When The School of Physical Education and Tourism (PETM) at IUPUI first approached us about helping them celebrate their 150th anniversary, I thought the same thing I always think ... an anniversary is like a birthday – everyone has one. What could we do differently to help PETM celebrate and get recognition for the amazing work of their students, staff, faculty, alumni and partners?
After a morning of brainstorming with key members of PETM’s staff, we outlined several story ideas, but learned there were limited lines of communication. Although there were unlimited story ideas, they were challenged by getting the stories and finding ways to share the stories. Challenge accepted!
CVR pitched the idea of #150DaysofImpact to PETM, and they were interested in developing it. The campaign, which we set up as a customized Tumblr blog, launched on Oct. 1. For the next 150 days, PETM collected stories, photos and videos that celebrated their long history as Indiana’s oldest school of physical education, as well as highlighted stories of engagement, innovation and education.
The campaign was a success!
- 3K visitors to the site (2K unique) - the site was the #1 non-IU referral to the PETM website
- 4,400 pageviews
- Facebook organic reach grew 365%, and page likes grew 17%
Anecdotally, everyone from students to faculty to industry colleagues commented to PETM on how much they enjoyed the campaign. Even the Dean learned new things about the school and its programs. The campaign has been recognized on campus and received recognition through IUPUI’s Marketing blog. Students and alumni (and their families) were excited to share their stories on social media and a new sense of PETM pride was created.
Today marks the 150th day! Congratulations to the PETM team for executing an incredibly successful campaign. We appreciated the opportunity to develop the campaign for you, write some of your early stories and create the final celebration video.