Syracuse University recognizes a transformational shift in the demographics of today’s college student. As a result, the university’s strategic priorities include exponential growth in online student enrollment over the next 3-5 years. Growth is largely expected to come from post-traditional student populations as the university significantly increases its online course and program offerings.
A brand recall study conducted by an impartial vendor indicated that only three percent (12 of 400) of respondents identified Syracuse University as a college that came to mind unaided when asked about online degrees. As a result, the university needed to develop an effective integrated marketing strategy that would quickly elevate its brand position in order to meet recruitment and enrollment goals.
The marketing strategy coincided with the launch of a new website and significant development in new online undergraduate, graduate, and executive education program offerings. The strategy executed an integrated overarching online recruitment campaign to establish greater recognition and position understanding for Syracuse University as an institution of online learning. The strategy was intended to be executed in two phases.
Phase I of this online campaign ran Aug. 10, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2021. This submission is based on results of Phase I.
From the Judges
We were impressed with their investment in several locations per state to maximize exposure. The results seen from developing creative that spoke to the target audience were quite notable by seeing a 1,500% increase in website traffic.
