Making #FairfieldU a Social Sensation

As Fairfield University’s Social Media Marketing Manager, I wore a bunch of hats. Branded Content with Buzzfeed that achieved 44K organic user reach in 24 hours? Check. Growing the Instagram following over 50% year over year? Also check. Creating social videos with over 100K organic views? Check that too. But one of my favorite projects was an experiential activation that brought new students and the local community together while achieving national industry recognition.

The Insight & Execution:

Great brand social media is about telling a story that entertains, educates, and excited audiences about what’s possible when they make your brand part of their lives (or in Fairfield’s case, join your community). I realized there was no better way to do all those things at once then create a campaign about the incoming freshman class’ first moments on campus. I also realized they were new to the Fairfield, CT, community—this was a prime opportunity to introduce them to local businesses they would enjoy (that would also make the university a good corporate citizen).

The solution to achieving all this through social? A vending machine powered by Twitter (now X) and Instagram posts that used a branded hashtag.

To get it done, I sourced the machine, then worked with the university’s Print & Design team to design a wrap and custom gift boxes. To fill the gift boxes, I collaborated with the university’s sponsorship director. Thanks to her efforts, the vending machine was stuffed with goodies including gift cards, $3000 in actual cash, and a golden ticket prize: A full year of free wash-and-fold laundry service for one lucky student (complete with actual golden ticket). I then packed every single gift box with help from my team, and managed everything from interacting with students to creating social content for the event once it went live.

The Result:

Across four days, the #StagsGearUp experiential campaign had a 74% participation rate, grew Fairfield’s Instagram and Twitter audiences by over 300 followers each, and organically achieved 200,000 impressions across social media. And a couple months later, it was a finalist at the PRNews Social Media Awards alongside competitors like M.Booth and Veuve Cliquot.

Additional Writing:

Additional Video:

I got to tag along with a Good Morning America film crew and film behind the scenes content as they made over a student’s dorm room. I edited and released this teaser ahead of the episode, and it got Fairfield’s account almost 12K video views.

Sometimes all it takes is a quick iPhone clip to make the crowd go wild. This short scene of a major achievement for Fairfield’s nursing students generated 8K views in less than 12 hours.

I kept Fairfield’s social fun and on-trend. Borrowing the popular Carpool Karaoke format, I went on a holiday drive with Sweet Harmony, the university’s all-women choral group. The video got 4,700 views in 24 hours.

Brand: Fairfield University
Campaign: #StagsGearUp
Concept Development, Creative Direction, Video, Activation, and Project Management: Yours Truly
Designers: Fairfield University Print & Design Team
Sponsorship Efforts: Tracy McEvoy