Mason Creative Services has released a new promotional video titled “George Mason University, Today” showcasing the university.
Director of Strategic Communication Michael Sandler is a university spokesperson and was one of the two scriptwriters for the video’s voice over.
“The video was developed last month by the Office of Communications and Marketing,” Sandler said. “Writers on my staff worked with videographers on the Creative Services team to produce the video. A key part of this office’s mission is to raise awareness and increase knowledge about George Mason University. Video is an effective medium for doing that, and we develop several videos each year.”
According to Sandler, the video was made for an alumni engagement event hosted at the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 30.
“The event was part of an effort to engage our alumni, remind them of the kind of university they attended, and to show them how George Mason has grown and evolved since they graduated,” Sandler said.
The promo video was also posted on Mason’s Social Media channels, such as Facebook and Youtube, to share with alumni, students, faculty and staff, according to Sandler. It was created with components of Mason’s first brand profile. For example, the video ends with the message of “A great university of a new and necessary kind.” This is part of the brand profile’s first of four key messages, “Mason is making its mark.”
“If you look at all of the elements of the video, it speaks to the strengths we want to be known for and the messages we want to convey,” Sandler said. “There were components of the brand profile that were in there, but we’re not literally cutting and pasting from the brand profile. In marketing, we’re producing copy in a creative way that speaks to the brand.”
The video also follows the brand profile’s advice to not jam visuals with too much text. The Art Director and Videographer chose five words to describe the university: celebratory, community, accomplished, exciting and authentic.
“My understanding is it was liked by a lot of people on Facebook, there were lots of comments and it was well received,” Sandler said.
The promo video currently has over 160 likes on Facebook and over 1,200 likes on Youtube.
“I liked the part where it [the video] said students, staff and faculty all thrive together because I believe that’s an important factor in determining how good a university is,” junior accounting major, Ladan Hussein said.
