12 November 7, 2012
University strives for brand awareness BY BO BARTLEY
Administrative News Editor
University administrators are trying to increase the university’s brand awareness in various ways, including YouDee’s participation in the Capital One Mascot Challenge, according to Andrea Boyle, senior editor at the Office of Communication and Marketing. Boyle said the competition, during which college mascots face off each week in a voting contest, gives the university the media attention it needs to boost brand awareness. The university is the only non-Bowl College Series school in the competition, which is made up of schools in the Southeastern Conference, Big Ten Conference and those that get a lot of football coverage, she said. “It’s an even slightly bigger bonus because we don’t get that sort of coverage in the same way that they do,” Boyle said. She said it is difficult to measure the impact of the television, Facebook and YouTube advertisements from Capital One featuring YouDee, but the exposure is important. Besides the Capital One Mascot Challenge, Boyle said two separate types of marketing exist at the university—marketing by the Office of Communications and Marketing and by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. She said OCM focuses on public perception of the university, while the admissions office concentrates their efforts on how the school appeals to prospective students.
Amy Foley, associate director of admissions, said the responsibilities of her department are to communicate the university’s brand and opportunities to prospective students, encourage them to apply to and attend the university. Foley said her department purchases 200,000 names of high school sophomores and juniors, mainly from a standardized testing company called College Board. The names are chosen based on characteristics including standardized test scores and high school and neighborhood characteristics. She said once the profiles are purchased, her department begins a communication process with prospective students that involves traditional mail and email. Foley said she creates all of the materials in-house. “I work with some younger staff members, as well as student assistants, so that the material is fresh and it’s being produced in a medium that I think is going to be most effective with our market,” Foley said. Freshman Jessi Gerowitz said she applied to the university after her guidance counselor recommended her to. She said the university is up-and-coming and has become a popular choice for many graduates from her high school. She said instead of focusing their efforts on the Capital One Mascot Challenge, she said the university should concentrate on alumni relations and word-
of-mouth to promote the school. According to Gerowitz, the university is currently outshining similar schools and thinks marketing administrators should take advantage of that. “When I looked at a lot of
“I’ve been able to see the progress that Delaware’s making and the effort they’re putting into committing themselves to becoming a better school.” -Jessi Gerowitz, freshman other schools, they weren’t able to mention a lot of the things they’re putting their money into right now,” Gerowitz said. “Since I’ve been walking around campus and since I’ve been here, I’ve been able to see the progress that Delaware’s making and the effort they’re putting into committing themselves to becoming a better school.”
Foley said it is important for the university to have an active alumni base and her department tries to take advantage of its alumni as much as possible. She said the university mainly recruits from the northeast region. In smaller communities, it is helpful to have an alumnus contact that is identifiable among prospective students, she said. “It’s important on one level because people are thinking about, ‘Who is going to employ my child?’” Foley said. “And so you want parents and families interacting with successful alumni in those areas.” She said students who are not residents of Delaware must first decide to go to school out of state and, once they make that decision, they must decide to go to the university. That is why, according to Foley, campus tours are crucial to a prospective student’s decision to apply. 70 percent of prospective students who visit the university end up applying, she said. Freshman Savannah Coffey said her stepfather attended the university and convinced her to apply. Although she said she originally had no intentions of going to the university, after her visit she said she “fell in love.” “It’s what I pictured college would look like,” Coffey said. Coffey, who is from Lindenhurst, N.Y., said members of her community in Long Island were impressed she was accepted to the university. She said people in her area generally perceive the university to be a good school with
an active social atmosphere. Boyle said another way she helps to bolster the profile of the university is placing experts from the university in the media when news stories related to their fields enter the news cycle. If she thinks someone at the university can comment on a story, she said she will try to get news outlets to use them as an expert source. Boyle said she also tries to identify research happening at the university and pitch stories to media contacts in order to get coverage. “Like any kind of exposure to something, the more you see it and the more you connect the name of the university with important ideas and important goings-on, the better that reflects on the university and the more highly you think of the university,” she said. Foley said news stories that positively reflect on the university are important for its image. Although the university is respected, she said it will take decades for the school to become a national premier institution. Schools generally regarded as the best in the country will likely maintain that status for years, according to Foley. The university can aim to join their ranks, but she said it will take some good luck and patience. “Give us a few more Nobel prize winners, give us more star quarterbacks,” Foley said, referring to chemistry professor emeritus Richard Heck and university alumnus and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.
Stray cat colonies populate Newark, generate concern BY ANDREA LUNA Staff Reporter
Contributed by Chelsea Johnston
The University of Delaware students see stray cats around Newark.
Senior Matt Ulloa, who lives in the University Courtyards apartment complex, said he has noticed a large number of stray cats outside of the apartments. Ulloa said on one occasion a stray cat followed and climbed into his car. “I think people are getting tired of cats and throwing them away,” Ulloa said. Holly Powers, an alumna who is now studying veterinary medicine at the University of Pennsylvania’s graduate school, said she attributes the large amount of stray cats in the area due to breeding. “A lot of it comes from that the stray cats aren’t spayed or neutered so they keep reproducing,” Powers said. Some cats run away when people let their cats outside, but, unfortunately, sometimes they do not come back, she said. Junior Lizzy Neely has also seen an abundance of cats living near her Haines Street house. “This year we are across from Russell and I’ve seen five stray cats, at least three are adults,” Neely said.
During the summer, Neely and her roommates had four kittens living on their property. Neely says they took two of the kittens to the vet and one of her friends’ adopted the two. Neely does not agree with the idea of adopting strays, however, since she is aware of the many diseases they can carry. Leanne Kress, a volunteer coordinator at the Delaware Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to the Animals, said she believes the strays are a result of both unsprayed and unneutered cats breeding as well as owners abandoning their former pets. Since the Delaware SPCA opened in 2000, they have neutered 15,000 dogs and cats, according to Kress. Powers also warned students against being too friendly with the stray cats. She said she thinks many residents believe they are helping the stray cats by feeding them and giving them water. However, she said cats are not vulnerable creatures and can adapt to a life outdoors. Kress believes strays frequent Newark in larger numbers since food is more accessible because of students and businesses. “The [former] Chrysler plant used
to have a ton of cats and the rescue would come and trap them,” Kress said. “They are trying to find different resources to survive.” Powers believes people who feed stray cats will keep them coming back. She also said stray cats may fight over the food residents provide for them, so it may cause more problems than solutions. Powers suggests residents call a shelter to care for the stray cat. Ulloa said he is worried about the safety of the cats on campus. “Cats themselves can get injured, they could get run over by a car, or by other animals,” Ulloa said. Kress said the Delaware SPCA is doing its best to trap cats, spay them and then release them back into the area. “We don’t get funding so when we are full, we are full,” Kress said. “We try to make sure that we will spay and neuter every cat we have here, but we are all at capacity doing the best we can.” Powers said she believes people should support the programs that spay and neuter cats, since this will decrease the amount of stray cats on the streets. Another way residents can help is to adopt the strays, Powers said.