#BeTheMarquis and The Hermione

Lafayette College was in the enviable position...

of having the Hermione, a stunning, authentic replica of the Marquis de Lafayette’s 18th-century frigate, headed toward American shores the summer of 2015. Even better, it was going to be celebrated at 11 ports along the eastern seaboard of the U.S. all summer long.

The challenge

The college  wanted to use this opportunity to engage their own audiences as well as educate prospective students and the general public about the Marquis and about Lafayette, the only college named in his honor. They also wanted to reinvigorate the Live Connected/Lead Change campaign currently underway and provide a gateway for the Lafayette community to support the college. To do this they needed to bring some of the excitement about the Hermione’s voyage from the ship itself to the Marquis and the college.

The work

I headed up the Communication division's involvement with this project, including working with a freelance writer on the creative concepts and digital content. I oversaw and provided hands-on support for:

• Two related, robust social media campaigns, which were the base of much of the marketing & communications efforts.
  • We shared iconic Lafayette College images taken over the years, now “photobombed” by the Marquis. The premise? That the Marquis’ spirit has always been with us, especially in historically great moments of pride for the institution. 
  • We encouraged our audiences and the public to #BeTheMarquis by printing out a cut out of the Marquis’ head, snapping a photo and sharing their best selfies and pics.

• A dedicated website and the repurposing of the Marquis Sword Twitter account (both written in the first person, using a historically accurate yet lighthearted voice) to build the concept that the “spirit of the Marquis” is with the college community and that everyone can #BeTheMarquis.

• Recruited and led enthusiastic student “street teams” who traveled to the ports, encouraged visitors to #BeTheMarquis and handed out thousands of stickers, cut outs, and T-shirts. We encouraged social media engagement and provided a live feed of photos for use in all main Lafayette social media accounts.

• Coordinated editorial, photography, video and design needs throughout the project

• Handled advance publicity and ongoing media relations throughout the summer

The results

• Thousands of Lafayette alumni, students, faculty, and staff and members of the public greeted and toured the ship as it sailed from Virginia to Maine -- and thousands more shared the experience through the website, social media and other channels. 

• Four of the five college events at various ports quickly sold out. Two of the events were Campaign events that helped forge personal connections between the president, senior staff, key trustees and major donors..

• Over a three month period, the website generated over 12,600 unique page views. It educated visitors about the Marquis and the college and shared 98 Marquis facts, one for each day of the ship's journey.

• The Marquis Sword Twitter account tripled in number of followers and had 475,000 impressions.

• One video we produced, which playfully tested Lafayette students on how to pronounce Hermione, has over 13,000 views. (It’s a bit of a trick question: the French pronunciation is ‘air-me-own’ while the English is ‘her-mine-ee’ ala Harry Potter.)

• I placed articles in the Baltimore Sun and Boston Globe quoting college archivist and Marquis de Lafayette expert Diane Shaw as well as a CASE Currents cover story, "Thinking Outside the Quad," about how institutions can use topical events to energize past and present students.