Challenge: A private university was experiencing diminishing response to
their annual enrollment search effort.
Solution: New Reach Media proposed and executed a customized cross-channel
plan to reach prospective students that proved both more effective and more cost
efficient. The initial control of a letter in #10 envelope was tested against a
more attractive 4-color postcard with personalized graphics and text that drove
students to personal URLs built around their names (for instance state.edu/JohnSmith).
There students were able to provide feedback to the school regarding their interests
or concerns, update contact info, download brochures, and of course, apply online.
Admissions counselors had real time access to student website interactions to track
individual activity, as well as daily email reports that both summarized and detailed
the responses.
Subsequent contact with the prospects after the initial direct mail was supported
by email. The search process was extended beyond the direct mail piece through personalized
emails that allowed direct click-through to the personal websites. Students that
visited their microsites were sent emails based on rules related to their website
activity as well as discrete emails directed at particular interests or opportunities
they communicated interest in.
Result: The variable direct postcard out performed the control letter in initial
response rate. More importantly, the personal microsite interface provided an avenue
for ongoing relationship building and prospect follow up that vastly improved the
applicant pool. The following year the university added a pre-populated application
to the search microsite which expedited the process and allow the enrollment staff
to track more specifically the application process.