It has been over a decade since Apple retired the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads. They were ingenious ads designed to personify the end user of their respective products. So, cleverly, Mac users were communicated as younger, more stylish, fit, hip, and, simply, cool. And, the PC guy was essentially the opposite persona, a slightly overweight, traditional, unstylish guy with the flare of an accountant. Sorry, number crunchers. The ads did an amazing job of positioning Apple products in the minds of their customers through giving them someone with whom to relate.

People need to see themselves in the picture in any product they purchase. They need to see people that share their values, views, and look and feel so that other people might relate to them. It is why so many smart companies switched to testimonial advertising over a decade ago, developing a cast of characters to tell their story for them.

If your school or college is following old school methods of telling your own story through institutional speak, using your own images, you have probably lost a generation or more of customers at “hello”. People need to see themselves in the picture of your organization through a cast of characters that carry the message, using language they relate to, and sharing their values, lifestyles and perspectives.