Central Michigan University Integrative Public Relations Recruitment Video

Client

Central Michigan University

Year

Fall 2022

Deliverables

Storyboarding
Video Campaign Strategy
Video Production

Situation

Throughout our history, Franco has employed several Central Michigan University (CMU) Integrative Public Relations (IPR) program interns and grads. CMU’s IPR program is highly regarded as an excellent program, and it was the first interdisciplinary program in Michigan.

Despite being a program that consistently produces top PR talent, CMU has experienced a decline in students signing an IPR major. According to CMU IPR professors, many factors have contributed to this decline, including an overall decline in enrollment at CMU, the COVID-19 pandemic and as the PR industry has evolved, fewer high school students and incoming freshmen have a solid understanding of what PR is and what career opportunities are available with an IPR degree.

To increase awareness of what makes the CMU IPR program unique from other PR programs in Michigan and the Midwest and to ultimately increase signed IPR majors, CMU turned to Franco to create a video to promote the program.

Approach

Our strategy/approach included the following:

Research

Interviewed three CMU IPR professors leading the awareness-building initiative to fully understand what makes the program unique and what should be conveyed in the video.

Subject Coordination

Provided guidance on IPR alumni to include in the video and coordinated their participation. This included creating a list of questions and discussion topics for alumni to use during their video recording.

Storyboard & Messaging

Developed video storyboard and key messages for professors, current IPR students and alumni to convey throughout the video.

Existing Asset Review

Reviewed several existing videos to identify b-roll to utilize in this video.

Video Shoot

Conducted a one-day video shoot that included interviews with professors, IPR students and alumni and shooting b-roll across campus.

Video Production

Edited the video to tell a compelling narrative, including interviews, voiceovers and b-roll. Collected feedback from multiple people to create a final edited video that could be utilized across various marketing channels and viewed in-person.

The Response

After showing the video to the CMU IPR Council, CMU communications department leadership and students in the program, the feedback was unanimously positive. Everyone who watched the video shared that it effectively conveyed what makes this program so unique and special and will be an important asset for recruiting students to join the program.

The IPR professors leading this video project added the video to the IPR section on CMU’s website and plan to use it when speaking with graduating high school seniors and CMU freshmen who have yet to sign a major. CMU career advisors will also use this video to share with freshmen who haven’t signed a major but show an interest in the type of classes included in the IPR program.