As fans of the Marquette men’s basketball team flock to Fiserv Forum to watch the Golden Eagles play, they are met with a brand-new commercial for the university on the Jumbotron.
Roughly a month ago, Marquette’s Office of University Relations released “Connections.” The commercial is used as digital advertising and is aired at Big East sporting events.
“We’re always trying to come up with something new, and in all honesty, it’s not really that difficult to be inspired because ‘new’ is something that is happening on campus constantly,” Lauren Burke, director of video for University Relations, said.
Burke said that her team does not hire paid actors, and the cast for these commercials are always real Marquette students, faculty and alumni. They work with Circle Pictures, a woman-owned company based in Milwaukee. The director and cinematographer for “Connections” was a Marquette alum.
Marquette’s previous commercial “Reflections“ launched in 2021 and focused on one student’s four-year journey through the institution. “Connections” focuses on the lives of four different students at Marquette.
“Over the years, we’ve come up with a visual style that we really stick to and that is now our brand visual, and I think people recognize it a lot when they are watching the basketball game and that high energy Marquette piece comes up,” Burke said.
Marquette’s commercial brand has a style of multiple fast-paced short clips that tell a story, or in this case, four stories.
Since “Reflections” in 2021, new spaces on campus like O’Brien Hall and the Lemonis Center for Student Success have been updated. Shots of these buildings were featured in the commercial.
“We stick to some of the same things: Joan of Arc and stuff like that, things that alumni love and our Marquette community loves, but visually new spaces and also a little bit of that approach to how we constructed, it was a little bit different.” Burke said.
Lynn Griffith, chief marketing and communication officer for University Relations, said this commercial is different because it highlights the city of Milwaukee more than ever before.
“We want to show our students enjoying Milwaukee, how safe it is, how beautiful it is, how many different things you can do in all four seasons throughout Milwaukee and how that’s such a big part of people’s experiences,” Griffith said. “You’re not just coming to Marquette, you’re coming to the city, Milwaukee.”
Griffith said “Connections” focuses on the connectedness between students and Milwaukee, but also the interconnectedness the Marquette community has.
One segment of the commercial features a Marquette student meeting with their mentor who works at Fiserv Forum, which highlights the different connections students can make through the Marquette Mentors Program.
“One of the reasons why we were invited to participate in the commercial is because we engage and connect students with alumni all around the world,” Dan DeWeerdt, Robert H. Radtke Director of Marquette Mentors, said.
DeWeerdt said that the Marquette Mentors Program has helped students connect with alumni and form relationships for the past twelve years, and he said the commercial showcased how the Mentors Program is all about relationships.
“It really helps tell the story of what is really the whole objective of Marquette Mentors, and that’s about building relationships and celebrating partnerships,” DeWeerdt said. “Students not only enjoy and benefit from their experience in the classroom, but also out of the classroom and then for many years following graduation.”
Next time you are at Fiserv Forum rooting on the Golden Eagles, make sure to catch “Connections” on the Jumbotron.
This story was written by Ellie Golko, she can be reached at [email protected].
