Situation:
Anderson Marketing Group was awarded the Alamo Community College District account in June 2008, in the midst of what should have been a completely executed enrollment campaign targeting the Fall 2008 semester. There were multiple challenges:
- Alamo Community Colleges were four (4) weeks behind the traditional advertising period to target fall enrollment, which had a goal of 2% growth over prior year.
- Gas prices were at all-time highs and the economy was on the verge of recession, creating an environment where consumers were scrutinizing their investment on education.
- The district’s website was cluttered, with limited access for the potential student to get information. and largely driven by a corporate culture versus a welcoming and friendly environment eliciting interaction with the potential student.
Approach:
Within three weeks of being hired, Anderson developed a message that was targeted to parents focusing on affordability when compared to four-year institutions as well as transferability opportunities. We launched a secondary message targeted to students that focused on earning potential with a higher education. We also created a website landing page that acted as a clean and easy entry point for the potential students.
The campaign was executed through targeted direct mail, newspaper, television, outdoor and radio.
Results:
In the initial Fall 2008 campaign, the Alamo Community Colleges experienced record enrollment with a growth rate of 3.5%, exceeding projections by 1.5%. The campaign was such a success, we ran it again and for Spring 2009, enrollment hit a record high of 5% growth over same period previous year. The agency won two ADDY Awards for the creation of this campaign.