The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) is planning a statewide marketing campaign aimed at changing the public’s perception of the institution as too elitist and leftist. The goal is to garner more state funding and popular support, according to documentation requesting bids for a new marketing contract.
The university aims to challenge misapprehensions about higher education, and its success will be gauged by a favorable state budget for 2023. The total budget for advertising production and airing is estimated to be around $1 million. UW-Madison spokesperson Kelly Tyrrell has stated that the campaign would be privately funded.
The key focus areas for the campaign include certain legislative districts, with an aim to foster more support among Wisconsinites, particularly influencer groups such as community leaders and elected officials. The use of an external company to produce the campaign, including video and digital adverts, marks typical practice for the university.
This campaign comes on the back of the Universities of Wisconsin system losing $32 million in funding in 2023, leading to a $7 million cut for UW-Madison. The budget cutback, initiated by Republican legislators, resulted from a standoff concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
The UW system eventually regained part of the funding for training students in certain degree programs, plus additional financial support for a new engineering building and dorm renovations at UW-Madison. In return, the campuses had to freeze the number of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) positions and UW-Madison had to eliminate a program designed to recruit and support faculty and staff of color.
UW-Madison’s new campaign follows its “Can’t Stop a Badger” initiative, which was launched in 2020 to emphasize the university’s endeavours during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: UW-Madison plans marketing push to counter ‘elitist’ perception.
