A new set of television commercials and billboards is on its way, and Wednesday, President Frederick G. Slabach gave the Texas Wesleyan campus a sneak preview of what they can expect from the second year of "Smaller. Smarter." messaging.

"We've come a long way from our disclaimer of 'you've probably never heard of it' to 'Smaller. Smarter.'" said Slabach. "With our continued efforts to establish a strong market position, Texas Wesleyan is going to keep moving forward."

The new campaign will launch Monday, Sept. 16, and includes six new television commercials, five new billboards and a strong Web advertising presence. The television ads, which are expected to reach more than 1.3 million 18- to 24-year-olds and 3.8 million 25- to 54-year-olds, will air on both broadcast and cable networks, including NBC, CBS, Comedy Central and MTV. They will also be seen by approximately 1.5 million moviegoers in Dallas-Fort Worth theaters.

In addition to the commercials, the new billboards will be strategically positioned throughout Dallas-Fort Worth to reach more than 3 million metroplex residents.

If you missed the preview and want to view the campaign in its entirety, it will be available on YouTube and the Texas Wesleyan brand website after the official launch.

New year, new slogans

The new ads will feature sayings that build on the success of the first "Smaller. Smarter." campaign. "101 should be a course number, not a class size" and "When they say you’ll go far, it shouldn’t mean the hike to class" are just two of the six new messages designed to engage prospective students. Also debuting this year are:

• If a student fails in the forest, does the professor make a sound?
• Being herded is for cattle, not students.
• "This place is so big and personal," said no one ever.
• Cramming is for tests, not a spot in the classroom.

In addition to the new slogans, the popular "'You in the back' is not your name" will remain in the billboard rotation for another year. 

Recognizable results

According to data gathered by Student Insights, last year's campaign registered the largest increase in awareness among all Dallas-Fort Worth based institutions, including UNT and UT-Arlington, and led to a 209 percent increase in applications from Dallas County.

In addition to generating measurable success, the campaign also earned five Collegiate Advertising Awards, four Educational Advertising Awards and four Fort Worth Addy Awards. 

"That's an impressive list of awards," said Slabach, "and according to the test groups that have seen this new crop of commercials, they say these are even better."