U wins top award for Driven to Discover campaign

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Sidewalk clings--featuring answers to intriguing questions--have been a visible on-campus component of the Driven to Discover campaign.

Photo and home page image by Patrick O'Leary

By Rick Moore

July 8, 2008

If you live in the greater Twin Cities area, you might recall snippets from the light-hearted television ads highlighting University of Minnesota research--perhaps Mark Bee reaching through reeds and grabbing a frog from a swamp at the end of a commercial on hearing research, or three young girls arguing over an ice cream cone in a spot highlighting Nicki Crick's studies on aggression.

And chances are even better that you remember the signature maroon-and-gold search bar and the tagline, "So the search continues."

It turns out that this marketing effort designed to leave a lasting impression about the U has done just that, and not only with a local audience.

The University of Minnesota's "Driven to Discover" campaign was recently awarded the Gold "Effie" in the Government/Institutional category by the American Marketing Association (AMA). The "Effie," a globally recognized award, honors client and agency teams who tackled a marketplace challenge and achieved measurable results. The University teamed up with the Minneapolis-based Olson agency on the winning campaign.

"We are thrilled to receive this recognition," said Ann Aronson, assistant vice president, University Relations. "In the communications world, it's one of the most prestigious awards to receive because it's an award for what marketing is meant to do, and that's achieve results."

The Driven to Discover campaign has showcased the U's commitment to discovering solutions to global problems, and it has engaged the public along the way. The innovative TV and print ads asked people to submit their single greatest questions, and matched them with answers from faculty active in the search.

"Our goal was to enhance public perceptions, which is hard to do and usually takes years to accomplish," says Aronson. "We've been able to achieve considerable increases in public awareness and understanding of what we do at the U with our research, education, and public engagement."

From the launch of the campaign in September 2006 through August of 2007, nearly 4,000 questions were submitted to the Driven to Discover Web site. On the first day of the campaign, Web site traffic spiked 11 percent, with an additional 20,000 visits to the university's home page, www.umn.edu. In addition, the U reported record fundraising in 2007--a 39 percent increase from the previous year.

"Our goal was to enhance public perceptions, which is hard to do and usually takes years to accomplish," says Aronson. "We've been able to achieve considerable increases in public awareness and understanding of what we do at the U with our research, education, and public engagement."

Indeed, according to results from an annual survey of Minnesotans, the public's understanding of what a research university is and how the University of Minnesota is changing lives has grown significantly. Nearly half of Minnesotans recalled campaign messages, and solid majorities saw the underlying themes--conducting research to improve lives, discovering cures for diseases, and finding solutions for world problems--as important goals for the University.

Aronson points out that the competition for the Effie awards was stiff, and that corporate contenders and products included Coke, Dove, the Nintendo Wii, and the Apple iPhone. "We were competing in an institutional category but still, this was the crème de la crème."

The gold award was an additional coup for the U. While silver and bronze awards were given in all categories, entrants had to score above a certain threshold of points to be awarded a gold. The judges represented corporations and ad agencies from across the country.

The awards were presented last month at a ceremony in New York. The University of Minnesota is the first higher education entity to win in the Government/Institutional category since 1996.

The Driven to Discover campaign is about to enter its third year, and the University plans to broaden its scope across greater Minnesota. To read more about the campaign and to view print advertisements and television ads, visit Driven to Discover.