The University of Central Arkansas, a school beset by public relations nightmares in the waning days of Lu Hardin's presidency, has selected a new marketing firm. The choice won't stun you - it's Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, the Little Rock communications titan that produces public-sector campaigns of all stripes - but the dollars involved might goose you: The contract is worth $753,000 through fiscal '09 and $800,000 a year after that, renewable annually for up to seven years.
The UCA board of trustees approved the contract Friday afternoon.
"We're ready for them [CJRW]," said Jeff Pitchford, UCA's vice president for university and government relations. "They will hit the street running."
Pitchford said the contract stipulates that 60 percent of marketing go to recruit new students, and the rest to market and brand the school.
"We're very pleased to have won the business and we're looking forward to working with UCA," CJRW spokesman Andy Moreau said. "Beyond that, I'd be reluctant to go into a lot of detail. It's really a lot of advertising, creative media buying."
Moreau added that while CJRW has experience in marketing higher education, it isn't currently the firm of record for any other colleges.
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