Across the field and across the state

The campaign, called Across the Field and Across the State, was a video-driven campaign that called out various ways that Ohio State contributes to bettering the lives of Ohioans. The various iterations of the video juxtaposed football imagery with images that highlight key areas of state contribution including economic development, improving water quality and expanding health care, among others. 

The first phase of the campaign launched in the week leading up to the football game against Michigan and consisted of social media and YouTube videos of different formats and lengths being used as a tool to drive viewers to a webpage featuring more detailed examples of how the institution serves the state. 

During this first iteration of the campaign, we saw that of those we reached via social media paid advertising, a small percentage viewed the first 3.5 seconds of the video and an even smaller percentage viewed the entire 15 second video. While the video had more success when served to viewers via Google Ads, we still identified areas of opportunity to improve with future paid advertising.

The second phase of the campaign was deployed in conjunction with Ohio State’s College Football Semifinal appearance against Georgia. With learnings from the first phase of the campaign informing the second phase, the team produced a revised approach that consisted of shorter video and more focused messaging that centered on how the med center and university help improve the health of Ohioans. This campaign drove audience members to a landing page created through a partnership between the Office of Marketing and Communications and the med center marketing teams. 

During the second phase of the campaign, we saw the value of customizing videos based on the location of the advertisement. A traditional, commercial style video was created for YouTube and TV screens and a high energy, social-style video was created for social media channels. 

These mini-campaigns provided great learnings and will help inform how we continue to leverage the attention of high-profile sporting events to convey messages about how Ohio State is contributing to Ohio citizens.