In 2016, the University of Oklahoma decided to move both their full-time and professional MBA programs to Oklahoma City as a way of better serving their students and corporate partners. In 2017, the University of Oklahoma Price College also renamed the MBA program to Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business. Throughout these big changes, OU MBA partnered with Freestyle Creative for research, design, broadcast and outdoor advertising to help with strategic positioning as well as to build awareness for their new name, degree offerings and facilities in Oklahoma City. Freestyle Creative set out to discover who the Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business’ target audience was, how to reach them most effectively and what messaging would spark their interest in enrolling for the program. Through Scarborough market research, Freestyle determined OU MBA’s ideal targets, and the research was then utilized to determine media consumption habits, such as which mediums and styles of messaging the targets prefer. 


To increase brand awareness, Freestyle utilized information about specific times the targets are engaged with messaging and which mediums they prefer to effectively place radio, billboard and bus wrap advertising. All creative elements used drove the message that the OU MBA program is in the heart of Oklahoma City, making it in the center of economic progress and forward-thinking professionals.