THE GOAL
Drive inquires for a newly opened campus in a highly competitive region
THE CLIENT
A prominent regional institution with a 136-year legacy of academic excellence, offering programs in high growth career areas.
THE CHALLENGE
The institution was ready to expand their educational offerings by launching a new physical campus in Atlanta, a geographic region where they lacked name recognition, and competition for prospective students was fierce.
The launch of the new location had been planned without taking into account a digital strategy for driving new inquiries, so the aggressive enrollment goal required quick turnaround times from a marketing perspective.
The new marketing campaigns needed to establish brand awareness quickly and to drive inquiries from prospective students more cost effectively than the local competitors.
THE STRATEGY
Over the years, Statwax had accumulated large amounts of historical research data for the targeted geographical region, which enabled the college’s campaigns to launch on par with their local competitors, instead of starting from scratch and being forced to gather their own data over time.
Statwax leveraged this existing data set and customized the strategy based on detailed keyword research, audience behavior analysis, and dissecting campaigns being run in mirror markets to predict the best outcomes for the new campus launch.
Next, Statwax established a framework for custom campaign and keyword structure. Campaigns that balance broad, non-branded efforts with specific, tailored search terms increased the college’s brand footprint while also funneling prospective students toward programs that were weighted by the size of the target enrollment goal.
By customizing the new campus launch with a data-focused regional strategy, the campaigns were immediately successful. And the college enjoyed peace of mind knowing the enrollment goals were on track.
THE TAKEAWAY
No matter how much a college or university grows, whether it’s launching a program for the first time or entering a new geographical area, you never have to start from scratch or face the “unknown.” Existing data can be extrapolated, reliable predictions made, and successful campaigns implemented when you combine data scientists and higher ed marketing industry expertise.
If you’re interested in learning more, our data scientists always love a new challenge. Let us know if you have one.
