Not Business As Usual
Getting maximum engagement and value for a
major university’s media campaigns
Challenge
With the largest marketing budget at the university, the George Washington School of Business (GWSB) had an incredible opportunity to position itself as the local leader in business academic offerings, driving awareness and growing its pool of applicants. But a budget alone is not enough to succeed in the world of targeted media. GWSB needed our help developing and executing a robust media strategy to strengthen their reputation as a premiere academic institution in the nation’s capital.
Solution
While the MBA program is GWSB’s bread and butter, the school sought to promote three other program categories in addition to its flagship offering: MSCERT (24 for-credit graduate certificates and six professional development certificate programs), MIMMIBS (customizable and stackable programs towards a Master of Interdisciplinary Business Studies), and Info Sessions, supporting on-campus events to attract prospective students. We determined that each program category would require a unique planning strategy, media mix, and execution plan.
Results
In November 2019, we launched our campaigns (complete with all-new creative) across all programs. From that point on through May of 2020, the MBA campaign saw a 331% increase in conversions as compared to the previous period; the MSCERT campaign saw a 68% decrease in cost-per-conversion; and the MIMMIBS campaign served over 22.2MM impressions to target audiences. With sterling results and a promising path forward, we are continuing to refine our strategies in response to real-time learnings; GWSB’s reputation is in good hands.
