Higher ed is a beast. Between the different audiences (undergraduate, graduate, executive education) and wrangling faculty to get onboard with your idea (versus turning everything into a 50-page report), there’s always a lot going on. That’s why since I left in 2013 (blame the husband), I’ve continued to work on tons o’ projects with the marketing team.

AIRPORT ADS
Challenge: The ad agency the College worked with on media buys delivered a campaign for airport ads that tied into the current “redefine entrepreneurship” campaign branding. But the Babson team wasn’t loving the copy, so they brought me in to come up with some options.

Solution: The first thing I noticed was the lines didn’t tie to the location: an airport. Seeing this as an opportunity to have some fun with entrepreneurship definitions that play off airport and travel lingo, I came up with 3 out of the 4 lines that were ultimately used in the campaign. The below ads were placed at BOS, SFO, MIA, and SJC and tied into the larger, ongoing campaign of redefining entrepreneurship.

Results: Increased brand awareness, particularly in Miami and San Francisco, where the college had recently expanded with new campuses.

#LoveBabson NOTEBOOK
Challenge: Create a brochure to hand out at an Accepted Student Day for undergraduate students.

Solution: Another. Brochure. Really?! With students receiving so much literature about colleges, I recommended we turn it into something more useful: a notebook. End result: we held an Instagram contest for current students to show why they love the school and used the top photos in the notebook. It’s a far more fun way to get teenagers information than via stuffy academic speak.

NEWSPAPER AD
Challenge: The Falcons won the AFC championship. Arthur Blank, the team’s owner, is a Babson alum so there was major opportunity to show support. Of course, to keep it relevant, we needed to turn it around within the hour.

Solution: Keep the congratulations simple and straightforward while expanding the reach of the school and its mission to redefine entrepreneurship. This piece ran in Atlanta-area newspapers (full-page spread) following the win.

VIDEO
Challenge: Create a script for Babson Executive Education’s new Interactive Case Study offering.
Solution: The script speaks directly to the audience, business leaders, and explains what the case studies are and how they’ll benefit them and their organizations: turn challenges into creative action. It also includes key language like action-based learning and bridge gap between theory and practice.

WEBPAGES
Challenge: Create a page that clearly explains the concept of Entrepreneurial Thought and Action, Babson’s methodology for teaching entrepreneurship.

Solution: Listening and reading various materials where Babson leaders speak about ET&A, I organized all that information into a more linear, streamlined explanation. Subheads help skimming readers understand the key components of ET&A, while the copy underneath expands on the concept so readers know exactly what this methodology is and why it’s so important.

Challenge: Pretended you’re the school’s beloved Beaver mascot.

Solution: Step one: Research fun beaver facts. Step two: Come up with the voice of Biz E Beaver. Step 3: Have a ton of fun writing as a beaver.

CONTENT

After leaving Babson in late 2013, I’ve continued to work as a freelancer for overflow copywriting projects. Lately, I’ve focused on creating content for the school’s Entrepreneurship of All Kinds site on a variety of topics related to entrepreneurship. Articles include research and interviews (all conducted by me), writing in a clear, professional tone.

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