On the hottest day in July, a few dozen hardy UMKC students, faculty and staff braved the 100-degree heat on the Scofield Quad to make Kansas City’s university a video star.

The occasion? Filming UMKC’s new undergraduate student recruitment campaign. That commercial will begin airing this month – along with new billboards, digital web, radio and TV ads.

And for a taste of the new campaign on campus, just walk the 111 steps leading from Oak Street up to the Student Union. Each flight of steps gives added meaning to the new campaign theme — UMKC: The place for people going places.

“As we brainstormed ideas, we knew we wanted a message that would showcase not only the incredible academic opportunities at UMKC, but how our students use that knowledge to accomplish amazing things and achieve their dreams,” said Anne Hartung Spenner, Vice Chancellor for Strategic Marketing and Communications. “We hear over and over that the excellent faculty, small class sizes and the diversity and vibrancy of our campus are game-changers for students.”

Those ideas – gleaned from talking to small groups of students, faculty, staff and alumni – led to the campaign’s key message: “Different people travel different paths to success. But they all start in the same place. UMKC—the place for discovery, the place for achievement, the place for people going places.”

The new campaign is a key part of helping UMKC achieve its strategic goal of growing to 20,000 students by 2020.

To check out elements of the new campaign, check out our new 15-second and 30-second videos or click here to go to the campaign’s online landing page.

The new billboards are sprinkled around town: one on I-29 southbound in Kansas City near Parvin Road, and another on I-70 driving westbound from Independence near Highway 40. A third billboard is on I-35 northbound at Cambridge Circle.