Answering Yahoo! Answers
Estacio University
Issue 32 | September 2014
Agency
Artplan
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Roberto Vilhena Creative Directors Alessandra Sadock Gustavo Tirre Art Directors Augusto Correia Bruno Foscaldo Danilo Yamanaka Copywriters Henrique Louzada Pedro Rosas
Date
March 2014- Ongoing
Background
Esta´cio is the largest university in Brazil. However, students still believe public universities have better teachers. It was necessary to change this perception among the young.
Idea
Yahoo! Answers was a community-driven site that allowed people to both ask and answer questions. However, the vast number of poorly framed questions and hopelessly inaccurate answers had made the site an object of ridicule.
Estacio University created a profile on Yahoo! Answers and got its professors to start answering questions on all subjects ranging from history to gastronomy.
It was a simple and direct way of enhancing the university's image as a place of scholarship and learning without spending any money.
Results
Over 800 questions had been answered after just two weeks. 90% of the answers were rated as the best by the questioners. It led to a 270% increase in traffic to the university's website after the first month and contributed to a 20% rise in the number of applicants to sit the admission test.
Our Thoughts
Usually we think of branded content as online video designed to be entertaining but if a brand can provide a utility or a service, then it can be of real value to consumers. This is such a beautiful example of that.
It also provides a wry comment on the democratisation of the web. Not always a good thing!
This great little campaign is a gentle reminder that social media comprise more than Facebook or Google+ but wherever people connect online.
So, I shall be looking out now to see if someone can turn Wikipedia into a platform for advertising.