Carthage College
We helped our client recruit their largest incoming class in their 170+ year history.
Client:
Founded in 1847, Carthage College is a four-year private liberal arts college located in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It enrolls 2,600 full-time and 200 part-time students. Carthage awards bachelor’s and master’s degrees with majors in more than 40 subject areas.
Brief:
Competition for high-quality students for a premium private college education is intense. This is especially true for smaller colleges that don’t have the national brand recognition and resources of larger institutions. Carthage needed to win as the ultimate college selection choice for those looking to advance with higher education.
Insight:
Because we were limited in resources and budget, we had to be extremely targeted and efficient with our advertising. Because we didn’t have the brand recognition of larger institutions, we also had to be cutting-edge in reaching students where competitors weren’t.
Solution:
We developed a completely integrated campaign that took full advantage of the targeting capabilities of Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. We captured relevant searches with search engine marketing. We utilized the storytelling power of audio with Spotify. We targeted our audiences through programmatic, responsive digital display advertising. We took full advantage of Snapchat and its innovative ad formats.
Results:
As a result of this campaign, Carthage College saw its largest incoming class in its 170 year+ history. As we continue to work with Carthage, numbers continue to climb in all key performance metrics for the college. Carthage College was on track to exceed the largest incoming class again in 2020 before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. We continue to work with Carthage to modify and adapt its advertising strategy to the changing higher education landscape.