Blog

Jan 23 2012 - 5:32pm

Last September, PlattForm produced a standout commercial for Brown Mackie College’s “One” campaign. It broke the mold for educational spots—something we strive to do at PlattForm. To learn from it, we dissect the commercial here with the help of Writer/Director Caleb Brattrud and Senior Creative Editor Scott Reece, the creative duo who created and produced the spot. What was the vision for the commercial? The commercial dramatizes the fact that there are obstacles in life to pursuing education. In the spot, these obstacles are words that are pushed away.

Jan 23 2012 - 4:30pm

2011 review. 2012 outlook

Let’s take a minute and look back at 2011 and the year that was. If there was one word that stands out and was a major area of focus, that one word would be compliance. Many schools added compliance officers and there was a greater focus on transparency. Here at PlattForm, our compliance team expanded and we added in-house general counsel. In addition, a compliance section was added to our portal, EduAnalytics. By using the portal, clients have access and full transparency to their affiliate landing pages and can participate in conversations around compliance issues.

Jan 16 2012 - 1:40pm

SOPA/PIPA: What Does This All Mean?

We have been following the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA, in the House of Representatives) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA, in the Senate) very closely ever since their inception into Congress months ago. In recent days, things really heated up and will continue to simmer this week. Several lnternet giants threatented to take their sites down in protest to the bills. Although it appears that the House of Representatives will end up blocking the SOPA bill, the PIPA bill is still being considered in the Senate.

Jan 10 2012 - 2:51pm

I’m not a spokesman, but I play one on TV

As Senior Writer/Director here at PlattForm, I spend most of my time behind-the-scenes saying things like, “Action!” and “Cut!” But in a former life, I spent my time in front of the camera as a local television entertainment reporter. You name a star, I’ve likely interviewed them. In the past few years, though, I’ve been bitten by the spokesperson bug. I’ve had to shill everything from boots to belts to swimsuits to Xmas trees.

Dec 27 2011 - 3:53pm

The role of vanity URLs in DRTV spots

Multi-channel consumption The convergence of direct response television ads with various tracking phone numbers, URLs and even short codes has created a complicated environment for educators. If someone calls a dedicated phone number, it’s very easy to attribute a response. But, it’s not that simple anymore. Television viewership has grown, in fact, according to Nielsen, it is up 22 minutes per month over last year. But people are consuming TV differently. It’s very much consumed as a companion medium.

Dec 20 2011 - 1:14pm

Is Your School Ready for .XXX Domains?

The recently approved XXX domains went live on December 6th, with over 100,000 pornography sites and according to an article on The Higher Ed CIO, many colleges were not prepared. What does it all mean?

Dec 15 2011 - 5:24pm

PlattForm's Holiday Event

PlattForm Advertising held its annual holiday event at the Ritz Charles in Overland Park, Kan., on Dec. 9. Many PlattForm employees were honored for their contribution to the company that began in the basement of a suburban house and grew to become Kansas City’s No. 1 ad agency. Three employees were singled out and rewarded for their hard work and dedication: Kris Little was promoted to Vice President of Interactive Marketing, Ashley Lopez was named the overall winner in an employee-based SERVICE award competition, and Erin Cockman was awarded "Unsung Hero."

Dec 12 2011 - 5:36pm

Webinar offers findings on enrollment

Last week, PlattForm's Tracy Kreikemeier and Leads360's Martin Lind presented, “Inquiry and Enrollment Trends – An in-depth investigation into the impact of new regulations on contact rates and enrollment.” Click here to download a recording of the webinar and presentation. Or read on for a summary of the webinar’s findings.

Dec 8 2011 - 6:59pm

Keep "social" in social media

That’s the advice of KU Professor Kerry Benson who lectured on social media yesterday morning at the KU Regents Professional Edge Breakfast Speaker Series. Nobody lectures like Kerry Benson. If there’s something like a professional bucket list, a Benson lecture belongs on your list. She’s that good. She started by showing this youtube video to stress that point that words matter, words have power. Benson’s point was that we need to be human and keep “social” in social media. And if we do, something truly meaningful happens. It was captured on this slide.

Dec 6 2011 - 11:39am

Net Price Calculator. Showcase it!

In her blog post, “Good Luck Finding a Net Price Calculator,” Lynn O’Shaughnessy who writes The College Solution for U.S. News, opinioned that schools are making it hard to find their net price calculators on their websites. To prove her point, she randomly selected six schools and then pretended to be a prospective student’s parent searching for the school site’s net price calculator. She found it very hard to find the calculators and concluded:

Blog

Pages