Recruiting

(Click here to see our 7 ingredients of success in college admissions DVDs)

Kindig Omnimedia is one of the most experienced, reliable college admissions production companies in the Midwest. We have won CASE gold awards for our work -- but more telling is the fact that we continue to be hired by the same colleges to do their admissions DVDs. Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Cedarville University -- each has hired us multiple times over the past 20 years to deliver compelling and successful presentations that attract the right students.

Our methods are simple, and we like to relate our approach to the romantic strategies of our young audience: think of the two primary models of courtship, and you can see what distinguishes us from other producers.

The first, most obvious choice, is the "Valentine" method. Call it seduction, call it "putting your best foot forward" ... it's like courtship via dating, where you have fun with the other person but seldom really see what the potential partner is like under normal circumstances, or around their family -- you just buy them flowers, go to restaurants and movies, and chat about fun stuff. It's a popular way to recruit, but often there's a rude awakening once the people get into a relationship and realize they weren't "meant for each other".

The second way is the road less travelled, and in an era when the national average for retention for 4-year colleges is only 37%, it ought to be much preferred: the "courtship" method which we always pursue in our creations.

In courtship, there is first an opportunity to see people in their true light, as they are. There is an air of low-key, informal give-and-take. The focus is often on the inner beliefs and highest goals of each person, and many practical facts are considered.

When we produce a recruiting video, our goal is less to convince viewers they should "join the team". It is more to present a balanced and truthful view of the life and legacy of that institution. We demonstrate what the college is like, with all its nuances and complexity, and represent the reality in such a compelling way that there is little doubt on the part of the viewer whether or not they will "fit".

Michael Eisner called the video we did for Denison "the best college video I have ever seen." Cedarville gets hundreds of cards giving rave reviews for the DVDs we do for them.

Contact us to request a sample of our exceptional work.

       

Cedarville 2004-2005

We have produced a new admissions video for Cedarville every 2 to 3 years since 1984. This year, we produced an ambitious DVD project, featuring 4 hours of edited material. This included the standard "flagship" production in lengths of 6, 25, and 30 minutes for a complete overview of the university, and also indepth material on several academic departments, segments on athletics, facilities, and dorm life; and complete interview sessions with the President and Vice President of Student Life. For this production, we used entirely student-composed or performed music for the sound tracks. As usual, the client called this one "the best one yet."

 

Ohio Wesleyan University 2001

We've served Ohio Wesleyan since 1984, and this is our best effort yet at capturing the unique distinctives of this humane and thoughtful place. Indeed, all colleges are unique, and we pride ourselves in our ability to capture what is special about them without resorting to hyperbole or attracting students who would not really "fit" with any given institution. We think this OWU video has the best athletic section we have ever produced ... except maybe for this year's Cedarville video!

 

Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

When we began working for OU-COM, they had several credibility problems. The school had just begun less than a decade before, and a new medical school can be scary. It was in the rural part of Ohio, and needed to sell the benefits of its legislative mandate that all most graduates serve in family practice in underserved communities. And the Osteopathic traditions were not well known or understood. The 13 modules we created addressed these issues of philosophy, facilities, etc. so well that within four years, they enjoyed a long waiting list and were able to concentrate on increasing selectivity.

Denison University

We've worked with both Hal Holbrook and Michael Eisner on the Denison recruiting videos we have created. After completing the most recent recruiting film, Mr. Eisner told the Denison trustees: "This is the finest college recruiting video I have ever seen." Entitled "Yours to Discover", it truly captures the breathtaking beauty and academic edge of the Denison campus. Theatre, dance, music, the visual arts, the sciences all shine in this outstanding recruitment film. In 2005, we have again been awarded a Denison University DVD for production.

 

 

Welsh Hills School

When Welsh Hills approached us about helping with their communication needs, recruitment was at the top of their list. Private schools have a particular challenge: to tangible-ize the value they deliver to each student. We accomplished this task by letting parents speak, and by letting special school moments unfold for viewers on the screen. This film reveals a skill that we believe is almost unique to Kindig Omnimedia: the ability to become that "fly on the wall" observer who captures in dramatic and artistic fashion what people are doing naturally -- as though the camera wasn't even there. The headmaster called it a masterpiece.

Minority Recruitment - OUCOM

Few topics require greater sensitivity than the very difficult challenge of acknowledging historical racial and cultural factors that have created very real personal consequences ... without defining personal worth via the flip-side injustice of racial stereotypes. This is just the sort of challenge we love, and for Ohio University, we wrote a script that deftly presented the realities of minority life in a profession that has been traditionally reserved for the most privileged people in our society. Tangible elevations in non-white enrollment were the result of this successful recruiting tool.

 
   

Cedarville 2000-2002

We have produced a new admissions video for Cedarville every 2 years since 1984. There is no greater measure of the effectiveness of our work than the fact that Cedarville has more than doubled its enrollment while increasing selectivity, using our videos as its primary recruiting tool. 12,000 Videos every year! Every time, they say, "It's gotta be better than the last one!" and afterwards they say, "This is the best one yet." This year's features exciting aerial footage from a miniature helicopter -- "His" and "Hers" red jeeps are intercut as they wend their way through the countryside to the campus. Dramatic overflights of the cross country team running, a biology class in a river outing, rock climbers in the forest, and dramatic shots of the deepest gorge in Ohio. Plus the campus as we've never been able to show its beauty before...