Quincy Sun // Published April 12, 2018 / By Quincy Sun Staff
Quincy College has been selected as a 2018 gold winner in Higher Education Marketing Report’s 33rd Annual Educational Advertising Awards in the “Total Advertising Campaign” category and silver winner for environmental advertising. Quincy College was selected from over 2,250 entries from over one-thousand colleges, universities, and secondary schools from all fifty states and several foreign countries.
The Educational Advertising Awards is the largest, oldest and most respected educational advertising awards competition in the country. This is the second year in a row that Quincy College has been recognized for educational advertising excellence, having won the Gold Award for Best Website in 2017.
The judges from Higher Education Marketing Report reviewed the award-winning Quincy College advertising campaign included a MBTA Train wrap, digital billboards along the Route 93 and Route 3 corridor, radio advertisements, printed postcards, and social media promotion.
Understanding our unique student population is on the go, often relying upon public transportation, the MBTA subway or the commuter line, Quincy College Communications and Marketing tailored the Book it to Class campaign to a unique advertising opportunity; a full MBTA subway train wrap.
The Double Entendre of Book it to Class slogan and visual of a library shelf of books implies higher education but also invokes movement, speed, and travel as well as getting to and from class conveniently which aligns with Quincy College’s mission of affordability, convenience, and ease of access as a commuter school with two campuses along the Rt. 3 corridor in Quincy and Plymouth.
Taggart Boyle, Associate Vice President, Communications and Marketing at Quincy College reflects on the announcement: “This is exciting news as Quincy College continues to diversify its marketing presence in Boston, on the South Shore, and beyond. This campaign was special because Quincy College was the first college in the area to utilize an MBTA full-train wrap inside and out. From there the “Book It to Class” campaign really took off. We are excited to continue to push our creative boundaries to build awareness of Quincy College and the convenient and affordable access to a high-caliber education that Quincy College provides.”
Unlike many higher educational institutions, all of Quincy College’s internal and external marketing and communications is handled internally by a five person team rather than outsourced to a design agency, advertising agency, or public relations team. The Communications and Marketing Team supports design, website management, media relations, and communications for the college as a whole. The Book it To Class was a team effort from brainstorming slogans to design critique to project management and digital implementation.