences know them fairly well. The audience knows about the school, have been on the campus a couple times, have considered going there, and have friends or family members that have gone there. When shifting markets, especially out-of-state markets, the marketing will have to start from scratch in many areas and educate the audience about the school.

Many universities have done almost the opposite based on their situations. They are bunkering down and, as mentioned, protecting or solidifying their current markets often with great benefits. They may even be venturing into a few newer markets to look for potential students.  Seems like a risky time to be frustrating current market strongholds and venturing heavily into new markets.

This is a risky move by UC Berkeley, University of Colorado and State University of New York with several potential issues, but only time will tell if  the benefits will outweigh the costs and if this is a strategy they plan on keeping in the long-term. All the luck to them and others facing this type of situation.

Fresh Perspective

For the past month, we’ve been slowly packing up our office in preparation for a move to our new space.  At first, the slowly emptying walls and filing cabinets made me uneasy. I felt as if the world around me was becoming ever more unsettled and uncertain.

As we went through the house-cleaning process, I sought to find reason to cling to every piece we’d ever done.  Surely one day we’d need to pull those pieces out and revisit them in all their glory, even though we’d found no such reason in the past three years!

But as I grew accustomed to this shifting landscape, a feeling of possibility, opportunity, and optimism replaced my unease.  I realized that removing the daily reminders of previous accomplishments had also had the effect of opening and redirecting my perspective, releasing my mind’s grip on all that past clutter and freeing it to look at what lay ahead.

As part of my job, I reach for new perspective on a regular basis.  I’m supposed to be stretching my vision forward to the next five years and on.  I didn’t realize how much being surrounded by what’s been done, in effect, kept me from seeing what could be.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating that we all move…or empty out our offices!  In effect, that could be the easy way to do it.  But the idea of carving out an area in our offices, where we simulate a sort of sensory deprivation tank, where we can allow new thoughts and perspectives to occupy our minds is not be a bad idea.  Why?  Well that’s what’s at the crux of this blog.

The next five years for everyone, will be one giant shifting landscape.  I’m not necessarily talking about the economic climate in the country and on our campuses…although, these days, we are all being asked to do more with less.  I’m talking about the escalating change in communications.  And that doesn’t mean the move from print to online.  That train has already left the station.  If you don’t have a strategy for this, you are already well behind.  I’m not even talking about the social media space, which is already overwhelming many of us.

I’m talking about another shift in digital communications.  Just when many of us are sort of waking up to the idea that our website is an important communications tool, we have this to prepare for.  There is growing movement away from single-source environments on the Web.  Yes that means the care and feeding of your website, soon will not be enough, if we haven’t already started to reach that point.

Witness the explosion of applications for devices like the iPhone and popular programs like Facebook and Twitter.  What do these applications have in common?  They draw from various web tools to create a richer experience for the user.  For example, augmented reality technology allows your phone or your computer to not only see a map of the real world, but to also grab additional information such as the location of subway entrances, the price of houses in that area, or Twitter messages that have been posted nearby.  Wired had a nice piece on this recently.

There are apps that allow students on campus to locate one another, like the app developed by Stanford University. Or Princeton’s reunions mobile site that allows alumni to download an app to their phone with all the reunion information, saving the planet a few trees, the University a few dollars, and putting information at alumni fingertips without having to carry around bulky paper packets.

Needless to say, the potential with these types of apps is limitless.  More importantly this trend of aggregating various types of data into customized efficient packets for users is here to stay and only gaining in potential and popularity.  That means getting a grip on the data you already collect on campus and understanding what it is and how it might be used.  Identifying gaps in your data collection and new data you may want to collect.  Once you’ve done that, the next step is to imagine how to package this data in meaningful ways for your audiences.

Overwhelmed?  I think most of us are.  This whole notion of ones and zeros is a foreign language to most communicators and one I bet none of us thought we’d have to learn on at least a basic level.

I go back to my earlier statement about creating a space in your offices devoid of the past, where you can start to imagine tomorrow and the next day without the past surrounding you.  You’ll need all that white space to map out a plan for how all these new communications tactics will interconnect with each other and how you’ll manage them.  Then empty a drawer in the office where you can dump all the things you used to do.  One day, when you really move, you’ll be ready to let go of them for good!

Information Architecture: A Little Insight Into How I Start Building

Developing a website information architecture for an institution is usually a fun, yet humbling experience. And I swear I’m not just saying the fun part just for this blog! The process is also humbling in the sense that colleges and universities are complex entities, some more so than others. Some are small, some are large, but in their own ways, all are unique, influential, and mean something to a lot of people (students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, community members, etc.). Producing a website characteristically entails having to please many audiences, making difficult decisions, as well as reviewing and revising lots of material. Keeping the big picture in mind at all times is especially important.

When I begin the process, I make a point to start with a clear mind and a completely blank slate. I’ll go as far to say that having a cup of my favorite tea hits the spot. I don’t think about previous architectures I’ve helped make or work from any kind of template. Being able to start fresh is a wonderful feeling. This allows for a lot of freedom at the start of the process, but sooner than you might think, there does come a moment that you’ll be reminded of certain rules and/or limitations you need to abide by. Nobody wants to spend time working on something for no reason and working on something that is going in the wrong direction. An example of a limitation might be trying to get the best result with a difference between expectations. Some people have exaggerated expectations, while some have humble expectations and everything in between. Where is the happy middle ground or compromise? Another limitation is the issue of what pages/copy will be migrated over from the clients’ old site is vital to consider. And another limitation is that universities and colleges continuously seem to change and goals always seem to fluctuate and may go under considerable change as you develop the architecture. This mean you’ve got to mix and match what makes the most sense, while at all times striving to create the best possible and most relevant architecture.

But I’d quickly argue that these limitations are where creativity cultivates (say that 5 times fast). It’s not too difficult for me to remember several instances in which I was faced with having to venture away from initial plans, only to end up with a better end product. Stumbling across an alternative solution to your initial issue while all of a sudden simultaneously enhancing another area of the site? That’s a stellar feeling. Additionally, always keeping in mind basic principles and best practices is a given. Nobody likes to overlook the obvious.

To wrap this up, I’d like to revisit the beginning of the process, even before I sat down to drink my tea. Before the development stage, you obviously have to do your research, which includes a review of their current website (all factors, including navigation and brand presentation), several comparator websites, and analytics/web stats. The other part of the preparation is hearing the voices of campus stakeholders. We go through an intricate interview process with as many institution representatives as possible, everyone from the Presidents to students. This is where the nitty-gritty is learned. Little tidbits from different departments and different personalities can mean the world, both in terms of what needs to be done and inspiration for what could be done. Referring to our notes isn’t at all a trying process, it’s again… here comes that word… fun. Searching for the nuggets or website architecture-pertinent information from our conversations is personally rewarding. Without these intimate, in-person conversations, in my opinion, nothing mind-blowing would get made. Hitting on all the details you can while not compromising the overall integrity, usability, and impression of the site is clutch.

Brand Managers Have Always Been Brand Advocates, But Now It’s Just Getting More Official

According to the consultancy Black Coffee, a Brand Advocate is a consumer who preaches the merits of a given brand when prompted. According to Dave Chaffey, a Brand Advocate is a customer who has favorable perceptions of a brand who will talk favorably about a brand to their acquaintances to help generate awareness of the brand or influence purchase intent.

Where I’m going with this is in both these instances, the advocate is not actually ‘part of the team’. In both these definitions the advocate is the customer. You could even say they’re sitting up in the stands cheering for their team. If you are an institution of higher education, they are your alumni, your community, and yes, your fans in the stands. So when I read this article from Advertising Age about ‘Why It’s Time to Do Away With the Brand Manager’ it got me thinking… Is it? Is it a silly title based on the fact we all know the consumer is the one that truly defines your brands, especially with the constantly changing online social landscape. It’s a two-way street now more than ever before. Is it time to have the title of Brand Manager go the way of the cassette tapes? While the article is a great read, I’m not necessarily convinced. The actual report suggesting this change will be released by Forrester next week.

I believe there is still a place for what we’ve come to know as marketing management. There’s a lot more to be responsible for than what you might find in an ‘advocate’. In the higher ed space, a central figure in your marketing department remains the optimal setup. An employee who’s looking at both the means and the end.

There’s a few other snippets in this article from the report that  got my attention, one being, “…ditching the formal annual budgeting process and upfront media-specific allocation in favor of frequently updated, on-the-fly plans that adapt quickly as conditions change and money earmarked upfront for initiatives, not specific media. In my view, some of this applies to higher education and some doesn’t. I don’t think ditching the annual budgeting process can be done. There are too many logistics that make this a bit on the impossible side for universities. However, while potentially risky in dealing with the unknown, it might be possible to consider planning for initiatives rather than specific media. I’m going to let that thought simmer for a while…

Another passage that was attention grabbing was “…marketing executives should think less about anchoring annual plans around one or two big hits and more about doing many smaller things quickly and adapting based on real-time consumer feedback and other data.” There are still good in having a fairly robust and solid marketing plan in place, but still have areas of flexibility. In today’s environment, changes can happen quickly, but at the same time, the reason for many of those changes can be pinpointed to social networking and analytics. This can result in a university or college taking quick action.

All in all in regards to the position title, we’re just talking about a technicality here. A title is a title. The duties and responsibilities of a position are obviously what really counts. You’re always going to need someone to keep a close eye and make observations and decisions on what to do in the marketing world. You’re still managing the brand and there are still shots to call… you just might have a little less control over the results.

What Students Really Want

I just spent a few days reviewing and analyzing input from a series of recent online focus groups.  The focus groups were with college-bound high school students – second-year to fourth-year – who we had asked to react and respond to four carefully selected college websites.

Online focus groups are a great – low-cost – way to crawl inside the heads of your target audiences and understand how and why they respond to your most important recruitment tool – your website.  You should think about doing these on a regular basis.

The Test
We had the focus group participants visit four comparator websites (plus the client’s site) and react to a series of questions about each.  We selected four very different websites for our prospects to review:

1. One was very sophisticated, with high-concept design using graphic treatment instead of imagery, clear navigation, and an array of multimedia and the latest applications on second-level pages;
2. One was businesslike, with a traditional block layout built around a high-impact, attention-grabbing image and prominent text/image teasers guiding users along focused second-level information paths;
3. One displayed a distinctive and inviting brand personality carefully targeting the priority audience segment with inviting, colorful design and intriguing headlines, followed by an extensive list of links to all kinds of information;
4. One was visually busy, filled to brimming with images and eclectic design and typography spaces, news, spotlights, highlighted by conspicuous, inventive links for specific audience segments.

Which of these would you guess got the highest marks for interest and usability?

Winners and Losers
While each of the sites generated positive comments, two of them jumped out at prospects as far-and-away superior in interest, impact, and usability:  The second and third of the four website described above (I’ll send you the urls we tested if you email me by clicking here)!   Surprised?

The website that communicated a distinctive brand personality (#3 above) created the strongest positive impact and “buzz” with participants.  And to address the obvious objection, it even fared well with those who weren’t in the target segment and didn’t resonant with the personality!  Everyone appreciated the fact that the college conveyed pride and openness about their distinctive world view.  “You know right away what’s important to them, and what they stand for.  That’s great,” said one.

Unfortunately, that website lost its appeal just as fast due to its extensive list of poorly organized links, which required too much reading to be worth the effort!   The students didn’t bother with trying to find information; they simply gave up, and fast.

The second winner in our mini-sweepstakes was the traditionally designed workmanlike site that gained power from a single, high-quality branded image and clean navigation.  Based in large part on the impact of the great image, students said the layout projected sophistication, prestige, and elegance.  And unlike #3, this site kept visitors engaged by presenting a clear, logical information flow.  Students liked the pathways to important information in quick, intuitive steps.

The biggest loser was the sophisticated, high-concept site (#1 above).  High school students are so used to reading and interpreting imagery that the absence of it turned them off.   They immediately judged the site to be boring and unimaginative despite the attempt at a chic graphic style.  Too bad, since most participants weren’t interested enough to get to the next level, which was engaging, attractive, fun, and filled with innovative multimedia attractions.   What a waste!

The moral of our focus group study?

Four basic factors have huge impact within 20–30 seconds of a prospect opening your page on their browser:

1. Conveying your unique brand personality through design, content, color
2. Strong, branded imagery that intrigues and/or conveys emotion
3. Concise, conversational copy that gets to the point fast
4. Clear navigational paths to the information that students want most

OK, so that brings up another crucial question:  What information do prospects want most from a website?

The answer – which may surprise you – will have to wait until my next blog post…stay tuned!

Tiny Turtles and Those Darn Sponsors

Within 10 minutes I came across two topics I couldn’t pass on discussing especially since I touched on both of the subjects recently. The first is about Terp pride at the University of Maryland and the second is about another sponsorship debate at the University of Kentucky’s Sex Week.

First, I came across a recent blog post on The Old College Try: Marketing Higher Ed, about one of my favorite subjects, guerrilla marketing, as mentioned in one of my previous blogs. The University of Maryland is currently implementing an internal marketing tactic to boost Terp pride and calm fears that the popular “Fear the Turtle” calling was going to be retired.  The University hid 570 tiny plastic turtles for students to find throughout the campus. Once a student finds a turtle, they can enter a code found on the plastic figure at the companion Fear the Turtle ‘09 website. Based on the code, a “tile” is flipped on the campus map on the Fear the Turtle website and the student has a chance to win a prize. According to an article in University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper, “prizes range from ice cream cones, Starbucks and Applebee’s gift cards to iPods, T-shirts and tote bags.” There is also a “grand daddy” prize that has yet to be revealed. It was mentioned in the article that posters were placed around the campus to explain the tactic. As of writing this, 461 turtles have been found.

This is an excellent example of using guerrilla marketing that brings in many people in a non-traditional manner. It is fun. It coincides with the university brand. It uses a web-centric approach and also has the ability to share news on social networks. It brings the campus community together. Kudos to the University of Maryland team!

Moving on… last week I wrote about an odd sponsorship of a university athletic program and concerns about how that sponsorship was being portrayed. Before going on, I want to mention that the rest of this post talks about sex and may be uncomfortable to some.

This week, we find yet another odd sponsor of an educational event called Sex Week at the University of Kentucky. The Sex Week says that the week long event is to “increase sexual literacy by initiating an informed, open, and sustained dialog about human sexuality throughout the campus community.” As we all know, this is a great topic for a campus community that has been making the news recently as some universities are taking steps to regulate sexual activity in dorms, according to an article in U.S. News and World Report.

However, I heard in the local news, that one of the sponsors of the event is Pure Romance. The company is an “in-home party company which offers an exclusive line of heighteners, lubricants and bedroom accessories for relationship enhancement.” According to the event website, on Monday October 5, “Pure Romance will tackle myths and misconceptions surrounding bedroon accessories. Discover the truth before getting naked.”  While the sponsorship itself is a bit odd, the session itself may sound a bit more like a sales pitch than an learning opportunity. Also, according to news article published in Kentucky, it was suggested that some of the sponsor’s products promote violence against women.

Both the previous blog post about the athletic sponsor and the sponsor in this blog seem to suggest that there may be a concerning growing fad of allowing any sponsors in without worrying about whether or not the sponsor is actually appropriate to the audience, setting, brands, etc. As long as they have the cash, then it is okay to let them sponsor.

Could it really be possible that the NFL has more standards regarding advertising/sponsorships than some higher ed institutions? Below are NFL advertising guidelines found in their media kit,

The NFL will NOT accept advertising promoting the offering of or making reference to any of the following products or services (partial list)

• Distilled Spirits
• Tobacco Products (including cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, chewing tobacco and snuff)
• Contraceptives
• Feminine Hygiene Products
• Fireworks
• Firearms and Ammunition
• Lotteries
• Gambling (including Horse or Dog Racing and products or services relating in any way to gambling)

Illinois Facing Sophie’s Choice

The decision Illinois is now facing is reminiscent of William Styron’s 1979 masterpiece about a mother’s tragic choice between two horrible options – Sophie’s Choice.  Sometimes there is no good answer.

The Illinois Monetary Award Program, or MAP, is a case in point.

MAP has been helping more than 250,000 Illinois students each year pay for college with up to $2,500 need-based grants per semester.  But MAP ran out of funding on May 15 and won’t be able to fund low-income students in the second half of the 2009-2010 year.  As things stand, students already approved for MAP grants will see them cut in half, and many thousands of eligible students won’t receive any award at all.

This at a time when demand is increasing dramatically.  Last year, average taxable income of MAP recipients was $23,558, and about 77 percent of students receiving MAP grants had a household income of less than $40,000 per year.  This year, the number of eligible recipients is up nearly 25 percent.

The cutbacks would mean that thousands of qualified low-income students would have to scramble for extra income, delay their education, or drop out altogether.

So that’s one side of the story.

The other side of the story is that state budgets – Illinois being among the worst in the country – are running rivers of red.  Governor Pat Quinn complains he inherited a “fiscal calamity” when he took over after former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was ousted in January.  “We had certain fiscal needs that we had to attend to, for example Medicaid, group health insurance for the state of Illinois, adult education,” he noted last week.

While both Democrat and Republican leaders have said that restoring MAP funding is at the top of their agenda, elected officials are stumbling and fumbling over just how that can happen and, as a result, make the powerful higher ed lobby in Illinois happy.   Political expediency has always been an engine of change, especially in Illinois.

The Governor floated the idea of a $1 per pack cigarette tax as a short-term fix (Which entitlement straw, I wonder, will be the one that breaks smokers’ backs?), while hinting at an income tax increase for the long term.  “The ultimate solution,” he says, “is that we need more revenue.”

Where have we heard that before?  California?

Most states face similar budget crunches, with looming promises of additional unfunded federal government liabilities aimed at state capitols in the near future.  We find ourselves in this dilemma for a simple, basic reason: both Washington and state governments have put more on taxpayers’ plates than any of us can afford.  We’ve over-bought and over-committed.

Yes, MAP is a worthy investment in our future. And yes, Illinois students will suffer tough consequences because of the combination of overspending, waste, and poor fiscal management.  And finally, yes, higher ed institutions throughout the state – particularly small independent schools – will take yet another hit if needy students have to drop out or stop out.

Yet increasing the public tax burden to continue funding an incredible array of entitlements is no solution at all.  Especially when, as Governor Quinn has already identified, tax revenues are down and state liabilities for Medicare and a host of other needs are increasing at a terrific rate.  Again, examine the plight of California.

Increasing taxes drives away business, costs jobs, and will ultimately hurt the higher education sector as well as the economy in general.  It is a well-established recipe for disaster.

Brand managers everywhere are well advised to take an active role in guiding their institutions in cutting costs while maintaining quality, increasing efficiency, and developing sustainable non-government revenue streams.

Sophie’s Choice, indeed.

High Flying Advertising and Sponsorships

As an undergrad and grad student in Albuquerque I have always loved this time of year because the beginning of October means it is time for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. This annual gathering of hundreds of balloons is often considered the largest gathering of balloons in the world (about 750) and the most photographed event in the world. I have about 140 movie clips and photos of being there a couple times. Also, the pictures in the post are pictures I have taken during my past visits.

I have attended this event many times over the last ten years. But a hot air balloon flying around that had a banner attached to it for The University of Phoenix a, couple of weeks ago, got me thinking. You can see many balloons with advertising or sponsor logos and message in this post’s pictures: Wells Fargo (the wagon balloon and regular shape balloon), AOL, Star Wars (Darth Vader balloon behind the two bees), Creamland Dairy (cow shape behind the two bees), Oust spray can, Energizer, and various other companies. This is not to mention the other advertising/sponsorships on the ground at the event.

The part of The University of Phoenix balloon that got me thinking is – why does higher ed not sponsor/advertise at large international family-oriented events like the Balloon Fiesta? Events like the Balloon Fiesta, are great opportunities to spread your message to local, national, and international audiences.  Every state has some large family-oriented gathering that will allow advertising/sponsorships. At many events and at a certain price, of course, you can setup your own tent or “corner” to put materials out or do your own semi-related sub-event.

Here are some things to keep in mind when thinking of sponsoring or advertising at large events

• Who is the audience? What is the age, state/country of residence, purpose for coming, how are they getting there, how loyal are they (do they come repeatedly), etc? For example, at the Balloon Fiesta many retired couples travel to the event by RV and stay in a nearby RV park – a growing population that often goes back to classes.  Also, many international and national families travel into the local airport.
• How big is the event? For example, at the Balloon Fiesta, the event overflows off the event grounds and takes over Albuquerque for the entire week. While beer companies really don’t feel it is appropriate or can’t advertise in the event, one beer company places banners around the city and at restaurants welcoming balloon pilots and balloon fans.
• Get into the details of the event. What is the main event, how will it take place, who can see it,  For example, at the Balloon Fiesta, because of the Albuquerque Box, a balloon can stay over the city for a fairly long period of time and can pass over a certain location several times. Also, not only can the people in the event see the balloons, but people all over the city can see it. Imagine if there were advertising on one or more of those balloons. Also, certain roadways become clogged in/out of the event grounds near many billboards.
• How can you tie the main event to your institution? Is there something that makes more sense to advertise. For example, at the Fiesta, your sciences department could host/sponsor a tent at the event for hands-on experiences or experiments about the physics of air balloons for school-age kids or the history department host/sponsor a tent on the history of hot air balloons. Also, several other events take advantage of the large population influx, but are not on the Fiesta grounds or tied to the Fiesta in anyway. Both the Grecian Festival and the Rio Grand Arts Festival take place during the same week and pull in many Fiesta-goers.
• What is the bottom line? What is the goal of advertising or sponsoring the event. Is it to reach the international crowd, increase inquiries, increase applications, etc. Make sure you can measure the effectiveness and put a reasonable goal on the sponsorship. In the physics tent example above,  the goal could be to increase local science related inquiries for a particular age cohort. Then you can determine if you want to sponsor/advertise/hold an outside event again.
• Who else is sponsoring. Guilt by association could play into your advertising/sponsorship if you find yourself in a wrong crowd of fellow advertisers/sponsors. Again, at the Fiesta for example, beer and alcohol is kept to a minimum or is in certain location and not seen widely during the event. This makes the event more family friendly. However, if alcohol is a big deal at the event, you may want to reconsider.

Advertising/sponsoring at a large event could provide your institution an audience from around the country or world and it could be right in your own back yard.