University of Wisconsin-Madison – Lot 5

Hey,

We’ve hand-selected these case studies to show you our range and depth in nonprofit marketing and advertising. As you wade through, you will see that we’ve got the strategic, creative, and media chops to help the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Below you’ll find our samples for Lot. 5, Inbound Marketing Services.

Welcome

On this page, you’ll find the case studies we’ve selected especially for you. All of them showcase the talent, passion, and ingenuity we put into everything we do. Reach out if you have any questions!

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Walden University

Promoting the human side of online learning.

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Walden University

The Challenge

Walden University is one of the largest online universities in the world with over 50,000 students in over 120 countries. One of Walden’s core strengths has been developing innovative new modalities and evolving their programs to meet contemporary challenges. When they wanted to launch some of their newest, they turned to idfive for creative approaches driven by research.

Research

It’s tempting to think of “adult learners” as a monolithic category, but both we and Walden understood that nothing could be further from the truth. While most adults going back to school do share similar challenges when it comes to balancing learning with the rest of their lives, what drives them very much depends on their profession, their interests, and their ultimate life goals. Unless we knew them, we couldn’t speak to them.

MSEd

So we got to know them, and the knowledge we gained drove each unique campaign. For the relaunch of the MSEd we learned that if we were going to get noticed we had to break away from the very crowded competitive set by being bold, sounding fresh, and ditching the cliches every other program seemed to be using. Our ads featured bold, single-color backgrounds, exuberant, real-looking people who looked nothing like the ho-hum stock photos featured by other schools, and typography that evoked real-life classroom tools such as notebook paper and blackboards.

Woman standing in front of teal background laughing

MSW

In order to reach out to prospective MSW students we had to take a different approach. For these audiences Walden’s long-time emphasis on social change already resonated: our research showed that “change” was the key word when it came to motivating people to go into social work. The imagery of this campaign focused around images of real students and their stories of how their education would empower them to bring real change to their communities. Using a dark, somewhat muted palette for the background along with strong, simple sans-serif type, the effect was to put the student front and center, projecting power and determination.

Doctoral

Prospective students interested in doctoral programs had similar motivations and shared many of the same characteristics as the prospective MSW students. People interested in earning their doctorates, regardless of the discipline, were driven people determined to make real change, something many had experience with through their work with their communities. These were inspiring people and our campaign reached out to them with a story-driven approach featuring accomplished alumni in close-cropped, eyes-forward poses and short, declarative copy about their accomplishments. The effect was like having an intimate conversation with each, one designed to draw in the prospective student and inspire them to action.

Undergraduate Academy

Our research also showed that adult learners who had committed to returning to finish their undergraduate degrees after being out of school for a long time were pretty determined folks, too. They had to be because they often had to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to gain the education that would help them obtain a better life for themselves and their families. We tested two concepts for the new Undergraduate Academy with them: “It’s Your Turn” focusing on empowering their decision and “Think Again,” a phrase which pivoted on the double meanings of both “thinking again” and using education to reconsider their lives. Walden eventually chose “It’s Your Turn” and the campaign imagery focused on simple shots of “everyday” adults in the target demographic boldly filling the frame over an “It’s Your Turn” watermark background, their eyes raised towards the future drawing the viewer to the straightforward, encouraging, empowering headlines.

Celebration Slate

Cool grey

Graduation Gold

Traditional Teal

Tempo

Finally, our campaign to promote Tempo, Walden’s new self-paced modality for undergraduate learners used straight talk and bold statements to make sure that prospects knew “yeah: you got this” when thinking about completing their degrees. Knowing that employers were taking a more active role in educating their employees as a way of increasing workforce effectiveness and employee retention, our campaign addressed the needs of employers as well, speaking directly to them to emphasize that the program would be ideal for improving the effectiveness of their employees and that their financial support or support offered by giving employees time off to complete their degrees with the Tempo program isn’t a cost: it’s an investment in their own business.

Survey responses for Tempo campaign research

Campaign Optimization

Much of Walden’s media buying is handled by another agency employed strictly to handle those transactions, so idfive collaborated with them and our partners at Walden to create a wide range of formats and executions for all five campaigns. We utilized a wide range of channels in most cases, including traditional banner advertising, social media advertising, email, and, in some cases (eg. the Doctoral campaign) even print collateral such as posters.

Wherever possible, a “test, optimize, focus” approach was used, starting with multiple executions of online ads that varied headlines, imagery, and, in some cases, colors — all within brand and campaign standards, of course — which would run in flights on targeted media. Results were analyzed regularly, often on a daily basis in the early stages, and creative that performed the best replaced creative which did not yield optimal results. Using this method, the campaign was quickly optimized around the most effective ads yielding the greatest response rates.

Alumni Magazine

Walden Magazine, published twice a year for an alumni audience, highlights the contributions that Walden graduates make to their communities and the world. The 2021 Summer/Fall issue—with a theme of Finding and Building Community in a Transformative Time—took the community focus to another level. Walden already had an important story to tell: as a leader and early adopter in online education, they maintained a sense of community throughout the challenges of education in the time of Covid. But in early 2021, both of Walden’s founders, Rita and Bernie Turner passed away.

From Confronting Healthcare Disparities in the LGBTQIA+ Community to Stopping the Spread of Covid-19 in the Navajo Nation, the magazine flips from an expected, somber tone to a celebratory one. With a visual focus on what makes Walden special—people—the 2021 Summer/Fall Walden Magazine both engages its audience and honors the University’s founders in equal measure.

Colgate students hurry to their classes on a sunny day in early fall, the chapel visible in the background

Colgate University

Celebrating 200 years.

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Colgate University

BUILDING A MODERN WEBSITE FOR AN HISTORICAL HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

Colgate University, a prestigious private university in central New York, is globally recognized for offering an innovative curriculum and an experience dedicated to career outcomes, on a sprawling, bucolic, rustic campus. Showcasing the Colgate experience cohesively across several digital touchpoints was a rewarding opportunity that continues to evolve through our ongoing partnership.

“Finding the right partner may have been our most important step. We understood that we were not only seeking a partner to build our website but one who would also fill the role of the teacher as we learned a new hosting environment and CMS.”

Jason Kammerdiener

Web Manager, Colgate University

The Challenge

Colgate wanted to upgrade their CMS to a more modern, sustainable platform. With the help of idfive, this project underwent an intensive stakeholder discovery to determine the priorities, requirements, functionality, and architecture needed to support a bustling, evolving institution.

The Result

The result was a beautifully redesigned site built on the Drupal 8 CMS platform, with the flexibility to continue to grow. With more than 1,500 pages migrated by a hybrid team of Colgate staff and idfivers, the new site was positively received by the Colgate community immediately upon launch.

200

Years of history to share

“The idfive team really had fun with this project! Partnering with Colgate to tell a story that means so much to alumni, current students, faculty and the surrounding Hamilton, NY community was rewarding. The site enables visitors to relive a sense of pride and look forward to a Colgate’s dynamic future.”

Jake Tarbert

Associate VP

The Challenge

How do you tell the story of a venerable institution’s two-century legacy without getting lost in the past? How do we bring history to life while positioning a bold vision for the future? Taking both of these challenges to mind, idfive developed a content strategy based on historic artifacts, an interactive timeline, and an invitation for the community to share their own Colgate experiences.

https://idfive.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Colgate_Bicentennial_1Large.jpg

The Result

With an enhanced design developed to embrace and celebrate this golden celebration, we launched a site that worked flawlessly across every platform and blended seamlessly into the architecture of the main Colgate website.

The Challenge

When the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 brought campus visits for prospective students to a halt, Colgate recognized that digitally showcasing the full Colgate experience – campus included – was paramount to encouraging students to commit. Colgate turned to idfive to translate their This is Colgate and Outcomes printed viewbooks into rich, engaging online experiences for prospective students and their families.

To keep these online Viewbooks sustainable year-over-year, we developed an information architecture and modular user experience that allowed content to be interchangeable and updatable as information about the University changed while retaining the flow and narrative of the Viewbooks’ print counterparts.

The Result

The site was then designed and developed to be CMS-agnostic, for maximum flexibility. The result was a collaborative content migration and a rapid launch to reach prospects during commitment season.

The Partnership Continues

In addition to major projects with our partners at Colgate, idfive serves as the University’s web and digital support partner. Building a lasting understanding of Colgate’s diverse digital landscape, we’re able to continue being nimble, responsive, and effective to meet the needs of this vibrant institution.

UB Gamescape 2016

Envisioning UB's galactic future.

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UB Gamescape 2016

The Challenge

Each year the University of Baltimore’s indie gaming expo Gamescape takes place during Artscape, the Nation’s largest free arts festival. Running right through UB’s urban campus and drawing in over 350,000 attendees, the festival is a tremendous marketing opportunity for the school.

Following 2015’s highly successful Gamescape execution, in 2016 idfive again worked with the school to create an outdoor environment that tied together the school’s brand and the festival’s yearly theme, all the while bringing value to festival goers. But if that weren’t enough, Gamescape 2016 just happened to take place at the height of the Pokemon Go craze—an opportunity that required even more nimble and creative action on behalf of idfive to capitalize on the app that was taking the gaming community, and much of the millennial and Gen Z population, by storm.

The Solution

To compliment both UB’s brand and Artscape’s theme, which was “Space” in 2016, idfive created the tongue-and-cheek “Star System Campus” concept, and turned Gamescape’s outdoor environment into a representation of the school’s far future. The space included a 40 foot archway, future themed props, cut-out photo ops and a sixty foot wide window cling advertising futuristic courses like “Galilean Moon Law” and futurist Baltimore City amenities like the “Galactic Aquarium.”

Strategy

In addition to this fun and graphically alluring environment was Gamescape’s timely secret weapon: Pokemon Go. With just days to prepare, idfive devised a strategy that enabled the school to sponsor 30 hours worth of “lures” to increase the amount of pokemon in Gamescape’s area. While the lures cost just $345, the stunt drove an unprecedented amount of attendees in UB’s target demographic to the exhibition, lit up social media channels and attracted media coverage from outlets including MSN, Yahoo News, Huffington Post/AOL, and local ABC and Fox affiliates. Most importantly, both the Pokemon Go involvement and Gamescape’s “Star System Campus” theme perfectly matched the audience and the festival’s purpose to tie together art, technology and community.

Howard University Magazine

Updating the ongoing story of a vital HBCU.

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Howard University Magazine

The Challenge

Howard University publishes a print version of the Howard Magazine three times a year. Howard needed a companion website to elevate the University’s strategic editorial initiatives and make the publication more accessible. idfive was tasked with creating a flexible digital magazine experience that not only accommodates future issues and seamlessly captures the spirit of the Howard brand, but one that also allows users to quickly and easily interact with a wide range of content types—from long-form features and video to in memoriams and book recommendations.

18

Design options for each article

“It was an extremely rewarding experience to build an interactive tool that brings Bison stories to life in an engaging and elegant way.”

Dan Rogers

Director of Development

Strategy

Through a long-standing partnership that has encompassed everything from full website builds to student recruitment campaigns, the idfive team was able to rapidly design and breathe life into the digital magazine website. Simultaneously working on two other web projects for Howard—The Dig and the Office of the President website—the team was also able to streamline the process, leveraging components and features across the three sites to create efficiencies.

Our close collaboration with the Howard team ensured that the site design stood on its own—as a destination for Howard alumni, the campus community, and external stakeholders—while also supporting other University communication efforts. Finally, the trust we’d built over our seven-year partnership enabled us to help the Howard team take more risks with photography and content to create an online magazine that was as bold as the University’s vision.

Design

A bold design with micro interactions draws the user’s eye down the page. Large content blocks are balanced by white space to create a clean, uncluttered look and feel. The aesthetic takes the Howard brand into new territory while adhering to its core tenets.

Development

Front- and back-end development included robust article search and filter functionality in order to provide users with quick access to content across all issues. Flexible, editorial-style content widgets were also built to create an immersive experience with large, impactful photography and high-impact stats.

The Result

The Howard Magazine website has provided students, faculty, and alumni with an immersive experience that allows them to engage with traditionally printed content in new ways. In its first two weeks, the site attracted 4,125 new users. The design has already delivered on the primary editorial objective to increase engagement across all content forms: the most popular feature has been “Making Waves,” a long-form piece that highlights Howard’s distinction—and social responsibility—as the only remaining HBCU with a Division I swimming and diving program.

There’s more where that came from.

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