UMW’s on TV!

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UMW’s new commercial will reach prospective students in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas.

You may have noticed we’ve ramped up our advertising. UMW students are sharing their real Mary Washington stories online, in full-page newspaper ads, and on mall displays, billboards, and bus wraps.

Our great minds are turning heads from Norfolk all the way up to Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland.

This semester, we took our branded marketing campaign and the momentum it’s gained since its launch in 2011, and we moved it up a notch. UMW’s first-ever TV commercial hit airwaves this fall in two of our top target areas – Richmond and Hampton Roads. Catch us through the end of the year on networks like ABC Family, Comedy Central, NBC, MTV, and VH1. Or cheer us on during Monday Night Football on ESPN.

With the potential for reaching more than a million people in the two markets, Mary Washington’s 26-second TV debut pulled out all the stops, calling in top industry talent from across the country. Director Ineke Caycedo flew in from Educational Marketing Group (EMG) in Colorado. Cinematographers David Fuller and Erik Burbank came from Maine. And UMW’s own Madeline LeCuyer ’11, a Broadway makeup artist, ensured that everyone was powdered and primped for high-definition viewing.

Lights, cameras, and backdrops, along with props borrowed from all over campus, turned the Hurley Convergence Center’s digital auditorium into a powerhouse production site for 48 hours. A cast of eight students, majoring in everything from computer science to theater – the same ones you’ll see on our bus wraps and billboards – spent two long glitzy days in the spotlight.

Next came the editing. Director of Marketing Malcolm Holmes and Assistant Director of Design Services Maria Schultz flew to Colorado to help EMG sift through hours of footage.

They pieced the spot together like a puzzle, adding music and sound bites for just the right Mary Washington feel. We hope you’ll view the finished product and agree.