“Win with UPEI” contest turns $10,000 worth of ads into bursaries for students
UPEI recently launched an innovative online contest that will hand out $10,000-originally slated to purchase advertising-to students in the form of bursaries.
The 'Win with UPEI' contest website, upei.me, asks visitors to vote on their favourite student project, with faculties receiving a percentage of bursary dollars to award to student applicants interested in pursuing community projects at home or around the world. A second component of the contest allows anyone with a connection to the Island University to enter a story, photo or video online for a chance to win prizes.
The idea for the contest came about when staff in UPEI's Department of Integrated Communications was discussing the best use of limited advertising dollars to highlight UPEI's numerous achievements and community involvement. Realizing that the high cost of traditional advertising would allow a very limited campaign with a relatively short shelf life, the staff looked for possibilities provided by social media options such as the web, Facebook and Twitter.
Glenda Clements, Director of Integrated Communications, says, 'UPEI is proud of our students, faculty and staff and their local, national and international community involvement. We knew we could represent our ‘University Island connections'through traditional advertising, but we have a big story to tell, interesting in its diversity and detail, so we wanted to create a more compelling, long-term and interactive platform.'
Like a growing number of advertisers (for example, PEPSI recently dropped its Super Bowl television advertising budget in favour of cause marketing), UPEI turned to an online approach where 'consumers' become the mass media that carry the message. This audience engagement actually replicates the message being delivered in traditional media, so the 'Win with UPEI' online contest was created to distribute, to its student and prospective student audiences, the resources that would traditionally be spent on an ad campaign to reach the same people.
'It's fitting that a personal university like UPEI would encourage conversation and storytelling while providing an opportunity to support the further good work of community members,' Clements adds. 'By encouraging others to tell their own UPEI stories, giving them the means to redirect advertising dollars to bursary dollars for students - who will then continue the community engagement cycle - now that's a message!'
The results certainly demonstrate the effectiveness of experimenting with this form of information delivery versus traditional advertising methods alone. So far, the 'Win with UPEI' contest has received 5,794 votes and the Faculty of Education is leading the voting with $2,564 in bursary dollars.
Anyone entering their story, through words, photos, or videos, has the chance to win $1,000 for Best Entry, $1,000 for Most Referred Entries, $500 and UPEI Panther Dolls in random draws. 'Win with UPEI' continues until midnight AT, April 30, 2010. For more information, visit universityisland.ca or upei.me.
