On student e-mail addresses

So even though I was in a serious meeting today about marketing strategy, I found my mind wandering. Hey, it was after noon and DW was super hungry.

In my distraction, I started reading over the e-mail addresses of the students on a data print-out we were given.

Now, keep in mind, these are e-mail addresses that these students submitted to us on their application -- a "serious" college application.

Among the gems were (with original spelling preserved):

• Softball Monkey Gurl
• Lil Snot
• Summer Hotie
• Baby Beaty

And by far, the best of all -- I kid you not -- was: G-Spot07

Sounds just like the fine material any institution or business would want to attract.

If any students or parents are reading this, please, save those e-mail addresses for friends and family. Get something more professional-sounding for applications, whether they be of the college or job variety.

Period at the end of a URL?

OK, I have to ask: Do you honestly think people will type a period at the end of a URL if the URL is at the end of a sentence in a brochure and followed by a period?

I work on a brochure for Honors students each year -- Honors students! -- and we are always reminded not to put the period after the URL at the end of a sentence, because students used to type it in there and call the program upset the site wasn't coming up.

I don't know, maybe I just give high school students more credit than some people do. I imagine if you grew up using a computer and the Web, you're bound to realize there's never a period at the end of a Web address.

Should I stick to my grammar rules and put the period in there or throw away the rules to account for the Web dunces?

New Word

Occasionally, you have to invent new words on the job. Our latest?

Brandgasm

It defines what a brand-loving person experiences when something new ties into branding. Such as an office finally using the institution's logo. Or a program finally putting the tagline for the school in its ads. It's a noun used to describe the elation experienced for brand buy-in.

Go forth and use.

Happy Thanksgiving and many brandgasms to all!

The "Unofficial" Duties

Having a job in the marketing office, you seem to have many unofficial job duties and get pulled into doing some wacky things -- all for sake of advancing your university, doing your job to the fullest extent, and -- just maybe -- having some fun.

Today, for example, DW was a last-minute tummy model for a photo for our new single-incision surgery ad. Thank goodness we shot it before Thanksgiving, because I sure eat my fill of pies and stuffing!

That got me thinking about some of the other things I've done for my job:

• Helped a coworker in and out of a mascot uniform during shoots

• Powdered a student model's face during a TV commercial filming -- and according to the director, her face was always shiny, no matter how much I powdered.

• Climbed up on the roof of a building, in heels, to scope out locations with our cameraman -- I had to climb rickety stairs to get from level to level of the roof. Yeah, my feet hurt that night.

I know you have some better stories than these! Comment and share them.

Net Price Calculator

Do you have a handy/dandy calculator on your Web site that students can use to estimate their cost of attending your school?

If not, you might want to look into developing one.

I learned that if you are a Title IV school, the Higher Education Opportunity Act requires that one be available on your site by Oct. 29, 2011.

The law states: "The calculator shall be developed in a manner that enables current and prospective students, families, and consumers to determine an estimate of a current or prospective student's individual net price at a particular institution."

I think this is a great tool to help market your school and show how affordable you can be, after scholarships and financial aid are applied to costs.

Luckily, there's a handy template online to help you develop your net price calculator. Visit this site to get started.

We had already started to develop our calculator when we heard about this, and it's nice to know that our efforts are putting us ahead of the game.

Does anyone have a similar calculator they'd like to share? We'd love to get ideas and hear about your efforts while we're working through ours.