For many of us, we may not pay attention to countless advertisements on the ‘L’ trains traveling to and from class. But with DePaul University’s new Big Data advertisement campaign, thinking about enrolling in graduate school may be more salient to students.
The university is starting to use advertisements that stress the importance of being able to use “big data.” Displayed on various ‘L’ rail cars, phrases such as “Be Big Data Fluent” allude to graduate programs at DePaul for data science.
This advertisement campaign is effective because the ads portray DePaul as a tech-savvy school. A Chicago Business Journal article said people’s lives are becoming more dependent on technology. So it’s logical that the university would recognize that students should be able to use technology to make sense of a large amount of data.
As a public relations and advertising student, I need to be able to understand how to make sense of big data. With DePaul’s emphasis on data sciences, I know I would have an opportunity to gain a valuable skill for an expanding, technologically dependent world.
Visiting professor of the College of Communication Eva Bongiovanni said this campaign marketed DePaul students as tech-savvy students who can comprehend large amounts of data.
“This campaign firmly positions DePaul as a forward-thinking 21st century university that prepares students for a 21st century data-driven world,” she said.
Though these advertisements grab our attention, some may wonder why DePaul places emphasis on big data. To put it simply, big data will help with getting a job. Bongiovanni also said being able to understand and utilize big data would give DePaul students valuable skills that would aid companies in understanding trends for products.
“Firms cannot find enough skilled talent to fill these roles, which rewards those who possess the desired skills with the pick of the job market,” she said. “DePaul, via these data sciences programs, is educating our students to be exactly those people who have the pick of the job market.”
An understanding of big data allows students to be able to support companies by understanding what is most important to the companies’ target audiences. An article from TechRadar, a website concerned with technological advancements, said big data involves sorting through countless amounts of information to understand trends of a company. The data sciences program at DePaul will give students the ability to process massive amounts of data for companies to see what products work and don’t work.
This advertisement campaign has taken a topic that may seem dull, and revamped it into a marketing campaign concerning necessary skills in the job market. With our world slowly turning into one that will place a huge emphasis on understanding data, DePaul’s new advertising campaign seems more relevant and effective than ever before.
