If inclined to watch the Super Bowl this Sunday, I thought you might appreciate this article as an example of brilliant  Higher Ed. (for profit)  marketing as covered in article in the Providence Journal

As you watch the game, observe how many times  the name of the Stadium is mentioned or it is framed in a camera shot.   Now keep in mind that a 30 second commercial spot for the game is going at 2.4 million.  That’s 4.8 per minute.   According to the article, UofP paid 150 million for the 20 year naming right for the arena.   To break  even, UofP would need the equivalent of roughly 34 minutes of prime time exposure.

The probably won't make it up the investment in one event, but given how much I have already heard it mentioned and framed in the shots during the pre-week coverage and given that it figured prominently enough to spark the curiosity of a Providence Journal sportswriter to investigate who UofP really is, one has to appreciate the marketing brilliance because  if you put stock in subliminal messaging,  UofP  has probably gone a long way in further establishing  perception of credibility and name recognition as a  Higher Education institution (with one heck of a football team to afford that stadium).

It’s a strange world, next thing you know Microsoft will be buying Yahoo or something.   🙂