Initial Situation
The negative demographic development and increasing migration of well-educated young professionals pose enormous challenges for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In order to secure the education location, we were therefore involved in the development of a long-term PR strategy from 2008 onwards: the campaign "Studieren mit Meerwert". Planned to run for four years, it was the first university marketing campaign of a German state - followed in 2012 by the "MINT" campaign.
Task
It was our goal to make prospective students enthusiastic about Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and its (MINT) course of studies. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was no longer to be perceived as stodgy and East German - but rather modern and as a center of education, which provides highquality studies in various fields. All while living in one of Germany’s most favoured touristic regions.
Idea and implementation
What was important to us was not a broad media response, but a direct approach to the target group. Therefore, we used a target group-specific mix of owned, earned and paid media for both campaigns. We staged the beach chair visual, developed landing pages, magazines and out-of-home campaigns, and attended trade fairs and roadshows. And we used student testimonials on a campaign blog and social media - complimented by search engine and social media marketing.
Result
Increase in admissions by several percentage points at all universities in the state. And higher freshman percentages from western Germany: from 17% in 2008 to 46% in 2011 - and even to 60% in 2014. At the same time, target group surveys showed a positive image change, greater attractiveness of the state and more positive associations among the general public.
Winner International German PR Award 2011, category „Associations and Public Institutions“
Finalist PR Report Awards 2011, category “Longterm PR-Strategy”
Gewinner EMEA Sabre Award 2012, category „Educational and Cultural Institutions“
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