Work Samples Prepared for:
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona
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The University of Arizona
Situation
The University of Arizona is the state’s flagship university. As a double-designee land- and space-grant institution, an AAU member, a Carnegie R1 research powerhouse, and a designated a Hispanic-serving institution, home to not one but two medical schools, the university is instrumental to the state and holds unique influence across the county and around the globe. But for all those accolades, what UArizona didn’t have was a cohesive story. Identifying and celebrating a common ethos across its vast enterprise became an essential and urgent task—prodded by a too-noisy neighbor, and prioritized so that the institution’s reputation could be cemented in advance of a major comprehensive fundraising campaign.
Solution
When 160over90 entered the picture in early 2019, we started with one big question: What’s behind the ‘A’?
We fielded a Brand Perception Study to uncover general awareness levels and the school’s perceived reputation, as well as consideration among parents and prospective students in Arizona, Texas, and California. We employed an online survey with perceptual maps to test messaging perception, max diff to identify messages with the strongest impact, as well as ad recall for UArizona creative. At the same time, in anticipation of the upcoming fundraising campaign, UArizona Alumni commissioned 160over90 to conduct a segmentation study on alumni affinity and giving. Using data from donor files and a global survey of more than 2,000 alumni, we developed a model to group Wildcat grads based on propensity to give in the future.
This research, coupled with qualitative Discovery insights, led us to this: as the state’s first university, founded in 1885, The University of Arizona has long been in the discovery business. We’re talking world discovery, from space astronomy and optical engineering, to water scarcity and climate change, to the opioid crisis and immigration. And also self-discovery.
For certain, the desert of Tucson is a wellspring of imagination. But even more than the surrounding environment, we found that innate wonder lies at the heart of each and every Wildcat. It’s wonder that drives them to do the unknown, the unimaginable, and the unprecedented. And it’s a beautiful tension between heads-up wondering and heads-down doing that ultimately makes them who they are.
To share just how “Wonder Makes Us” at Arizona, we captured the stories of three incredible individuals who emulate wonder to the core: Phil Evans, an international wheelchair basketball player and student; Marcia Rieke, Astronomy Professor and Principal Investigator for the NIRCam on NASA’s James Webb Telescope; and Sama Alshaibi, multi-media artist and Professor of Photography. These stories—sometimes standalone, sometimes interwoven as part of a larger Wonder narrative—have been mobilized in a 360-campaign including out-of-home, custom content, TV, OTV, programmatic digital, and social, and are now live in Tucson, Phoenix, and key out-of-state markets like California and Texas.
Results
In the first wave of brand work in market, Arizona has seen tremendous results:
Awareness/Perception:
• 134 million impressions
• 0.35% CTR (exceeded benchmark by 2.9%)
• 68.3% VCR (exceeded benchmark by 7.4%)
• 252.3K LP Sessions
• 34.3% increase in YOY Arizona.edu traffic (non landing page traffic)
• 7% increase in unaided awareness among AZ teens
• +15% increase in association with “gives students a head start in their career”
• +17% increase in association with “excellent academics”
• +19% increase in association with “diversity”
• 8% increase in likelihood for TX parents to recommend The University of Arizona to their child
Admissions:
• Visitation increase in opportunity markets: TX (+17,000) and CA (+12,000)
• Record number of first-year apps for Fall 2020 ( 5.4% increase from the previous year)
• Enrolled most diverse class in history (48%) in Fall 2020
• First-year, first-generation grew to 30%+
Rankings:
• In 2021 U.S. News & World Report rankings, jumped into the Top 100 universities for the first time
The University of Arizona
University of Arizona
Anthem
The University of Arizona
"Wonder Makes Me Seek"
University of Virginia
Admissions Case Study
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University of Virginia
Situation
The nation’s first public university, the University of Virginia (“UVA”) has played an integral role in the evolution of public education in the United States. Thomas Jefferson architected a new model for higher education, and the Academical Village—designed to create cross- disciplinary exchange—was positioned at the center of it all. For more than 200 years since, UVA has fulfilled its cinematic origin story as a heavy-hitting research institution, consistently ranked among the top publics, with 11 prestigious schools, a comprehensive health system, and top athletics programs. But the legend of Jefferson and UVA’s museum- like traditions were overpowering critical stories of ingenuity and innovation, compromising relevancy. So in 2014, in the lead-up to the launch of its Bicentennial Commemoration and its largest-ever comprehensive campaign, UVA engaged 160over90 to redefine, reanimate, and future-proof UVA’s brand platform and narrative.
Solution
To combat UVA’s historical reliance but honor its great legacy, 160over90 adjusted the narrative from Jefferson himself to the timeless ideals he espoused. The resulting brand platform, Living Idealism, draws on the past while always looking to the future, reflecting the endless pursuits of the community and demonstrating a continued commitment to excellence, ingenuity, and leadership throughout UVA’s third century.
Themes of collaboration, experimentation, and constant evolution were explored via print, digital, TV, radio, social, and high-visibility out-of-home placements. We’ve worked to reposition the incredibly iconic Rotunda from a ‘monument’ to a bulldozer, honoring UVA’s radical ways of thinking about what sits at the center of an educational experience. We’ve reimagined the President’s Report as Illimitable, a biannual editorial publication showcasing the best of UVA’s pursuits, relaunching it as a rich media online magazine.
And through a diligent process of engaging all corners of the community and equipping more than 1,600 communicators with proper marketing tools and assets—we’ve built a creative and cohesive storytelling ecosystem at UVA that aligned the overarching institution, schools, health system, athletics, admissions, advancement, and individual sub-brands/business units.
Results
In six years’ time, we’ve built more than a brand identity for UVA—we’ve created a dynamic ecosystem that reflects the true diversity, shared energy, and bold mission of one of the nation’s great universities.
We’ve increased the institution’s visibility and perception within the Commonwealth of Virginia and in the national landscape. An awareness campaign yielded more than 22 million impressions, resulting in the most successful video in school history and an 87% lift in unique site visits. A new subscription campaign for the news platform increased reach by 85% and generated 40,000+ subscribers. And a realignment of social properties grew total followers by nearly 40% in just the first year.
We’ve helped UVA achieve an historic high in quality applications and student diversity, growing undergraduate applications by 27%; increasing first- generation and minority applicants by more than 25% and 11%, respectively; and securing the largest number of early-action applications in UVA’s history, while also improving average SAT scores by more than 60 points.
And as a testament to internal adoption and brand alignment, in 2017 UVA was recognized by the American Marketing Association as the Higher Education Marketing Team of the Year.
“You’re Better Here” Campaign
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UVA Health
SITUATION
UVA Health System is a comprehensive health system whose historical focus on revenue drivers has caused the organization to lose its way. Trailing in patient amenities and employee dissatisfaction have eroded repeat visits, and under-performance in safety scores and reputation have affected clinical volume. New leadership has shifted focus to employee and patient safety, capital investments, health and wellness, and an emphasis on improving the human condition—all so that UVA Health System and the commonwealth remain strong for years to come.
SOLUTION
As Agency of Record for the University of Virginia, 160over90 was able to build upon the institution’s creative strategy and approach (The Endless Pursuit of Better) to develop a robust strategy for UVA Health System that complemented that of UVA’s, while also haloing the institution’s academic reputation to the health system itself. The end result was a creative platform of “You’re Better Here,” which confidently speaks to UVA Health System’s focus on a better patient experience and the most positive outcomes possible. This powerful platform positions UVA Health System as an authoritative, yet approachable first choice option for all forms of care—and extends into reputational advertising, academic medicine, research, clinical, and recruitment.
RESULTS
UVA Health has achieved the following results:
• University of Virginia Medical Center was ranked as the 2018-2019 No. 1 hospital in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals”—for the third consecutive year
• Named part of 2018 “100 Great Hospitals in America” by Becker’s Hospital Review
• Nine specialties were ranked among the Top 50 Nationally by U.S. News & World Report
• Number of inpatient admissions increased by 800 from 2016 to 2017
• Full-time faculty increased by 11 percent between 2015 and 2017
"Honor the Future" Campaign
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University of Virginia
Situation
The nation’s first public university, the University of Virginia has played an integral role in the evolution of public education in the United States. Thomas Jefferson architected a new model for higher education, and the Academical Village—designed to create cross-disciplinary exchange—was positioned at the center of it all. For 200 years since, UVA has fulfilled its cinematic origin story as a heavy-hitting research institution, ranked #4 among publics, with 11 prestigious schools, a comprehensive health system, and top athletics programs. But the legend of Jefferson and UVA’s museum-like traditions were overpowering stories of ingenuity and innovation, compromising relevancy.
So in 2014, in the lead-up to the launch of its Bicentennial Commemoration and its largest-ever comprehensive campaign, UVA engaged 160over90 to redefine, reanimate, and future-proof the UVA brand.
Solution
To combat UVA’s historical reliance but honor its great legacy, 160over90 adjusted the narrative from Jefferson himself to the timeless ideals he espoused. The resulting brand platform, “Living Idealism,” draws on the past while always looking to the future, reflecting the endless pursuits of the community and demonstrating a continued commitment to excellence, ingenuity, and leadership throughout UVA’s third century.
Themes of collaboration, experimentation, and constant evolution were explored via print, digital, TV, radio, social, and high-visibility out-of-home placements. We’ve worked to reposition the incredibly iconic Rotunda from a monument to a bulldozer, honoring UVA’s radical ways of thinking about what sits at the core of an educational experience. And we’ve reimagined the President’s report, Illimitable, into a biannual editorial publication showcasing the best of UVA’s pursuits, relaunching it as a rich media online magazine.
In 2016, with two-to-three years of institutional brand work in market, we began expanding our partnership to key revenue streams and schools/units–among them, the Office of Advancement. Most immediately, we leaned into planning for UVA’s Bicentennial celebration (in 2017) which, in keeping with the brand character, could not be purely backward-looking. That then gave way to the 2019 launch of UVA’s $5B comprehensive fundraising campaign, which the agency aptly named “Honor the Future.” Campaign brand touchpoints included launch event strategy and creative, development of a full video series as well as animations for social and the web, and continued donor engagement activities.
Today, through a diligent process of engaging all corners of the community and equipping more than 1,600 communicators with proper marketing tools and assets, we’ve built a creative and cohesive storytelling culture at UVA that spans all major schools as well as Advancement, Admissions, Athletics, and the Health System.
Results
In six years’ time, we’ve built more than a brand identity for UVA—we’ve created a dynamic ecosystem that reflects the true diversity, shared energy, and bold mission of one of the nation’s great universities.
We’ve increased the institution’s visibility and perception within the Commonwealth of Virginia and in the national landscape. An awareness campaign has yielded 22 million impressions, resulting in the most successful video in school history and an 87% lift in unique site visits. A new subscription campaign for the news platform increased reach by 85% and generated 40,000 subscribers. And realignment of social properties grew total followers by nearly 40% in just the first year.
We’ve helped UVA achieve an historic high in quality applications and student diversity, growing undergraduate applications by 27%; increasing first-generation and minority applicants by 10% and 4%, respectively; and securing the largest number of early-action applications in UVA’s history while improving SAT scores.
On the fundraising front, despite facing a challenging philanthropic environment in 2020, the “Honor The Future” campaign has successfully raised more than $4.6 billion to date of its $5 billion goal and is now looking at an iconic campaign close-out.
And as a testament to internal adoption and brand alignment, UVA and 160over90 were recognized by the American Marketing Association as the 2017 higher education marketing team of the year.
University of Virginia Athletics
Case Study
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University of Virginia Cavaliers
Situation
Known to some as the Hoos. To others, the Wahoos. And to all, the University of Virginia Cavaliers (“Cavaliers”). No matter the name, the Cavaliers are best known as leaders on every field. Students and athletes alike are fiercely competitive, hold themselves to a higher standard, and treat each game day with the same vigor as exam day. With 700+ student athletes spanning 27 varsity teams, the Cavaliers have captured more than 135 ACC Championships, 27 NCAA championships, and many UVA athletes have gone on to play professionally or participate in the Olympics.
However, despite past successes, the program was slipping in competitiveness. The significant lack of resources (finances, programming, and facilities) coupled with changes within the collegiate athletics landscape and the ACC, eliminated areas that historically have been competitive differentiators for the program. As a result, there was a critical need for reinvestment in the forward vision and success of the program.
With a new Athletics Director, new University President, and UVA’s $5 billion Honor the Future comprehensive capital campaign announced, the time was right for UVA Athletics to define who it is, where it’s going, and why it matters. The current internal team was eager for change, and these developments presented great opportunity to align an exceptional athletics program with the top-tier resources of UVA as an elite public institution. The Cavaliers approached 160over90 to build a band positioning and creative platform that would attract the best and brightest in university athletics and academics, strengthen high-value partnerships, and differentiate the Cavaliers on a national scale.
Solution
In 2014, 160over90 began working with UVA to develop their institutional brand platform—Living Idealism. This brand platform draws on the past while always looking to the future, reflecting the endless pursuits of the community and demonstrating a continued commitment to advancing knowledge, educating leaders, and improving the human condition throughout UVA’s third century. In the years that followed, our team worked with other sectors of the University, translating that work with the institution to each sub-brand. Leveraging all of our work to-date—and our historical knowledge of the University—160over90 conducted an athletics-focused immersion and story mining process to uncover the Cavaliers’ unique goals, opportunities, and challenges.
We came to understand that the Cavaliers’ foundation lies in their everlasting efforts at Redefining Victory. By challenging and defining what it means to win, how to lead, and how to achieve on the field, outside the arena, and into life beyond sports, the Cavaliers are able to deliver upon their public mission, remain competitive, and achieve success well beyond their athletic accomplishments.
In partnership with the Cavaliers’ internal team, we developed a unique brand platform that built on the sustained momentum of the program to-date. As part of these collaborative efforts, we concepted and executed an anthem video to highlight all sports at the University, a series of football-specific hype videos, and a fundraising campaign brochure. Additionally, our team developed full brand and social media guidelines to arm the Cavaliers’ internal team with the tools to implement the brand platform across every medium.
Results
Through cumulative efforts across the entire institution, as well as in collaboration with the internal Cavaliers team, the program has achieved a number of impressive results, including:
- Two NCAA National Championships, several ACC Championships, and multiple individual Academic accolades
- 2018-19 Men’s Capital One Cup winners
- 21 UVA teams (or programs with individuals representing their teams) appearing in postseason competition in 2018-19
- Eighth-place finish in 2018-19 Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup; sixth Top 10 finish in 10 years
- UVA Football ACC Coastal Division title, ACC Championship Game, Orange Bowl invitation in 2019
- UVA Football per game home attendance increased by 21% from 2018, the highest increase in the ACC
- UVA Football student attendance increased by 17% from 2018 and was the highest since the 2007
- UVA Football season ticket total increased by 15% from 2018, the highest in 25 years
University of Virginia Athletics
"2020 Football Anthem”
Tulane University
Tulane University
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Tulane University
Situation
Since the 1830s, Tulane University has experienced a history of ongoing evolution and ever-increasing impact. New Orleans is a place that pushes you to be you, and Tulane has always maintained a symbiotic relationship with the city it calls home. Just over 10 years ago, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the city was devastated and the university was on the brink of closing. In the decade since, Tulane transitioned from a comeback mentality to becoming a distinguished national leader in higher education and offering a highly sought after experience.
Solution
Tulane approached 160over90 at the onset of the university’s largest fundraising effort in its 184-year history with a goal to raise $1.3 billion to bolster research, scholarships, and faculty. We were tasked with developing a campaign narrative that authentically represents how Tulane is thinking big, differently, creatively, and with urgency to solve significant issues of today. We conducted a robust Discovery and created the campaign’s message and brand centered on the theme Only the Audacious. With this campaign platform, our team created a multi-year campaign communications strategy and full suite of executions to support the campaign, including a dynamic microsite, anthem video assets, case statement, save-the-date, donor gifts, campus signage, print collateral, and a campaign launch event.
Event Strategy & Execution | Designed to generate awareness, instill pride, and foster excitement among the entire Tulane community, the Only the Audacious event served as an experiential extension of the Brand Concept work 160over90 created on behalf of the University. Our team developed and executed on a series of activations and “media moments” leading up to and during Tulane’s Only the Audacious campaign launch, as a means to effectively reach key audiences such as alumni and donors—and amplify the event’s reach to extend well beyond day-of attendees. Throughout the engagement, the 160over90 team liaised with and consulted alongside the Tulane Advancement Events Team to ensure cohesion and alignment on all event elements, including bringing the strategy to life and assisting with pre-activation logistics and day-of, on-site event execution.
Event PR | To help bolster the institution’s reputation and brand awareness on a national stage, and to court public opinion of key influences in support of the comprehensive campaign, 160over90 implemented a targeted earned media strategy. Media relations outreach was centered on achieving heightened visibility through a steady drumbeat of positive press coverage specifically surrounding recent rankings and recognitions, brand stories that expressly ladder up to the Only the Audacious campaign initiatives, as well as milestones, major gift announcements, and expert source positioning to increase share of voice.
Results
A successful campaign launch event in December 2017 was framed as a daylong celebration near Tulane’s Uptown campus. Attendees participated in a luncheon, concert, and other events designed to highlight the university’s contribution to areas including coastal restoration and medicine. 54,000 individuals have already donated $820 million during the campaign’s silent phase. The number of donors has increased by 2,400 donors year over year. Last year (2018-2019) Tulane set a new record with over 25,000 donors in a single year. The campaign has currently raised $1.0B towards the $1.3B goal.
Florida University
University of Florida
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University of Florida
The University of Florida is well-known as an athletics powerhouse and, as with many schools, athletics is a front door to alumni pride and engagement. 160over90 and UF Athletics used that to its advantage at the 2017 football season opener, taking over a national game and turning it into national conversation.
This was the Advocare Classic, a nationally televised event played in AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The eyes of the college football-watching world would be on the Gators for a match-up against Michigan, with all the attention and excitement of a bowl game. And the Classic would attract the largest gathering of Gator fans outside of Florida.
So we approached UF Athletics with a Texas-sized idea for a “Chompville” weekend takeover in Arlington. It would claim the city in the name of Gator Nation – complete with an airport takeover, outdoor advertising, custom SnapChat filters, skyline illuminations, branded hotel key cards where fans (and opponents) were staying, and even the election of Chompville’s very own mayor, Gator great and Cowboy legend Emmitt Smith. Factor in social amplification and the stunt reached 35 million people, galvanizing fans and winning bragging rights off the field.
University of Florida Athletics
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Florida Gators
Situation
Playing in the fiercely competitive SEC as well as battling in-state rivals for the nation’s top recruits had helped the Gators rack up 33 national championships, over 260 individual national champions and 100 Olympic medals. Yet, UF was still primarily known for its gridiron accomplishments. We leveraged that strength and, through an investigation process that included interviews with over 300 people across the athletics department, developed a brand that changed the perception from football school to a destination for winning athletes.
Solution
The brand we created lets fans and athletes everywhere know what it means to
be a Gator. It’s the commitment to each other and The Gator Nation that allows UF to be truly unstoppable. We launched a football hype video that ran in The Swamp and online; it wasn’t just about what happens on the field, but what’s in the hearts of Gator fans. By the second time it played, fans in the stands had memorized it and recited it word for word. We also delivered recruiting templates to coaches in revenue and non-revenue sports which could be customized and used in print and social media. And we created an all-sports video highlighting the full power of the orange and blue.
Results
Our Gator football hype video has had millions of views, making it one of the most watched college football videos of the year. And the Gators saw increased ticket sales, including a 20 percent spike for men’s basketball and an increase in recruiting rankings, which jumped to number 8 for football and climbed to number 6 for basketball.
University of Florida
"Otis Hawkins Center"
University of Florida
"The Gator Good: Anthem"
UCLA
UCLA
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UCLA
SITUATION
There are few universities in the world that have the gravitas of UCLA. Globally recognized, highly sought-after, and one of the most applied to schools in the country. Yet, in the broader community, there are still a lot of misconceptions out there about who and what UCLA actually is and what it stands for. As the institution approaches its centennial anniversary in 2019, the leadership team recognized this was the perfect moment to clarify UCLA’s narrative for all audiences, drive key revenue generators across the institution—such as advancement, enrollment, athletics, and more—and lay the groundwork for the institution’s most ambitious fundraising effort to-date.
SOLUTION
160over90 was tasked to create an overarching institutional brand that would shape perception in the community and beyond, and also to translate that brand narrative for the centennial comprehensive campaign. The vehicle we found to deliver this message came from an in-depth discovery process. From the moment we stepped on UCLA’s campus we felt an overwhelming sense of optimism. Just about every student, faculty and staff member we met projected an air of informed, inclusive, positive enthusiasm. They not only knew they could make a difference, they were absolutely certain that they would. This unique, powerful, inspiring anomaly became the through line of the brand we built. The brand platform then translated to the campaign by drawing on the UC System’s motto, “Let There be Light,” while leaving the phrase open-ended to create a flexible device that could serve every area and cause across the entire institution. The Let There Be campaign launched in 2014 and has since surpassed its $4.2M goal 18 months ahead of schedule.
UCLA has capable and robust in-house teams of communicators across advancement, communications, and enrollment. From the start of this process, this relationship has been more than a collaboration. It’s been a shared journey of uncovering the institution’s essence, articulating and coauthoring a resonant campaign narrative, and co-creating the massive body of work that moved this campaign—this entire institution—forward to UCLA’s centennial anniversary, and beyond.
RESULTS
During our partnership, UCLA has achieved the following results:
• Increase to #18 in U.S. News & World Report Rankings
• Recognized as the #1 Public University by U.S. News & World Report
• Admissions increased by 36%
• Total applications in 2017 were 113,000
• First-generation applications increased by 9%
UCLA
"Case Study"
UCLA
"Let There Be"
"Let There Be- Stem Cell"
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
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Texas A&M University
Situation
Texas A&M University is a fearless front. A community, standing arm in arm, ready for anything. Steeped in history, pride, and reverence, yet fueled by diverse backgrounds, talents, and search for excellence and truth. As a world-class institution, the university seeks to combine knowledge, research, and innovation to create solutions to far-reaching challenges that few institutions have the depth and breadth to achieve.
Together, Texas A&M’s top leaders and faculty members identified key areas in which the university has the proven expertise and creativity in research and teaching to take on society’s most critical problems and look fearlessly ahead at those yet to come. From now through 2020, former students and friends are uniting with faculty and staff in the Lead by Example campaign to enhance Texas A&M’s ability to tackle real-world problems. Such a transformational endeavor requires considerable resources that Texas A&M understood are neither present today, nor likely to become available from public funding sources. Only with private support will Texas A&M take its place among tomorrow’s most prestigious universities.
Solution
In the fall of 2015, Texas A&M was readying to break precedent in Texas and launch a $4 billion campaign. At the same time, the campus welcomed a new administration—both a university president and a foundation president—who inherited the campaign and were charged with rolling it out to stakeholders first across the university, and then across the country. Coupled with a thinly staffed communications team, the mobilization of this ambitious campaign posed a serious challenge.
160over90 was tasked with developing a singular brand voice for the institution to elevate the recognition of the university’s academic and research excellence, secure increased private funding, and strengthen state and federal resources focused on educational and research needs. The new brand platform we helped launch enhanced the perception of Texas A&M as one of the best and most dynamic universities in the world: a single progressive force on the leading edge of it all. As a result, the institution’s new positioning engaged multiple constituents with diverse (and sometimes conflicting) perspectives in a consistent, yet meaningful manner.
Results
The new brand platform served to realign Texas A&M at the overarching level, including a new omni-channel marketing campaign that launched in epic fashion just six months after the new president arrived. The comprehensive campaign included print, digital, TV/video, social media, and web initiatives, and gained the following results:
- Campaign:
Raised $3.87B to-date
More than 194K donors
834K gifts
Overall: 49MM total campaign impressions
PSA: 4.9MM views
Digital Ads:
17MM digital ad impressions
Impact video unit had high CTR of 4.41%
Display ads on The Chronicle of Higher Education (+50%), Forbes (+30%), and The Atlantic (+43%) performed well above CTR benchmark
Print: “Ripped from the headlines” print ads impacted more than 12+ publications nationally with 4.6MM impressions thus far
OOH: By leveraging markets with the biggest Aggie alumni networks, OOH placements gained extra traction on social media (in addition to 14.7MM impressions)
- Social Media:
15K shares of PSA
Posts featuring the :30 Fearless on Every Front video achieved .56% CTR on Facebook and .47% CTR on Twitter
3.8% CTR for paid social
Texas A&M University
"Fearless Front"
Texas A&M University
“DC Domination”
University of Missouri
University of Missouri
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University of Missouri
Situation
As Missouri’s largest and most comprehensive university, the University of Missouri (“UM”) historically attracted approximately one-third of the state’s high school seniors each year and enrolled roughly 25,000 students. The student body includes populations of interna- tional, minority, and out-of-state students. But beginning in the fall of 2015, UM faced a series of events that garnered negative national attention and led to significantly decreased enrollment—and ongoing issues that have persisted over the past couple of years.
Solution
UM approached 160over90 to help boost positive perception and reimagine what it means to be a Tiger. We partnered with UM to launch a series of campaigns aimed specifically at increasing enrollment for Fall 2018, improving yield for Spring 2019, and enhancing overall sentiment. Our campaigns targeted prospective students, their families, and the general public.
Our engagement began with an in-depth Discovery & Research phase, conducted by our in-house Research team, to inform the strategy and creative development for the enrollment campaigns. Our team designed UM’s marketing plan (the first to ever be established and implemented for the university) and implemented paid media initiatives to support the creative that followed. 160over90 developed and executed a suite of materials spanning print, video, web, out-of-home, digital, and more—including bus wraps, billboards, paid search, social media ads, as well as short videos and emails addressing accepted students by name.
Results
We tracked results and metrics to measure campaign success. Following implementation of the university’s new marketing plan and campaign platform, UM achieved the following results within the first admissions cycle:
• 17% increase in applications
• 14% increase in enrollment
Yale University
Healthy Yale Case Study
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Yale University
SITUATION
At the beginning of 2020, we partnered with Yale University to develop branding for the institution’s most ambitious fundraising effort to date, intended to raise $7 Billion. And as we’re all keenly aware, in the time between then and now, the world has changed dramatically.
While building a campaign brand, we expanded our relationship with the University to help students and staff navigate the pandemic, and advocate for safety around Fall and Spring semester returns to campus (year over year).
SOLUTION
We created a highly visible, on-campus and virtual campaign with basic reminders for hand washing, mask wearing, and maintaining social distance. (See: “The future is in your hands, please keep them clean.”) We incorporated user-generated content to help with student buy-in, in addition to designing thoughtful creative to convey that Yale’s leadership is doing its part to support students and staff. And the campaign was cleverly ‘endorsed’ by the school mascot, Handsome Dan, which helped to personalize the message.
This was coupled with more advanced appeals for individual accountability/behavioral compliance for the betterment of the group and greater New Haven.
All campaign touchpoints pointed to online resources on prevention, testing, and tracing.
And in addition to reinforcing physical safety guidelines, the campaign also touched on mental health and wellness concerns stemming from COVID-19. Messages of “It’s OK not to be OK” recommended available counseling services.
RESULTS
As the pandemic approaches year 3, Yale continues to reinforce the messaging. And the agency has been brought into an additive consulting role, facilitating weekly student and staff focus groups on pandemic concerns and reporting sentiment to University leadership, to directly inform COVID communications.