I was watching TV this weekend and was amazed by the number of commercials that at least appear to be real people telling real stories (not actors trying to be real people) – those that intentionally direct people to make connections online. Call it “social advertising”.

Some examples you might have seen: MyCadillacStory (Tiki Barber), Dove Campaign for Real Beauty (the kids version and the older person version), HomeDepot’s Every Project Has a Story, etc. Can you remember seeing others? Here are some links to these online:

Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty
Dove ProAge Commercial
MyCadillac Story with Tiki Barber
Home Depot’s In Every Project There’s a Story to Tell

Reminds me of a local college billboard I see frequently in the Philly area that say “I am XXX University.” (edited to protect the innocent). But they don’t make the real connection – it should continue with something like “go online to read my story and share your story too.” The billboard is the easy part. The social website is the key!

We are coming to an end of this year’s massive amount of search campaigns being done to recruit today’s high school sophomores and juniors. Jeff Kallay reminds me that these are all about pushing content to people – talk at, talk at, talk at. I’m watching Katie’s (see previous podcast) email messages she’s receiving. From many colleges she has not responded to, she is receiving up to five email messages – some obnoxious and pushy, but most generic and boring – not the way to make connections with today’s students!

To put it another way, it’s the difference between me shoving you and me putting my arm around you. College marketing has become all about shoving and needs to change – needs to be all about embracing and connecting. A revolution in approach.

What I like about this new trend in television advertising is that it’s not just story telling and it’s not just social networking and it’s not just a website. It’s all three working in harmony to talk with, not at.

Read more about our authors.  Brian is the CEO and Co-Founder of TargetX. Over twenty years ago, he started his career in admissions at a small, liberal arts college. He was a constant thorn in the admission director’s side – always wanting to try new ideas and technology. He took his energy (and vast collection of suspenders – it was the early 90′s) to lead the graduate and adult enrollment and marketing at a national university. In this leadership position, he helped differentiate his employer in one of the most crowded higher education marketplaces in the country and pioneered the use of the Internet in recruitment marketing. His passion sparked the genesis of TargetX, the company he has served for over 14 years as its co-founder and CEO. Along the way he’s earned his master’s degree in education at the University of Pennsylvania and built TargetX into a multi-million dollar technology and consulting firm serving over 450 colleges and universities. Brian is now a voice of change in an industry at its tipping point, helping colleges who have the gumption to embrace more effective recruiting techniques as traditional methods wither away. He is also the author of “Overthrowing Dead Culture: A Vision to Change the World of College Recruiting” available on Amazon.com and BN.com.