Challenge:
Capital Community College (CCC) draws students from the urban neighborhood surrounding its downtown Hartford campus. Many urban youth have been conditioned to believe college isn't possible for them. Others think they can't afford it, though financial aid is readily available. Others work at least one job and may have children and can't see how college could fit in an already overloaded schedule.

To drive enrollment, CCC challenged Mintz & Hoke to help inspire prospective students ages 18-25, to dispel misconceptions about the possibility of attending college.

Strategy:
Relevance was crucial. We cast real students in video, TV, outdoor and print ads. We used positive and inclusive hip-hop culture and contemporary instant-messaging shorthand to show prospective students that CCC is a place that understands and appreciates what they have to contribute.

The phrase "@ccc ucan," rendered in urban-friendly graphics, served as campaign tagline. We commissioned a college-age hip-hop musician to write a unifying anthem. Tagline and song were used in outdoor, radio and TV ads, plus a video circulated to college fairs and shown continually at CCC's street-level Welcome Center.

At the Welcome Center, CCC's chief conduit for information seekers, we also installed "ucan CAM," a fun, interactive display that used virtual reality 3D modeling to enable passers-by to see themselves living their dreams.

Winning Results:
The school reported record turnout for fall registration at a time when there was still high employment levels in the region.