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For what it’s worth, it’s worth it: UW-Madison Online

The background

 

If you’ve ever been to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then you know the “Wisconsin Idea” is far more than just an idea. 

Born out of a 1905 address wherein UW-Madison’s President Charles Van Hise observed, “I shall never be content until the beneficent influence of the university reaches every family of the state”, the “Wisconsin Idea” is the university’s guiding philosophy. It’s its ethos. A promise. “A pledge to the state, the nation, and the world that our endeavors will benefit all citizens.”

In May of 2020, we engaged with UW-Madison to support their efforts to launch their first fully online undergraduate degree. This degree and subsequent campaign would pave the way for the future, as Chancellor Rebecca Blanks charged the university to triple its number of nontraditional students over the next five years. With this new online program, the university is able to provide new opportunities for a holistic approach to education that meets students wherever they are, thereby making the “Wisconsin Idea” available to a greater population across Wisconsin. 

And so, we got to work. 

 

The challenge 

While online degrees were new to UW-Madison, they weren’t new to many of their Land Grant peers. Changing student demographics, especially in the time of COVID-19, have rapidly increased demand for quality, accredited, online degrees. Our challenge was two-fold: 1. How do we make UW-Madison’s stand out? 2. How do we make it look, feel, and sound like Wisconsin? 

The results 

 

The campaign rolled out in February through paid digital and social campaigns, supported with geo-targeting and behavioral targeting. To get the word out in some of the more rural areas of the state, a select few Out-of-Home placements were used for support.

 

After 12 weeks  in market, the personal financing class scheduled for the fall was filled, sparking the momentum for UW-Madison to move forward with developing four-to-five additional online degrees this fall. 

 

The takeaway 

 

For what it’s worth, it’s worth it.