Hillsdale has gone viral.
The college’s marketing department released three video montages over the summer which garnered nearly 1.15 million views across all social media platforms in the department’s campaign to expand visual output. The outcome broke previous college video viewership records with ease.
“The 2015 fiscal year saw a huge improvement in our video production,” Vice President for Marketing Matt Schlientz said. “In 2015 we produced 114 videos, compared to 12 videos in 2014.”
Hillsdale College’s official YouTube channel now has the largest subscriber base of any of the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the U.S., according to a list from U.S. News & World Report.
All three videos were produced by Coldwater Media, a film contractor with which Hillsdale frequently works. Coldwater contributed alongside Video Content Editor Sam Brown and marketing intern Josh Hamilton, among others.
The most popular in the summer series was “America the Beautiful,” featuring the classic, patriotic song performed by the Hillsdale College Choir accompanied by breathtaking visuals to compliment the lyrics.
The video, published in June, earned over 900,000 views across social media and YouTube and received thousands of positive comments and likes, but it is only a small part of the department’s initiative to maximize the college’s visual marketing capability.
Two other videos released this summer, “The Freshmen Pledge” and “The Good, The True, The Beautiful,” illustrate a secondary goal of the marketing department: increased production quality.
These videos feature four graduates from the class of 2015, chosen for their ability to exemplify what it means to be a Hillsdale student and explain, in their own words, the purpose and value of a Hillsdale education.
“We really wanted to capture the story behind what it means to graduate from Hillsdale,” Schlientz said. “We thought these students were perfect to illustrate that story.”
Schlientz and the rest of the marketing department intend to continue with the rate of output they set in 2015, maintaining the goal of producing 100 videos within the 2016 fiscal year.
These productions will cover a range of topics from online courses, event recaps, and holidays, to special features similar to “America The Beautiful.”
Upcoming clips include an admissions video slated to be released in January as well as a general athletics montage.
The marketing department also wants to connect with students who would like to be featured in either a video or photo campaign. Those interested should visit the marketing department, located on the third floor of Moss Hall.