University spends $35,000 on open house advertising

Thousands of potential Concordia students filed into both campuses this past Saturday as the University held its annual open house. The event capped off an approximately month long advertisement campaign promoting Concordia to prospective students that amounted to total of $35,000 in ads, according to Chris Mota, Concordia’s director of communications.

The campaign included a heavy presence of ads on the Montreal metro, including posters and projected videos, as well as pamphlets sent to areas just outside of Montreal, and smaller ads promoting the event in post-secondary and CEGEP agendas.

This year’s open house saw approximately 3,500 students visit the Sir George Williams and Loyola campuses to talk to representatives of numerous programs. The number of attendees that visited this year jumped from the last open house which only brought in about 2,500 people.

Organizers were very pleased with the number and called this weekend’s open house the most successful ever.

Eirma Silva, who attended this past weekend’s open house, said she noticed the advertisements at her school and on the metro. “They were good and I saw a lot of them in different places,” she said. Silva added that she was also planning on attending open houses at McGill, UQAM and U de M.

Last year proved to be an exception to the typical open house schedule followed by Concordia. After a decision to move the set date of open houses from the end of January to sometime in the fall, the university decided to hold two in 2009, one in January and a second in November. This assured that there would not be an 18-month stretch between open houses. Both of the open houses were held in separate fiscal years but featured a smaller budget than previous years, Mota explained. Consequently, this year’s open house was given the same overall budget as those held November and January of last year.

Shoshana Kalfon, academic counselor for student academic services, explained that the open houses are not only to attract potential students but also to provide information.

“I think the admissions are going to come in regardless of the open house,” said Kalfon. “But it allows people to meet with somebody and have their questions answered or to clarify the admission process.”

Mota said that “[Concordia] considers the [open houses] money well spent” and that they are “an effective recruitment tool for the university.” But Mota added that the budget for the open houses “will likely be cut again.”

Thousands of potential Concordia students filed into both campuses this past Saturday as the University held its annual open house. The event capped off an approximately month long advertisement campaign promoting Concordia to prospective students that amounted to total of $35,000 in ads, according to Chris Mota, Concordia’s director of communications.

The campaign included a heavy presence of ads on the Montreal metro, including posters and projected videos, as well as pamphlets sent to areas just outside of Montreal, and smaller ads promoting the event in post-secondary and CEGEP agendas.

This year’s open house saw approximately 3,500 students visit the Sir George Williams and Loyola campuses to talk to representatives of numerous programs. The number of attendees that visited this year jumped from the last open house which only brought in about 2,500 people.

Organizers were very pleased with the number and called this weekend’s open house the most successful ever.

Eirma Silva, who attended this past weekend’s open house, said she noticed the advertisements at her school and on the metro. “They were good and I saw a lot of them in different places,” she said. Silva added that she was also planning on attending open houses at McGill, UQAM and U de M.

Last year proved to be an exception to the typical open house schedule followed by Concordia. After a decision to move the set date of open houses from the end of January to sometime in the fall, the university decided to hold two in 2009, one in January and a second in November. This assured that there would not be an 18-month stretch between open houses. Both of the open houses were held in separate fiscal years but featured a smaller budget than previous years, Mota explained. Consequently, this year’s open house was given the same overall budget as those held November and January of last year.

Shoshana Kalfon, academic counselor for student academic services, explained that the open houses are not only to attract potential students but also to provide information.

“I think the admissions are going to come in regardless of the open house,” said Kalfon. “But it allows people to meet with somebody and have their questions answered or to clarify the admission process.”

Mota said that “[Concordia] considers the [open houses] money well spent” and that they are “an effective recruitment tool for the university.” But Mota added that the budget for the open houses “will likely be cut again.”

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