As online higher education rises in popularity, universities need to think out of the box to break the clutter and get the word out. Online banner ads just aren’t going to cut it in the competitive market. This article from Inside Higher Ed explores a unique marketing technique that Celia Cameron, the vice president of marketing and communications at Cabrini University, used to increase awareness of and enrollment in the institution’s online classes.

Cameron partnered with the firm Carvertise to take a completely offline approach. Instead of advertising Cabrini’s online courses in the digital or social space, as many competitors were, she installed full-body vinyl decals on six local residents’ cars. This way, she not only covered a lot of ground – pun intended! – she also created an effective conversation-starter. “I would have people ask me, ‘Really, Celia, is that your car?’” she said. “It was a fun [campaign]; it got buzz.” The campaign also scored a double-digit increase in online course deposits for the fall!

Read more about this campaign and the online university space on Inside Higher Ed.