University of Detroit Mercy Flash Micro Site - Case Study
Raising money in today's tight economy relies on getting noticed. Exposure can happen in many ways but sometimes it takes doing the unexpected to make the greatest impact. University of Detroit Mercy approached Advantage Design Group with a goal and idea to reach recently graduated alumni members (Graduates Of the Last Decade - GOLD alumni) in efforts to raise money for their annual fund. UDM had some very social administration who had become legendary around campus for their outgoing and engaging personalities. ADG and UDM came up with a plan to capitalize on their campus celebrities' faces and voices integrated with a nontraditional animation style to relate to their younger alumni population. The results won accolades among the advertising community, winning a 2009 Gold Addy followed by an award for Best in Show for the Interactive category in the same 2009 Addy competition. The coordination of UDM and ADG allowed for a successful and direct message distributed across many media, as well as through social technology like YouTube.
A micro site was created using the flash animated presentation and was launched from a link off of their main site. In addition, a mini disc version was created for direct mail and handouts. This Flash presentation was also optimized and saved as a flash movie file and posted on YouTube by the Alumni Association and again by alumni who found the piece entertaining. From a broader perspective the humor of the piece created a viral aspect to the piece causing alumni to show it to others and pass the disc or links on to others. The piece succeeded in reuniting alumni with what was happening around campus and how things have been affected by contributions. Funny and flexible UDM and ADG created a piece that was recognized by the alumni, current students and the advertising community as something to be noticed and be remembered.
