On Jan. 27th, the City University of New York came to the landmark decision of ramping up their advertising campaigns with a $2.5 million budget increase.
The increase is part of an effort to boost enrollment in lieu of declines at universities and colleges across the country. CUNY aims to reach and connect with New Yorkers and expand its nationwide reputation in collaboration with OUTFRONT Media — the sole organizer of advertising opportunities for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and its subsidiaries.
OUTFRONT offers advertising space within the New York City Subway system, the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North railroad. CUNY advertising placements will be displayed across digital and print media on subway cars, platforms, stations, buses and billboards.
“The University and its colleges also seek to highlight its local and national reputation by increasing awareness of the University’s pivotal role in the economic vitality of New York City and New York State, which helps facilitate the recruitment of prospective students and entice employers to hire graduates of the University’s 25 colleges,” said the Jan. 27th Committee on Finance & Administration meeting minutes.
Given the opportunity presented with this collaboration, CUNY gets exposure with high-visibility advertisements being shown to the MTA’s three to five million daily riders, reaching audiences as far as Long Island, Westchester and Connecticut through the Long Island and Metro-North railroads.
In May 2022, the CUNY Board of Trustees approved and authorized a new contract with OUTFRONT Media, Inc. for a period of five years, lasting from 2023 to 2027, under a $10 million budget. As of January, CUNY has expressed its desire to raise the budget up to $12.5 million, according to the meeting minutes.
This increase would allow CUNY to address its declining enrollment numbers while competing with other universities, both in-state and out.
“Universities in New York City and New York State, as well as out-of-state colleges, are utilizing digital and print advertising and other student recruitment efforts to attract prospective students from New York City,” the meeting minutes state. “Colleges and universities across the United States have been responding to enrollment declines with marketing campaigns, resulting in more than $2.2 billion of advertising spending nationwide.”
In November, Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez announced a 3% increase in total CUNY enrollment numbers, including senior colleges, community colleges and graduate programs. This is after the university reported a roughly 17 percent decline between 2019 and 2023 — the year that the OUTFRONT contract originally took effect — according to the 2023 Mayor’s Management Report (MMR).
“As we extend this campaign, we want current and prospective students to know about all of the University’s academic offerings and get inspired by our alumni who are strengthening our city each day,” Matos Rodríguez said in an October press release regarding CUNY’s “A Degree for Every Dream” ad campaign, which ran to the end of 2024. Advertisements from the last campaign featured photos from 15 CUNY campuses and over 80 students, according to the press release.
The CUNY has yet to release more information about whether there will be a brand new ad campaign, but we can likely expect an emphasis on career outcomes and accessibility, as previous campaigns have done.
