NEW STRATEGY HELPS UTAH BETA
By: AJ Ardovino, Utah '12

For most of its 61-year history, SigEp at the University of Utah has been one of the smallest fraternities on campus.

Two years ago, we were an 18-man chapter, with a debt of $25,000 and a poor GPA. Things have changed a lot and we’ve ushered in a new era for Utah Beta.

By the end of last year, Utah Beta had gained momentum. It had a great reputation, a high GPA, good athletics, and a good social life. The new executive board saw this fall as our time to take Utah Beta over the top. The chapter’s leaders identified core challenges and set aggressive recruitment goals. All other success would depend on a successful fall recruitment.

Distinguishing SigEp with a clear message

In previous years, our recruitment activities hadn’t shown recruits why they should choose us over other fraternities. Before rush, we improved our communication to do a better job branding SigEp.
We put up advertisements that promoted SigEp and talked about our strengths. Our goal was for every student, particularly freshmen, to see something about SigEp around campus. That strategy worked when formal recruitment started, because potential recruits already knew about our major programs and core ideals.

Setting ourselves apart from other fraternities was critical to our success. To do that, we prepared quality marketing materials. During the summer, we produced a cool rush video, t-shirts, and speeches.

We decided that our theme would be SigEp’s original message: “This fraternity will be different.” Many fraternities offer parties, girls, and friends. But no one offers what SigEp offers in the Balanced Man Program.

We had a very clear message during formal rush, during our Balanced Man Scholarship, and during our informal rush throughout the summer.

Running formal recruitment differently

Day One: We hosted improved house tours, focusing more on our chapter than the physical house.

Day Two: We focused on specific activities within the Balanced Man Program. We showcased our tutoring program, sports teams, member development experience and trips.

Day Three: We held a BBQ on our front lawn with musicians and DJs. We showed the recruits that we have a great GPA and good sports teams, and we also throw great social events.

Day Four: For the last day of rush, the fraternities all go out to a nice restaurant. It’s typically expensive and not the best way to get to know people. Don’t be afraid to break tradition. We had a great filet mignon dinner catered by brothers’ parents at the house. It cut down the cost, so we could afford other activities. After dinner, we took the recruits out to play kayak polo, and back to the house to play poker. This incredibly fun event got the recruits to bond with each other even before they joined SigEp.

This sealed the deal.

New strategy delivers results

We had 40 new members join: 21 through formal rush, 11 through the BMS, and eight through informal recruitment, roughly doubling membership to 78, and shattered Utah Beta’s record for one semester. We recruited nearly 30 percent of the 140 men who joined fraternities this fall, the most on campus. A few years ago, those achievements would have been unfathomable.

Utah Beta achieved this success while maintaining high standards. As a result, we are the most involved Fraternity on campus, we field eight sports teams, are no longer in debt, and now rank first in GPA with a 3.06 this fall.

Any SigEp chapter can become a powerhouse if they recruit the right way.

Back to the Sound Bite >