Author: Greg Ash

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Boosting Admissions with Micro Campaigns at the CSU

 

 

The California State University system (the CSU) is the largest four-year public university system in the United States, with 23 universities enrolling 485,550 students and 55,909 faculty and staff. The student body is comprised of over 60% non-white students making it responsible for educating one of the most diverse student populations in the country. With over 4 million living alumni, the influence of the CSU system is embedded in the fabric of companies and institutions in California and beyond.

Every admissions assignment is always a timely challenge. In this case in just a short number of weeks we were able to assemble a collaborative team and process to focus messaging around four main topic areas, delivering microboost campaigns for each. We are seeing this structure as a trend across systems, universities and colleges as a way to create micro targeted initiatives for students still building their list of applied to options. It provides the institution a canvas to push efficient messaging while measuring and optimizing in parallel.

Every admissions assignment is always a timely challenge. In this case in just a short number of weeks we were able to assemble a collaborative team and process to focus messaging around four main messaging areas delivering microboost campaigns for each. This structure we are seeing as a trend across systems, universities and colleges as a way to create micro targeting initiatives for students still building their list of applied to options. It provides the institution a canvas to push efficient messaging while measuring and optimizing in parallel.

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Shaq Outakes for ESPN

As a content first agency, we are often asked for creative ideas to reuse existing content. This could be relevant archives, current footage or repurposing content around a specific theme. It’s always a fun challenge that our team are masters of. In this case we developed a series of animated shorts as bumpers for ESPN.

 

Inspired by the quotable moments of social media from existing moments or those in the past  we developed a series of illustrated shorts each style matching the style of the speaker. In our pilot we feature the lovable and quotable Shaq who tells the story of becoming one with a cactus to channel his inner Shaolin mindset, something only he could do. 

Sometimes the solution is simple and sweet. But the result is a quick reusable content that doesn’t require huge investment of time or money but keeps the dialogue with the audience.

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UC Rethinks what scholarship means

More than 1.7 million fellowships and private scholarships in the United States are awarded each year (Dickler, 2020). Which means 25% of college students received money from scholarships and grants (Sallie Mae, 2021) and around 1,581,000 scholarships are available to undergraduate and graduate students each year (Scholly, 2020). The usual scholarship includes a letter, a call from an admissions officer, and a check. A very important check no doubt. But what does an investment really look like? It’s much more than money, it’s time, mentorship, experience, it’s building a community for not just a support, one that won’t let you fail.

In the spirit of one of their most notable alumnae Marian Spencer University of Cincinnati once again is embracing their institutional charge of “Next” by rethinking what a scholarship means. Marian’s fight for equality began early, as a UC student campaigning for an inclusive prom. And it remained personal—she chaired legal action to desegregate Coney Island Amusement Park after her two young sons were denied admittance. Her lifelong dedication to civil rights and racial justice have served to inspire the fearlessness in us all. As the:

  • First Black member of the national honors society
  • First female president of the Cincinnati branch of the NAACP
  • First Black female Cincinnati City Council Member
  • First African American elected president of the Woman’s City Club
  • First female African American Vice Mayor, City of Cincinnati

 

Marian set so many firsts it only seems fitting to have a scholarship that is first of its kind. It’s alive in our best and brightest. For this scholarship UC partnered with Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) to offer the Marian Spencer Scholarship Program, to the top 10% of CPS seniors. And it’s much more than that really important check, it also includes:

  • Full cost of attendance (tuition, room and board, books)
  • Additional support for study abroad, co-op, summer opportunities
  • Residential living community in Marian Spencer Hall
  • Enhanced advising support, student success resources, and career coaching
  • Study abroad service trip to Tanzania with Village Life
  • Networking and mentoring opportunities with UC’s President and other university leaders
  • Service project with CPS students in future years

Marian and UC continue to raise the bar and challenge their higher ed peers across the country to rethink how support students through scholarship. The next generation of students and donors require it.

 

 

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Augment Your Reality – Denver Style

The University of Denver was ready to announce an exciting new expansion—The James C. Kennedy Mountain Campus, 724 acres of abounding natural forest north of their urban campus. The Kennedy Mountain Campus would become an essential aspect of DU’s strategic initiative, the 4D Experience, helping to enhance values found at the core of student life. This expanse would serve as a space where DU could continue to invest in holistic learning, teach students to lead purposeful lives, and illustrate the importance of wellness. But with this new campus came the need to develop strategic messaging that would help DU define its value.

 

We chose to take an unconventional approach for an unconventional experience. Each prospective student will receive a 6×9 printed brochure that unfolds into a full size two sided poster. But the surprises don’t stop there. If students scan the QR code on each side of the poster they are greeted with an augmented reality experience where the playful illustration comes to life with copy, graphics, and music.

 

While the 12,000 brochures were in market, the campaign landing page was the most visited page on DU.edu, leading to the top 32% of traffic across the whole site. On average users visited the site more than twice. All leading to 1621 enrolled students, the largest, most diverse, high achieving freshman class in history.

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DU updates their DU (logo that is)

The University of Denver continues to raise its national reputation, garnering momentum with a campus expansion that includes the newly acquired Kennedy Mountain Campus, the announcement of their new 4D Student Experience and the 2022 Men’s Hockey Championship victory. The time had come for an identity refresh.  While the existing shield will be used to portray the history of the University, the new mark is intended to further unify the brand and modernize its design.

 

Tackling a university identity is always a delicate dance between its past and its future. In the case of DU, previous versions of the identity consisted of complex seals or crests that make modern implementation difficult or not impossible. That is where we were able to collaborate closely with DU’s Marcom team. We were able to leverage their knowledge of the existing university brand and the elements the DU alumni felt the most affinity towards—knowledge like that is invaluable.

 

We got to work with on a new, bold wordmark that stands out amidst the rest in the region and the nation, pushing the University into their next chapter – while respecting the legacy of so many that had come before.

“The revitalized logo is an evolution of our current interlocking DU mark, a result that allows us to capitalize on the brand equity we’ve established while also resolving usability challenges we have experienced with some of our current marks. …. Our goal is to move the University forward by rising in the rankings, engaging new markets more meaningfully, building a robust student pipeline and creating an authentic narrative that resonates with all our audiences.”
– Renea Morris, Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications