This time of year is like an early Christmas at Stein. Client projects are finishing up for fall delivery, and almost daily we get in samples of completed publications. Here are some recent printed pieces that are standouts.

Wesley College

Welsey College was looking for a complete redesign of its admissions campaign with a goal of shifting perception from a regional college to that of an academically innovative institution. 

We took a no-nonsense tone with the copy and created a sophisticated design to appeal to students pragmatism and high expectations. One cool aspect of the concept is that it uses atypical sizes. The viewbook is about 6 x 9 inches and the visit piece is conveniently back pocket-sized.  

Bo Uzzle, design; Taylor Trussell, writing; Kathryn Spruill, account. 

Wesley viewbook and visit piece
 

Woodberry Forest

The Woodberry Forest project involved extensive brand research and interviews. From our research we developed a brand narrative and key messages, the first expression of which is a new viewbook that captures Woodberry’s strong sense of brotherhood and academic rigor.

Bo Uzzle, design; Taylor Trussell, brand research and writing; Jennifer Bagley, account.

Woodberry viewbook spread

Arizona State University

ASU is being guided by a clear vision focused on the concept of the new American university. Our goal was to present this bold vision but without hyperbole, which could diminish its validity. Our concept for the resulting publications was storytelling with a purpose, defining the vision in the context of real people doing real things to make a real difference in the world.

Bonnie McQuagge, design; David Harrell, writing; Jay Williams, account.

ASU prospectus spread

– Terry Hamrick, Stein

Account Executive Kathryn, who likes to collect postcards, wondered why we didn’t have any postcards to hand out at the NACAC Seattle conference. Indeed, why don’t we, the rest of us said. So the Stein design team went to work. The designers explored the theme of Seattle and the S (which is also in Stein, coincidentally), and the results are six souvenir postcards suitable for collecting or jotting work updates to your boss. If you’re at the NACAC conference this week, stop by Booth 712 and pick some up.

– Terry Hamrick, Stein

Bright and early tomorrow morning, I hop on a plane with my colleagues, bound for Seattle, WA. I’m excited about this trip for two reasons: (1) attending NACAC since I had to miss it last year while preparing for maternity leave and (2) visiting Seattle for the first time. My career has provided me with the chance to travel extensively throughout the United States, yet until now, I haven’t stepped foot in the Pacific Northwest.

NACAC is always a great experience. It’s a chance to catch up with folks we only get to see a few times throughout the year – our wonderful clients, friends at institutions we may not work with but always enjoy seeing, and friendly competitors who share the same mission we do – to help our clients in the education market achieve their goals, engage and inspire prospective students, articulate their brand to their many constituents…

As NACAC progresses, we’re going to keep our colleagues back in Atlanta in-the-know as well as our contacts on the institution side who maybe didn’t make the trip to Seattle for NACAC this year or work outside of the admissions area. Last year, grounded in Atlanta, I had to make do with living vicariously through the photos our team posted to Flickr. This year, the ante has been raised and you can stay abreast of NACAC activity in a number of ways. In addition to our blog posts, you can follow us on Twitter or if you’re a Facebook member, check us out there! If you’ll be in Seattle, please visit us in the exhibit area — booth #712.

Signing off. Back to packing…

 – Jenny Brower, Stein

We’ve given The Scoop a makeover. This new look is not just about some fresh paint and window treatments. It signals a change in how we’ll be using The Scoop as well.

In addition to our special contributor articles, you’ll be hearing more often from Stein staffers, who’ll be posting to The Scoop regularly. We want to hear from you too. Commenting is now enabled for our posts. Let us know what you’re thinking.

For quick updates and links to interesting things we find around the web, we’ll be using our Twitter feed. Our latest tweets will appear in the right sidebar, and you can also elect to follow us on Twitter. With the Twitter link in the sidebar, you’ll also find a link to our new Facebook page.

We’ll be using all these tools to better communicate with our readers and to discuss our work and projects. 

Welcome to The Scoop 2.0.

– Terry Hamrick, Stein

See you at NACAC
If you’ll be attending the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) conference in Seattle, we’d be delighted for you to drop by and visit with us at booth 712. We’ll be showcasing some exciting new campaigns.

Stein in the News
Stein president Jay Williams was interviewed for BusinessWeek’s series on the business of colleges and the rise of branding among universities. Also featured in the article is Stein client Arizona State University.

Congratulations to Kathryn Spruill for having her new blog, MoreThanRankings.com, cited as a “Higher Ed Web Blog You Probably Haven’t Heard Of Worth Reading” by Brad Ward, author of SquaredPeg.

Stein sends good wishes to our distinguished retiree
We’ll miss seeing our great friend and colleague Ross Lenhart around the office, but we look forward to working with him as a consultant and we’re thrilled to invite him to join us “back at the booth” during NACAC’s 64th annual gathering in September. Here’s to a job well done, Ross. Cheers!

We welcome our new projects
We are pleased to announce the following new clients:
Wesley College (DE)
California Polytechnic State University - Pomona (CA)
W.P. Carey School of Business (AZ)

Susquehanna brings home the Gold — and Silver and Bronze
Congratulations to Susquehanna University for winning the following Cuppie Awards from the College and University Public Relations Association of Pennsylvania:

Print — Brochures 4-Color
GOLD — Campaign Case Statement: Changing Lives

Public Relations — Feature Article
SILVER — Learning to Fly

Public Relations — Special Event
BRONZE — Campaign Kickoff Teasers

Announcing the Annual Admissions Advertising Awards
Stein is excited to announce several winning pieces in the 23rd Annual Admissions Advertising Awards by Admissions Marketing Report.

Foxcroft School
Gold for Brochure: Secondary School
Bronze for Student Viewbook: Secondary School

Arizona State University
Merit for Direct Mail Advertising: School with 20,000 or more students

Georgian Court University
Merit for Annual Report: School with 2,000-4,999 students

Mike’s hopes for higher education in 2008
“I hope that we find ways to rise to the challenges of keeping higher education equitably accessible for all socioeconomic groups. I have the same hopes for equitable affordability for all of the same groups. We need to do our share to keep our American values of justice and fairness in place for the next generation.”
– Mike Maxey, President, Roanoke College

We welcome our new projects
We are pleased to announce new projects at the following institutions:
Houston Baptist University (TX)
Sewanee: University of the South (TN)