Case study

Strategic Marketing & Brand Development

Situation

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The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts university with a 103-year history

located between Los Angeles and Palm Springs in Inland Southern California.

The University ranks highly in Princeton Review’s annual list of top colleges. Forbes ranks

the University in the top 5% of America’s best colleges and the University is repeatedly

ranked both an A+ School and a Best Value by U.S. News & World Report.

For traditional undergraduates—recruited nationally—the

University has a complex recruitment model based on a

residential College of Arts and Sciences. It also offers adult

programs for business professionals and educators through its

School of Business and School of Education.

Historically, marketing has been individually handled across all

academic units by admissions departments. This resulted in a silo

approach to marketing that often worked at cross-purposes.

The University’s revenue generation is 86% tuition-dependent.

Since 2008, high regional unemployment coupled with a rocketing

home foreclosure rate—plus increased competition—began

to negatively impact enrollments. Enrollments were trending

downward in all academic areas.

For Adult Learners:

•TheSchoolofEducationoffersteachingcredentialsaswellasadvanceddegreesincludingauniquedoctorateineducationaljustice.

•Over30yearsago,theUniversitypioneeredadultbusinesseducationintheWestwithWhiteheadCollege,nowrenamedtheSchoolofBusiness,offeringprogramsforworkingadultsinundergraduatedegreecompletionaswellasmastersinmanagementandMBAs.

•TheseprogramsareofferedthroughanetworkofeightregionallocationsfromWestLosAngelesthroughSanDiego,coveringmorethan17,000squaremilesandsixdistinctmediamarkets.

For Traditional Students:

•Studentsmaychoosefrom40+majors/programsorcustomizetheirownthroughtheuniquelyinnovativeJohnstonCenter.

•Smallclasssizes,astrongcommunitycultureandastunningcampusarebigdraws.

•Themajorityofstudentsattendcollegewithin100milesofhome,althoughadmissionsfocusedadisproportionateamountofresourcesonout-of-staterecruiting.

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Toreversethetrendtowardslowerenrollment,marketingwasbroughtintotheUniversityasanew

functionatthesenioradministrationlevel.Itwasgiventhedirectivetooptimizeexistingadmissions

effortsinordertoregainlostmarketshare,andthengrowtheUniversitytomaximizeitscurrent

infrastructurecapacity.Ithadthreeover-ridinggoals:

Increase awareness in Southern California

Increase inquiries in all three academic areas

Increase qualified applicants, particularly those who require less financial aid

Mandate

Solution

Align entire University under a data-driven, brand-based, integrated marketing approach to drive increases in admissions. This approach:

•Integratesdisciplinesofadvertising,directmarketing,interactiveandpublicrelationstomaximizeeffectivenessandleveragebudget

•Geo-targetsSouthernCaliforniatoleverageundergradtrendsandregionallocations

•Targetsareasofadmissiontohelpfillprogramsthathavecapacity

•Improvesyieldrates,whichhavebeendecreasingyear-over-year

•Testsassumptionswithadmissionsdirectors

•Incorporatestheinsightsof10yearsofdatafromahighereducation-focusedresearchfirm

•Marketstopotentialstudentsbyunderstandingtheirneeds,motivations,attitudesandbehaviors

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The marketing began with research and brand discovery:

• ReviewedtheUniversityStrategicPlanningStudyandanalyzedexistingdataoncurrentstudentsplusathoroughanalysisoftheUniversity’sStrengths,Weaknesses,OpportunitiesandThreats(SWOT).

•Ahistoricalrevenueanalysiswasgeneratedbasedonyearlyrelationshippatternsforinquiries-to-applicants-to-enrollmentsacrossallthreeacademicareas.

•MarketingthenconductedbothquantitativeandqualitativeresearchonprospectivetraditionalandadultstudentsinSouthernCalifornia,whichuncoveredlowawarenessaswellasmisperceptionsregardingaffordability.

•AbranddiscoveryprocesswasconductedwithrepresentativesfromallkeyconstituenciestorevealtheUniversity’scorebrandattributes.

•ResearchindicatedabrandmessagereinforcingthetraditionalCollegewasanincentivetoadultstudentswhowantedtheirdegreefroma“real”institutionasopposedtoafor-profitoption.

BrandAnalysis &Development

Brand Attributes

1.Afacultyandstaffculturethatprovidesaholisticeducationresultinginauniquelifetransformation

2.Awelcoming,inclusiveandbelongingcommunity

3.Innovationwithmany“firsts”

4.Theplace

= Elevating the learning experience

The Rationale

Redlands holistic education provides so much more than a degree—it provides deeper learning beyond the classroom. With a culture of community service, a faculty committed to personalized education, custom majors, a trend-setting focus on spatial reasoning, ethics and educational justice, Redlands has a history of students who are making a difference in the world. Redlands can make the claim that students receive more than an education: they learn equally about service, commitment, life and the world.

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MarketingStrategy

Anintegratedmarketingplanwasdeveloped

leveragingbudgetresourcesacrossallacademic

areasandreinforcingmediavehiclesincluding

TV,print,radio,internet,billboards,directmail,

promotionsandpublicrelations.

Media drove traffic to a revamped University website, which reinforced the brand

platform and was engineered for search engine optimization.

A new campus video tour gave prospective students a virtual visit to the campus,

and a window into the University’s brand personality.

Key campaign messages re-introduced the 103-year old institution to the

community (Hello. Rest of your life calling.) and positioned the University against

the majority trend in Southern California to attend a public school through the UC

or Cal State system (Dare to be different. You’ll fit right in.)

New interactive marketing strategies for national high school student recruitment

were implemented to reduce cost per lead averages.

In addition to brand-based messaging, marketing included increased editorials

and Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on tips and trends in higher education

to educate prospective students on general information about scholarships,

internships and career advice.

The campaign was designed with a consistent look and feel tied into the

boldness of the University’s colors and a confidence in attitude to attract a more

demanding type of student looking for more from their educational experience.

Social Media

Cable Television

Direct Mail

Print Advertising

Online Banners

Radio

Outdoor

Existing Website Edit & New Website Development

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For Traditional Students:

•TheCollegeofArtsandSciencesbrokea103-year

schoolrecordwith4,017applicationsfor2010

•In-stateapplicantsincreasedby27% •Localtransferapplicantsincreasedby32% •Honorsapplicantsincreasedby10%

For Adult Learners:School of Business

•Marketing-generatedleadsareup26% •Marketing-generatedapplicationsareup47%overprior

sixmonths

•June2010wasthebestrecruitmentmonthinthepastthreeyears

•OpenHousesaretrackingthehighestprospectattendanceinthepast10years

•Internetapplicationsareup80%overtheprevioussixmonths

School of Education

•Marketing-generatedleadsareup64%overpriorsixmonths

•Internetleadsareup31% •Internetapplicationsareup30% •Overallinquiriesareup22%overthepreviousyear,inan

educationindustrythatissufferingstate-widefromteacherlayoffsandreducedbudgets.

Results+

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Intheinitialphaseofthecampaign,enrollmentdeclineshavebeenstabilizedacrossallschools.

Toregainmarketshare,asignificantnumberofadditionalleadshavebeengeneratedandprovided

totheadmissionsofficeofeachschooltoconverttoapplicants.

Newmarketingstrategiesarepositivelychangingtherecruitmentmodelintheadultprogramswith

ahigherpercentageofprospectsskippingtheinquiryphaseandgoingstraighttoapplication.

TraditionalstudentsareincreasinglyawareoftheUniversityandindicatingstrongerinteresttolearn

more.Onitscurrenttrackofenrollmentincreases,theUniversityispoisedtoregainitslostmarket

shareacrossallthreeschoolswithinthefirst18-24monthsoflaunchingthenewcampaign.

Then,effortswillbegearedtowardoverallgrowth.

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