Drake University has launched an undergraduate recruitment campaign with the following tag line: D+  Drake Advantage – your Potential + our Opportunities. The Drake Advantage? Last time I checked, D+ was widely understood to mean below average performance. An outside PR firm created the D+ campaign and despite being their apprised of their advertising campaign’s obvious incongruity, Drake University officials still agreed to go forward with it. To their credit, the PR firm did create a buzz worthy advertising campaign. The problem is – its bad buzz. Don’t take my word for it – just check out Google’s real time search results for Drake University. Drake University D+ Campaign Any advertising campaign that creates positive digital word of mouth for an advertiser gets an “A”. Any advertising campaign that creates a negative parody of your brand gets a minimum grade of “D+”. After their D+ advertising campaign runs its course, Drake University will be lucky if anyone who heard their D+ message will give them any grade above….. D+.

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Digital Word of Mouth Gone Awry