igen goes to college
TRANSCRIPT
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Environment
Increased Competition
Challenging Recruitment Process
Uncertain Yield & Higher Melt
Top-down Pressure from Administration
A Disruptive Storm in Higher Education
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Quality of Leads
Cost Per Lead
Conversion Rate
Application Volume
Cost PerConversion
EnrollmentYield
Melt
Enrollment Tuition/Revenue
Brand Awareness
Geographical Location of StudentsQuality of Student
Marketing Strategy and Mix
CompetitionReputation
Financial Aid
ROI
Program Offerings
Rankings
What are the challenges?
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Today’s enrollment officials “must accept that, at any moment, their heads could roll.” -Chronicle of
Higher Ed
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Trends in Size of
College/Undergraduate Applicant Pool
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As the nation’s smallest
and oldest region, New
England faces an escalating
aging population that will affect
the fate of graduate enrollment
Median age is over 40
-NE Journal of Higher Ed
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Between 2000 and 2010, children under 18 in New England
dropped by 197,000. From 2010 to 2013, it dropped by
another 102,000 children-Census Bureau
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• Growth of online universities
Online education is becoming increasingly popular and
a contributing factor to the decreasing applicant pool
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Get ready.
If you thought Millennials were hard to understand…
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The next generation
of college applicants,
according to Stefan
Pollack’s book,
Disrupted.
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Who is an iGen?
The next generation of
college applicants.
iGens were born between 1994 and 2004
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Who is an iGen?
The next generation of
college applicants.
Members of the iGeneration (iGen) were
born between 1994 and 2004.
They are accustomed
to accessing
information about
anything at anytime
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Who is an iGen?
The next generation of
college applicants.
Members of the iGeneration (iGen) were
born between 1994 and 2004.
iGens listen to iGens
They avoid commercials,
favor peer reviews and only
read messages from
trusted networks
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Who is an iGen?
The next generation of
college applicants.
Members of the iGeneration (iGen) were
born between 1994 and 2004.
Colleges are no longer competing with each other,
but with students who hold the power to influence
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Who is an iGen?
The next generation of
college applicants.
Members of the iGeneration (iGen) were
born between 1994 and 2004.
Think “one-to-one-to-many”
iGens expect personal communication and will amplify
positive or negative personal experiences to broader networks
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Who is an iGen?
The next generation of
college applicants.
Members of the iGeneration (iGen) were
born between 1994 and 2004.
Think One to One to Many. iGens expect communication to
be personal, but will also amplify personal experiences to
their broader network—positive or negative.
They curate and control their media experience
These “gatekeepers” require brands to seek permission to
enter their world
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How do we know this?
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Key Findings from the
“iGen Goes to College” Survey
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67% of iGens learned about a
school through Facebook
Students want to engage with
schools on their own terms
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92% of students used social media
during the application process
60% of applicants felt comfortable
contacting schools via social media
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iGens desire authentic,
personalized outreach
from likeminded peers
43% stated personal contact
influenced their decision to
attend a school
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Applicants place importance on program specialties and
digital presentation
Course/program offerings (48%) and school reputation (44%)
were critical enrollment influencers
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38% said a school’s
website was the most
trustworthy source
when learning
about a school
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Key Findings from the iGen Focus Groups:
Boston, New York, Los Angeles
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Students liked direct outreach from schools via social media
(i.e. when current students tweeted at them)
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Students suggested schools include pictures and interactive
features in emails to make them more engaging and effective
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Participants wished schools
would be more aware of
them as individuals rather
than sending generic
communiques
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Students found repeat emails and letters annoying, especially when
redundant or after acceptance when they to enroll elsewhere
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Takeaway:
Traditional marketing does not resonate with iGens and requires
a new look at the communications, admissions and
enrollment process
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Media Consumption Patterns:
iGens
iGens’ media consumption patterns are constantly changing
They gather information about schools from many more online
sources than previous generations
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How do we respond to this?
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Schools should take a page
from the consumer retail
playbook and market directly
to students using interesting/
personalized messages
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The need for strategic,
targeted, value-oriented
and measureable
marketing programs
is critical
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Reimagining the
recruitment funnel is a
priority – using “mass”
marketing to increase yield
is hindering success
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The Old Admissions Enrollment Funnel is Linear
Inquiry
Application
Yield
Enrollment
One Way
Communication
Process Driven
Impersonal
Correspondence
Variable
ConversionMelt
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The Old Admissions Enrollment Funnel is Linear
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Inquiry
Application
Yield
Enrollment
One Way
Communication
Process Driven
Impersonal
Correspondence
Variable
ConversionMelt
iGens Have #Hacked the Funnel
Drive
Awareness
Increase yield,
decrease melt,
and secure
enrollment
Grad School
Class of
2017/2018
Online
Offline
DEADLINES
Foster
ConsiderationEncourage
EngagementCreate
Excitement
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Creating the Personal
Enrollment Journey
Name: Jessica
Born: 1994
Lives: Wakefield, MA
Attributes:• GPA 3.8
• Rowing team
• Interested in medicine
• Wants to attend an urban school
• Needs financial aid
• Loves pizza, dogs and shopping
• Cares about the environment
• Active on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram
and Snapchat
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– Received a viewbook and letters that she recycled
– Received three emails that remain unopened
– Received Tweet to “chat” with a
current law student
– Read blog post about law student’s
trip to work on a real case
– Followed by law students on
Instagram who are brand
ambassadors
– Opts-in through mobile to
communicate and apply
Communications with Meaning
Communications with Meaning
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– Invited to informational event
in a large lecture hall
– Struggled to stay awake
during presentation
Making Info Sessions Fun
Admissions Road Trip
– Branded truck visits Jessica’s
hometown during holidays and
invites her via Twitter
– Meet-ups in cities across U.S.
– College engages with Jessica on
her social channels and
encourages sharing
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– Tour was awkward and Jessica didn’t get
to meet any professors or connect with other students
Interactive Experience
– Jessica takes self-guided tour,
tweeting with hashtag
– Visits “selfie station” in the library
– Connected with other grad students
through Instagram scavenger-hunt
Socialize Grad School Tours
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– Tour guide was cold and impersonal
– There were no opportunities for social interaction
– Met Erica, a grad school Brand
Ambassador, who also loves the
environment and law
– Jessica is incentivized to take
pictures and tweet during tour
– Current students engage with
Jessica and retweet her content
Brand Ambassadors
Tour Guides
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Brand Ambassadors Part II
– Received LinkedIn request to
connect with an alum
– Connected with existing
students from undergrad
through Twitter
– Participated in online chat with
graduates from program she’s
interested in attending
Role of Current Grad
Students and Alumni
– Received form letter from a graduate in
the program she’s interested in
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Traditional Advertising
– Read a billboard
– Saw a television ad
– Heard a radio spot
– Recalled a print ad
Integrated, Digital Marketing
– Heard a student testimonial on Pandora
– Read sponsored content on Buzzfeed
– Viewed an alumni testimonial on
YouTube video or pre-roll
Advertising
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Traditional Media Relations
– Doesn’t read the newspaper
Media Relations
Thought Leadership
– Read a student blog post
on Buzzfeed and BostInno
– Participated in a media-
sponsored Twitter chat
about how to improve grad
school application essays
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CommunicationsFinancial
AidAdmissionsData and
Analytics
Social
Media
Advertising
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Faculty/
Deans
Public
Relations
DigitalMarketingContent
Creation
All departments and marketing disciplines need to
row in the same direction
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The Question Remains:
How do schools know this will work?
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Measuring Results:
Quality of Recruits
Conversion Rate
Cost Per Recruit
Cost Per Conversion
Increase in Applications
Increase in Yield
Decrease in % Melt
Matriculated Students
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