I'm getting settled in to listen to @IAmJennyPetty and the team at @UWyonews as they talk about their awesome "The World Needs More Cowboys" campaign. Buckle up, Twitter. #AMAHigherEd

Wyoming had never worked with an outside agency before this campaign. They eventually chose @VictorsnSpoiIs, who, interestingly, had never worked with a higher education institution before, but they wow'd Wyoming with an unprompted spec video. #AMAHigherEd

Oh, you want to see the video? You're in luck. It's right here (and it's good.)

#AMAHigherEd

The video was an instant hit with internal audiences. But the marketing team at Wyoming wanted to make sure it also resonated with target audiences (prospective students.) In particular, they weren't sure if the image of the cowboy on a horse would resonate. #AMAHigherEd

Specifically, there were concerns that cowboys would be too narrow an image. Historians say that cowboys in Wyoming were actually quite diverse. But perception is reality, and most people think cowboys are white dudes in cowboy hats. Not exactly inclusive. #AMAHigherEd

The campaign creative tested well with external audiences, but another audience was NOT bought in.

If you guessed faculty, come collect your prize.

Despite pushback, the president was supportive of the campaign, so the marketing team pushed on with creative. #AMAHigherEd

But faculty were just the start. Marketing ran into another speed bump w/ the campaign. Notably, creative differences with their ad agency, which wanted to change brand colors and use unlicensed fonts, then told Wyoming they were shutting down that year.

Yeah.

#AMAHigherEd

But wait! We're not done with faculty. One faculty member went to the media with their disagreements. It blew up. The president started getting cold feet. You could feel this thing slipping away. #AMAHigherEd

Luckily, Wyoming's audience came out en masse to support the brand and the campaign, overwhelming the president's office with messages of supports. The campaign had essentially started, even though the marketing team hadn't launched it yet. #AMAHigherEd

This is great, right? No. People were so excited, they started creating their own campaign collateral. (Not approved obvi.)

Quickly, Wyoming's board of trustees met, and topic number one was getting the campaign officially approved to launch. #AMAHigherEd

How has the campaign performed?

1. Anthem vid >1M times
2. Diverse applicants have increased in every. single. category.
3. First-ever partnership with Athletics
4. Record year for annual giving through the UW Foundation.

So yeah, prettay prettay prettay good. #AMAHigherEd

There are now 143 items licensed for "The World Needs More Cowboys." You can GET A CAMPAIGN-THEMED CASKET.

The local credit union has a campaign-themed credit card, and a song was even written about it.

#AMAHigherEd

What's next?

Wyoming is in year 2, and the focus is on storytelling within the pillars of the brand.

With momentum from the campaign, marketing has been able to grow its budget and headcount, which is helping them double down on campaign content. #AMAHigherEd

takeaways:

1. A strong campaign can overcome obstacles
2. Brand needs to resonate with "smallest viable market"
3. Early buy-in is key to launching a brand shift.

@IAmJennyPetty adds another: even when you do everything right, things can still fall apart. #AMAHigherEd