Memorial University shows potential distance education students they don’t need to give up their bunny slippers to earn a degree

The kids are screaming, dirty dishes are piling up faster than yesterday’s diapers, and the PowerPoint presentation is due at 9 a.m. Who has time to make breakfast, let alone churn out a couple of essays? The team behind Memorial University of Newfoundland’s distance education awareness campaign knew it had some convincing to do. Trying to stabilize enrolments in light of changing demographics and continued outmigration, the university needed to persuade potential students they could complete their degree from anywhere.

Partnering with Dory Advertising of St. John’s, Memorial ran newspaper ads in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador to convey the idea of going to school at home. Some featured such comfy images as bunny slippers and a teacup, while the living room and kitchen table figured prominently in others. In a radio spot, mother of four Annie described how she finished her B.A. in the garage: “The kids never think to look for me here.”

The message? It’s never too late to finish your education, even if it’s amidst a heap of unsorted laundry. The campaign recognized that for many people, attending on-campus classes isn’t an option. Consider the typical distance education student: over 25, tends to study in the late evening, and completes assignments in whatever space and time is available—including the office cafeteria, the dining room, and on the bus.

One campaign highlight was the posters of Toronto and Calgary subway maps aboard those cities’ trains. But instead of showing such stops as Eglinton or the Calgary Zoo, destinations were named after Memorial degree programs, such as criminology and social work. “Those who ride the subway are facing many of the lifestyle challenges we believe our learners are,” says Peggy Miller, Memorial’s manager of marketing and business development for distance education and learning. “Because they’re travelling in and out of the city every day, when five o’clock hits and they’re heading home, they don’t necessarily want to stay in the downtown core to do a course.”

While Miller believes Memorial has a bricks-and-mortar advantage—not to mention 40 years of distance offerings—it’s competing against some schools with million-dollar budgets and 100 times more web presence. Working with a budget more akin to a Chevette than a Cadillac, Dory got creative with guerrilla marketing tactics. People didn’t just read about how easy it was to sign on to Memorial@Home; at malls and festivals they watched students working on their degrees in real time. Across downtown Toronto and Halifax, volunteers dressed in cap and gown handed out mock diplomas with information about Memorial@Home and the chance to win prizes.

Donna McCarthy, Dory’s strategic and creative director, believes it has taken years for some people to regard distance education as a legitimate way to get a degree. That’s why Memorial alumni were recruited to hand out the fake diplomas, so they could answer any questions based on their own experience.

Injecting the campaign with humour was tricky; the creative team wanted it to be light-hearted, but it couldn’t detract from the importance of completing a degree. The joke had to remain on the where—not the why—of studying, but there were challenges. “A segment of our target is a bit shy about what they’re doing,” says McCarthy. “Either they didn’t finish their degree or they’re of an age where they’re not sure that it’s appropriate [to complete a degree]. You have to ensure that you’re approachable to get rid of any of that baggage.”

The campaign’s success can be measured by more than just the awards it has won. Distance education registration at Memorial shot up 13.1% after the ads ran, and website hits have increased, including 60 contest submissions from Halifax just one day after a guerrilla campaign stop at the city’s Word on the Street festival in September. Alumni have responded as well, with some ex-pats looking for copies of the subway ads to post in their offices.

The campaign may also help stem Newfoundland and Labrador’s outmigration: A City of Calgary employee who had seen the transit ads but had never visited the province e-mailed the university to say he enjoyed its “fresh approach.” If Memorial@Home offered engineering, he would be on board. He might even be willing to relocate to do it from the comfort of a garage on The Rock.