Douglas introduces #IChoseDouglas campaign

Draw prize for the contest will be $1,500 in tuition

By Angela Espinoza, News Editor

Douglas College is undergoing its first hashtag campaign, using the tag #IChoseDouglas. Students who use the hashtag on social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook will have a chance to win $1,500 in tuition credit.

“Our students and grads have awesome stories,” said Douglas’ marketing manager Tracey Denofreo, “and we hear some of them throughout the year, but we just know that there’s so many more out there.”

The #IChoseDouglas campaign gives students an opportunity to tell their stories about why they’re attending Douglas, or just what they enjoy about the college. Denofreo also stated the popularity of social media was beneficial as students have multiple ways of entering the draw.

“I think the longest part of the process was choosing a hashtag, because you want it to be short, you want it to be meaningful, it’s got to be easy to remember, and make sense.”

Since revealing the marketing team’s hashtag of choice, Denofreo said, “The response has been amazing.

“It’s a random draw,” said Denofreo, “people can enter as many times as they want. They do have to use the hashtag and they do have to tell us why they chose Douglas.

“We’ve had a few entries lately where people just tweet the hashtag, Instagram the hashtag, and we’re sort of letting it go for the first little while.”

However, Denofreo stated that students should be encouraged in telling their stories about Douglas. Whether it’s about learning experiences, friendships made, or even food at the college, any positive message is welcome.

“If they use Facebook to enter the draw, they have to make that particular post public, or else we can’t see it. Or they can come to the Douglas College Facebook page and post it there.”

“We’ve had some people that have entered every single day since we started, multiple times a day, which is fine, and they always have something a little bit different each time.”

Denofreo added that the draw is also open to international students, and that the tuition credit received upon winning is valid until December 31, 2017.

#IChoseDouglas has since been incorporated into Douglas’ ad campaign throughout the Lower Mainland, spotlighting various students and graduates and their reasons for attending Douglas.

The #IChoseDouglas campaign will be running until March 31, near the end of the winter semester. Again, students can apply multiple times, and based on the response to this year’s hashtag campaign, Denofreo stated there could likely be another one in the future.

Students can learn more about the contest at douglascollege.ca/ichosedouglas