Advertising Campaign
FAES: Metro Campaign Reaches Beyond Science
Background
The Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) Graduate School at NIH in Bethesda, Md., offers nearly 200 courses annually at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. FAES courses are certified by the Maryland Higher Education Committee and accepted for credit at most universities. Because a majority of the curriculum is based in the biomedical field and taught by distinguished NIH experts, the school enjoys a respected reputation throughout the scientific community. This status, while valuable on many levels, often leads to the incorrect assumption that FAES courses are entirely scientific in subject matter and therefore only intended for those in the medical field. In actuality, the curriculum covers a wide range of topics and is open to the general public, in addition to members of the NIH community and other federal employees. FAES wanted to increase awareness of the general public's access to its courses, specifically drawing attention to non-science offerings such as English-as-a-second-language (ESL) classes and foreign language studies.
JDG's Solution
JDG was tasked with developing print advertisements for the Metro (the D.C. area's commuter train system) to increase enrollment in the FAES Graduate School. Three versions of the ad were developed: a Metro diorama, a Metro train card, and a 2-sheet poster. The ads were designed to evoke the feeling of motion and action. The intent was to connect with busy professionals looking to advance their careers and skills through education.
Our team's creative approach combined a dynamic headline ("Courses of Action") and a warm color scheme with images of people in motion. The focus was not to show scientists hovered over Petri dishes and microscope but, rather, to feature average people, maybe on their way to work, or perhaps en route to meetings. As a result, the energetic theme resonated throughout the campaign.
The final product was a visually appealing solution that catered to our target audience by:
- Showing ordinary people.
- Emphasizing benefits of classes.
- Heightening awareness of range of classes.
Results
The FAES Graduate School enjoyed a 12 percent increase in enrollment this fall, compared to 2006 figures, thanks in great part to the Metro campaign. The school's web site witnessed a 40 percent jump in traffic as a result of the advertisements.
