AAA uses SMS campaign to recruit students

"If you think that advertising is in you, then SMS the reason to 32532, and you could win a bursary or one of 10 iPods," is the invitation put out by the school.

Advertising is challenging and fast-paced and the type of people advertising attracts are creative, adventurous and even slightly off the wall and this is true for both creatives and account management people.

The AAA School of Advertising wants to attract people who have advertising in them, the best quality talent of the current crop of Matrics (high school graduates). This group of matriculants will be the first group to have graduated under the outcomes-based education system.

"We need to reach them during a time when Matrics are already out of day-to-day schooling and studying on their own. Luckily this generation is seldom off MXit, the mobile social platform and Facebook, and the internet forms a massive part of their lives. Most haven't made up their mind as to what they will do next year and are googling for answers and the majority really don't know what career opportunities exist in the ad industry," says Walter Pike, head of the faculty of marketing and advertising at the AAA School of Marketing and a marketing maven and, social media scout.

Pike was involved with social and mobile agency, Brandsh in the development of the digital portion of the campaign. The original concept and poster design was done by through-the-line agency, Switch.

In answer to the initial SMS, the reply will send exploring Matrics to a WAP site with more information and to the campaign website, Its in You. Here they will be able to explore student and alumni work as well as upload advertising, comment and rate local advertising and work from around the world. They will also have another opportunity to enter the bursary competition.

The initial activation is using a full range of media including a poster and pamphlet campaign. A Facebook page and a YouTube channel have been created both linking to the promotional site, extra traffic will be generated by cost-per-click (CPC) mobile advertising, Google Adwords and Facebook ads. A short while into the campaign a MXit competition will be launched.

"Not only is this campaign tightly targeted, but it also demonstrates the fact that the AAA School is on the edge of modern communications trends," says Pike.