Carthage College: Media
The Challenge
The momentum was there and the rapport was easy, so after a successful 2022 website redesign, expanding our engagement with Carthage College just made sense. Located off the shores of Lake Michigan, we rejoined forces to maximize their media outreach, which proved to be a seamless extension of an already productive partnership.
Our objective was to drive awareness, boost requests for information (RFIs), and increase full-time enrollees (FTEs). The challenge was to craft effective media strategies that could navigate the complexities of different audience segments, focusing on undergraduate and graduate programs, with a particular emphasis on their niche Sports Management program.
The Strategy
Our approach involved developing tailored, multi-channel media strategies. For the undergraduate and graduate split and the Sports Management program, we prioritized a balanced campaign and continually assessed performance to optimize budget allocation across channels. After reviewing two years of historical performance data, a shift was warranted to meet the changing needs of FY24. Our team tailors targets to meet the audience where they already are. For this campaign, we reallocated budget away from LinkedIn, D/OOH, and streaming audio to channels with higher potential for this audience such as paid social, display, and paid search. These adjustments resulted in maximized share of voice and enhanced overall results.
The Results
Despite rising costs-per-click (CPCs) across the higher education and recruitment sectors, our paid search strategy, which emphasized high-intent keywords and refined ad messaging, resulted in a 57% increase in conversions. We achieved this by optimizing for long-tail keywords and leveraging branded search terms with high conversion rates and lower CPCs.
Undergraduate programs saw a 35% increase in conversions, while graduate programs experienced an impressive 85% lift, primarily driven by the efficacy of Facebook advertising. This strategic approach exceeded the client’s expectations and illustrates the advantages of long-term partnerships with idfive.
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