For decades, the LSU school colors of purple and gold have represented the passion and excellence of Louisiana's flagship university.
With this in mind, LSU set out to develop an undergraduate recruiting campaign embracing those iconic colors to leverage its established athletic brand awareness and generate exposure for the university's academic excellence.
For more information on the "Love Purple/Live Gold" campaign, along with all stories that rise to LSU's Gold Standard, visit www.lsu.edu/gold.After more than a year of research and development, the result is "Love Purple/Live Gold," one of the most ambitious undergraduate recruiting efforts in university history. Tricia Milford-Hoyt, director of marketing for the LSU Office of Communications & University Relations, has learned through years of research that excellence in one area can be used to promote excellence in all.
"A widely accepted tenet in higher education is that a recognizable and successful athletic program can serve as the 'front porch' to expand awareness of a university," said Milford-Hoyt. "This means that if an athletic program is well-known and popular, it invites high school students and the general public at large to take a closer look at everything else the university has to offer."
Upon surveying both in- and out-of-state high school students over the course of 2009 and 2010, results showed that the three words both groups associated most with LSU were "big," "spirited" and "athletic." Survey results also indicated that both groups of students had neither a negative nor positive impression of LSU academics, but simply had little overall knowledge of the subject. This presented an excellent opportunity to educate students, their parents and the general public on the benefits of an LSU education while embracing established notions.
"They just didn't know," said Milford-Hoyt. "So, to use a sports metaphor, LSU was neither playing from ahead nor behind on building our academic brand equity. But, on the plus side, our positive athletic brand equity certainly gave us home field advantage."
Based upon the initial survey results, preliminary campaign concepts were developed and tested with student and parent focus groups throughout Louisiana, as well as major out-of-state recruiting markets. A task force comprised of LSU faculty and staff members from across campus also provided campaign input, as did a group of LSU alumni, many of whom were marketing and advertising professionals.
The resulting "Love Purple/Live Gold" campaign debuted in New Orleans and North Louisiana publications in early August. The full campaign rolls out nationally during the LSU vs. North Carolina football game, integrating print, web, direct mail, television, radio, social media and outdoor advertising.
The idea is that "Purple" signifies the collective school spirit common to all students, alumni, faculty and staff, including the culture and unique traditions of Louisiana. The "Gold" represents LSU's unyielding dedication to greatness and prestige at all levels … through academics, athletics, community service and otherwise.
Together, "Love Purple/Live Gold" presents LSU as the ultimate student experience, transforming their lives by offering excellence at every level.
Herb Vincent, LSU associate vice chancellor for communications and senior associate athletic director, expressed how pleased he was at how the entire university came together to create "Love Purple/Live Gold," calling it a "completely collaborative effort."
"In all of my years at LSU, the process of developing this campaign has been one of the most fascinating to witness," said Vincent. "From the student focus groups, to the task force, to the community experts who lent their talents, to the administrative support, to the staff who implemented the campaign, it's been a true team effort."
