Higher Education- University Of Alabama

  The University Alabama is practically synonymous with  college football. I have memories growing up of my father slinging curses towards the Crimson Tide for dismantling his Razorbacks nearly every year with ease. Needless to say Alabama football is a big part of marketing and recruitment boasting 17 national titles over the years. People treat head coach Nick Saban like a celebrity and most football players would be thrilled to meet him. With his record sitting at 149-21 he has an impressive figure to dangle in front of perspective students. Essentially, if Nick Saban asks you to come play for him, you come play for him. When you hear the words "Roll Tide" you get a clear image of red helmets dashing through Bryant-Denny stadium. The only thing detrimental to their image in a football sense is that some people hate winners (much like in the NBA with the former Warriors dynasty). When it comes to Alabama fans the word "bandwagon" is tossed around a lot. Their is no greater insult to a sports fan than being accused of bandwagoning. Think you've spotted a bandwagoner, follow these steps to identify them. While that particular wikihow link is ridiculous it does prove a point that even if someone is a bandwagon fan that's still good PR in a sense for organizations like the University of Alabama

  As for the academic side of things Alabama has a very clean  school website to show off their various programs. One of their slogans is evident on the site, "Where legends are made.". And this brings back to automatic association with football and it being a pathway to the NFL. Their "legends" include Joe Namath, Lady Bird Johnson, Julio Jones, and Harper Lee. Alabama wants to be seen as more than football and they try their best to polarize an image of achievable greatness in fields other than sports. You Think You Know Alabama? Well according to them they have more to offer. Their site has a nice crimson theme that makes it eye catching and easy to take in. Readability is, if a site looks too intimidating it turns many potential applicants away. Alabama has done a good job of creating an approachable hub for all things UA. It has tabs to redirect students with ease to their desired destination but keeps the signature 'Bama flair.

  One of the main draws of UA is that it's pretty much the only thing in Alabama that gets national attention. People seem to care less about the important and historic civil rights movement landmarks and more about one of the top colleges in the country. I guess to an extent looking at UA is like looking toward the future instead of at the past which could be seen as a good thing I suppose. Driving nearly anywhere in Alabama a large roadside sign can likely be seen for the states pride and joy.

  Lastly I took a look at Alabama's social media imprint. I have to say that I wasn't impressed by their Facebook page. It was nice but it was on par with schools much smaller. Not to bash SAU but our page and UA's were comparable, which can be seen as a good thing for us. It just felt slightly underwhelming after seeing their school website. They have their community outreach and school events documented with fairly high quality photos, that was the highlight of their page in my opinion. Their Twitter however was exceptional. The aesthetics of their profile picture which features a gorgeous image of a white building on campus contrasted by the vibrant pink flowers surrounding it was a home run in my book. The content was fairly substantial as well. Recent posts featured info about on campus events and, of course, a football sizzle reel. All in all I would give Alabama an 8.8 on the patent pending "Jonah Rathburn Comprehensive Marketing Analysis Scale"