As the hardworking staff previously noted, Northeastern University launched an advertising campaign last week that included this full-page ad in the Boston Globe, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

Turns out, we didn’t know the half of it.

According to Michael Armini, Northeastern’s senior vice president for external affairs, the ad also ran in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Chronicle of Higher Education.

The rationale for that unusually large media buy?

“We see the national conversation about higher education moving toward outcomes and value propositions,” Armini told the hardasking staff. So the university is trying to get out in front of it.

The campaign – which ran only in newspapers – got “good feedback” from alumni and other higher ed institutions, Armini said, although not so much in terms of press coverage.

He added that Northeastern has also invested in a Making Tomorrow Happen campaign that features both print and online components, such as this YouTube video.

A banner effort compared to what we’ve seen from other local universities.

Let us know if you’ve seen something different.