People have countless reasons for going to college: A good job (eventually); Being forced by your parents; Making a difference in the world; It’s just what you do after high school; A ravenous appetite for learning.

But when Normandale college  contacted us about a summer recruitment campaign to boost admissions for Fall of 2008, we weren’t interested in those reasons. We wanted to know students’ reasons for NOT going to college. We wanted our audience to confront their excuses—with a little help from the Normandale community.

And thus, the “What’s your Norm?” campaign was born. From there, we developed the messaging to challenge our audience—Hispanic youth and non-traditional students—to self-identify their reasons for not going to college, and tell the stories of students who overcame their reluctance to attend.

This student-focused campaign coordinated mobile marketing, events, social networking and an enthusiastic student body to drive inquiries to a micro site for more information on Normandale. Visitors selected their own situation from featured profiles and then received the “solution” to their situation, ultimately driving them to the admissions page on Normandale’s website.