EAB, an organization that does higher education consulting, partnered with Keene State’s marketing and communications department a few years ago. Sarah Kossayda, KSC’s marketing director, said they’ve been implemented into a variety of platforms, and are currently working on some new projects together.
One of these projects will be an immersive, 360 virtual tour for prospective students and families. According to Kossayda, the video will have photo galleries, embedded videos and will give prospective students and families a chance to explore campus prior to visiting it in person.
Kossayda said that segments of the tour may be shared through text messages, emails or advertisements and could vary depending on what the individual’s interests are. Recently, they wrapped filming, and she’s been able to view the first draft. Kossayda said that the final version may launch in December.
Another project that’s been happening as a result of the collaboration between KSC marketing and EAB is the “repositioning” of Keene State to prospective students. “We’re figuring out how to match our brand of strong community to strong majors, internships and career readiness,” said Kossayda. “We’ve always talked about them, but our data has recently shown that it’s really been about the community of Keene State. That’s what contributes the most to people’s decisions, and that’s what we’re trying to push.”
Vice President of Student Affairs, Jen Ferrell, said the best thing about Keene’s community was that “even if you don’t know everybody, you’ll never get lost in the crowd.” She said the little things, like people holding doors for each other, general involvement and community-based ideas, have a huge impact. “It’s not just faculty or students, it’s everybody. It’s incredible. If you put out a call for assistance with anything, someone will answer it,” she said.
Ferrell also said that she feels it’s important for prospective students to know that their experience will depend on both academics and outside-of-classroom activities. She said, “We provide a lot of meaningful things for them, whether that’s writing for the Equinox, having a radio show on WKNH, or any number of other organizations, clubs and employment opportunities.”
Ferrell cited the school’s proximity to downtown Keene as a unique connection. She said that businesses being within walking distance has enabled students to get internships, make friendships off-campus and build their networking skills. “I think the marketing team has been working really hard to meet the needs of students and families. And we need those families to understand that their children, their students, can be a part of this community. We can always continue to expand on that,” said Ferrell.
She continued, “We’ve communicated that up front, too. There’s elements where the school does a great job, and there’s elements that are always taking feedback from students and faculty to improve. Students should provide that team [marketing] with as much input as possible as to what got them here.”
Kossayda, who’s been the director of marketing and communications at Keene State since 2022, considers the team’s organic social media as their most powerful asset. She said that many students turn to social media pages just to “get a feel” for the school, and having high-level branding was especially important for the decision process.
“Our team has to be careful in making sure we’re representing the school as it is. We have to be honest and authentic, because we need to make sure that what they [prospective students] hear resonates with what they see. They have to feel that connection, and we don’t want them to feel deceived in any way,” she said.
In regard to offline branding, Kossayda said that her team “loves to get involved” when the school’s budget permits it. While most campus branding is left up to the building owners and departments themselves, there have been some instances of collaboration with athletics and the student center.
KSC’s marketing team also works directly with students to give them experience in the field. Kossaysa said they have 2 interns at the moment, with 1 being a returning intern and the other a recent addition. The team has also welcomed a brand-new graphic designer, and there may be an opening for an internship under that position in the future. “We’ve had business and marketing classes do research projects for us, and that’s always great. We’ve also worked with the film and journalism departments on video productions. We’d definitely like to grow that partnership more, because there’s a lot of opportunity there,” said Kossayda.
As for what she wants prospective students to know about Keene State, Kossayda said that no matter what you’re studying, you will have so much support and the ability to do well. She said, “You’re never just a face or number. You’ll know everyone’s name, and the faculty here will be invested in your success. You can take advantage of that. You can’t go wrong, and that’s so unique to Keene State.”
Kossayda added that the marketing team is more than open to any ideas from students that could be shared across their social media platforms. She said they love finding new content opportunities, and while they can’t be everywhere, they always want to be aware of what’s going on around campus.
Samantha Menard can be contacted at
smenard@kscequinox.com
