An Alumni Association billboard campaign was proposed in
early 2004 by Tom Gibbens, a member of the Association
Board of Directors and the general manager of the Lamar
Corporation in Little Rock, Ark., with the pledge of
having the billboard space donated by Lamar. The Lamar
Corporation is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
and operates over 140,000 billboard panels
nationwide.
At the time of the project
announcement, Danny Mitchell, now president-elect of the
Association and chairman and CEO of the GodwinGroup,
offered the services of his firm to conceptualize,
develop and design the billboard campaign. GodwinGroup
is based in Jackson and is one of the top advertising
firms in the South.
The final campaign concept
centers on the theme of “Southern Miss Alumni. Now.
Forever.” and features six prominent alumni of the
university:
• Major General Buford Blount of the
United States Army who led the Third Infantry Division
in the liberation of Iraq.
• Singer, songwriter, and
author Jimmy Buffett.
• Brett Favre of the Green Bay
Packers who is the only three-time Most Valuable Player
in NFL history.
• Former Chief Justice of the
Mississippi Supreme Court Ed Pittman.
• Lou Ann
Poynter of Hattiesburg who recently retired as the Chief
Executive Officer of Mortgage Banking for Union Planters
Bank.
• Clarence Weatherspoon of the NBA’s Houston
Rockets.
The six boards, placed in early August,
will stay up for 18 months and will be moved to various
locations throughout the Jackson and Hattiesburg/Laurel
markets to increase exposure. The campaign is expected
to raise the level of awareness about the Southern Miss
Alumni Association and align the university with some of
its most recognizable alumni. |
