Change of preference campaign Evaluation report

Transcription

1 Change of preference campaign Evaluation report NOVEMBER 2011 JANUARY 2012 Prepared by: Sophie Bierbaum CASS Marketing and Communications Office February 2012 ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The CASS Marketing and Communications Office planned and implemented a Change of Preference campaign from November 2011 to January The campaign activities aligned with the UAC change of preference period and release of ATAR results. A total of $9,000 was invested for the Australia-wide campaign. A number of key messages were developed for the campaign, with the main call to action including the CASS website, and phone number, as well as the ANU Advisory Days in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. The CASS Future Students Undergraduate web page content was revised and six video testimonials, news, events, an enquiry form and a featured degree section were added. The campaign generated an increase in visits to the campaign web page, with Google, Facebook and the ANU website generating most of the traffic. The s sent to students with a UAC first, second or third preference for a CASS program were highly successful in creating greater awareness of CASS degrees, and 208 enquiries were received at the ANU advisory days. Overall, the campaign was highly successful as first preferences for CASS programs increased by 2%, and total first, second and third preferences for CASS programs increased by 8%, from 2011 to From the commencement of the campaign to the end of the UAC change of preference period an additional 461 first, second and third preferences were made for CASS programs. This lead to a total of 1,935 offers and a 59% acceptance rate (as at 31 January 2012). Future campaigns should have a greater focus on digital marketing and direct marketing, with minimal print advertising. Options to better track, report on and coordinate responses to enquiries through a customer relationship management system, and an enquiry management strategy, should be explored by the College. ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences

3 BACKGROUND The College coordinated a campaign to promote CASS undergraduate programs from November 2011 to January 2012, to coincide with the release of ATAR results (various dates in December 2011) and the UAC change of preference period (concluding on 5 January 2012). The purpose of the campaign was to increase the number of preferences, and retain existing first preferences, for CASS undergraduate programs. The campaign targeted: current year 12 students who have listed university preferences in UAC for study in 2012 non-school leavers who have listed university preferences in UAC for study in 2012 prospective students who have already listed CASS preferences in UAC parents of prospective undergraduate students careers advisors in schools nationally. A number of key messages about the College were developed and incorporated in the marketing and communication activities. Each of the activities directed audiences to a campaign web page ( and encouraged enquiries through: students.cass@anu.edu.au CASS Student Office phone number ANU advisory days in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne. The marketing and communications channels utilised in the campaign include: advertising online communications direct marketing events. An evaluation of each of the marketing and student recruitment activities is provided in this report. ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences

4 CAMPAIGN EVALUATION The campaign investment was $9,000 and included print and digital advertising, online communications, direct marketing activities and events. Overall, the campaign generated an increase in visits to the campaign web page (see graph below), with 1,838 visits during the campaign (25% of total visits to the web page for the year). The campaign was successful in making the target audiences aware of the College s web presence, as 75% of all visitors during the campaign were new to the web page, and visitors spent an average of 4:13 minutes on the website. Graph showing all visits to the campaign web page during 2011 On average, after landing on the campaign web page visitors viewed more than four other web pages in the CASS website. The most popular pages to visit were: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of International Relations, Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Philosophy. The below Traffic Sources Overview shows that most visitors to the campaign web page came through referring websites (55.93%), or websites that CASS advertisements were placed on, or search engines (26.99%). Only 6.47% of all traffic was direct, indicating that the print advertisements and direct marketing activities only generated a small proportion of all web traffic. 4

5 1. Advertising The print and digital advertisements placed included: Canberra Times Total Education Feature Canberra Times Tertiary Choices Feature BMA MX Sydney Education Study 2012 Feature MX Melbourne Education Study 2012 Feature Facebook Google. Examples of these advertisements are shown in Appendix A. Key findings: The advertisements lead to an increase in visits to the campaign web page during the campaign period, with traffic peaking during mid-late December (see graph below), in line with the recruitment events and direct marketing activities. Graph showing traffic to the campaign web page throughout the campaign MX Melbourne & Sydney Canberra Times Google & Facebook commenced UAC 1 Nov UG newsletter BMA Melbourne Advisory Day UAC 2 NSW & Vic UAC 2 ACT Canberra Advisory Day Heads of Dept Dec UG newsletter Sydney Advisory Day Although it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of the print advertisements, it can be assumed that the majority of the 119 direct visits, or individuals landing immediately on the campaign web page (rather than visiting through other websites), are a result of these advertisements. The high attendance figures at the ANU advisory days, promoted through the campaign, also reflect the value of the print advertising (more detail provided in section 4 - events). 5

6 The search engine marketing component of the campaign, utilising targeted Google advertisements, was the most effective means of generating web traffic, and resulted in 425 visits (23.121% of all visits) to the campaign web page. Facebook was also effective and generated 278 visits. Importantly, the ANU website referred 340 visits, comprising almost one fifth of all visitors to the campaign web page. This highlights the importance of ensuring information about CASS undergraduate programs is kept up to date on all central ANU websites. 2. Online communications The CASS future students undergraduate web page was reviewed to align with the significant reforms to undergraduate programs for An online version of the CASS undergraduate guide has been made available, and a featured degree, latest news and upcoming events sections have been added to the web page. Key findings: Six undergraduate student testimonial videos were produced and uploaded to the CASS website: These videos have been viewed 228 times since December, with each visitor spending an average of 3:28 minutes on the web page. A new undergraduate online enquiry form was placed on the CASS website to allow for improved tracking and coordination of enquiries from prospective students. To date four forms have been submitted. 3. Direct marketing Two HTML s were sent to all of the prospective CASS students who had a first, second or third preference for a CASS program in the UAC database (1,070 recipients for one and 1,466 recipients for two). This excluded prospective students with preferences for combined ANU degrees, or those with higher preferences for other ANU programs. Initially an was sent to inform the College s key preference holders of the resources and advisory sessions available to assist them with their choices, with a follow-up sent following the release of ATAR results to reaffirm preferences. 6

7 An was also sent to all heads of departments in ACT colleges and secondary schools to provide them with information and resources to assist prospective students with their university choices. HTML newsletters were distributed in November and December to the 271 prospective undergraduate students in the CASS database (captured through events and the online sign up form for news and events), which included messaging and advice about managing UAC preferences. Examples of these s are shown at Appendix B. Key findings: The direct marketing activities have been a highly cost effective means of targeting key audiences as part of this campaign. The open rate, or number of individuals opening each , for the s sent to individuals with a UAC first, second or third preference for a CASS program was exceptionally high at an average of 53.1% (compared with the industry average of 16.6%). The click through rate, or proportion of individuals visiting the campaign web page from the s and newsletters, was also very positive at 12.2% (far higher than the 3.3% industry average). The sent to Heads of Departments in ACT colleges and secondary schools was also successful in informing key influencers of the target market, with a high open rate of 41.18%. A summary of the findings for each of these campaigns is provided below. campaign No. of Open rate Click through Avg time recipients rate spent on website to Heads of Departments in ACT schools 1 to UAC preference holders 2 to UAC preference holders % 5.04% 3:44 1, % 9.52% 7:01 1, % 20.45% 3:13 November UG newsletter % 8.71% 7:49 December UG newsletter % 10.15% 3:54 An SMS was also sent to all of the CASS first, second and third preference holders in the ACT, NSW and Vic (a total of 918 recipients) to inform prospective students about the ANU advisory days. A number of students cited that they were informed about these events from the SMS they received. 7

8 4. Events Representatives from the College met with prospective students and their parents at the ANU advisory days held in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra in December. Key findings: A total of 208 enquiries for undergraduate programs were received at the events, including 65 in Sydney, 51 in Melbourne and 92 in Canberra. This is an increase on the CASS attendance figures from 2011, indicating that the advertising, online communications and direct marketing activities generated greater interest in these events. The most enquired about programs were Bachelor of Arts (particularly combined with a Bachelor of Laws), with international relations the most popular discipline. 5. Preferences for CASS undergraduate degrees Overall, combined first, second and third preferences for CASS undergraduate degrees increased by 8% to 4,011 (compared with 3,708 in 2011 and 3,649 in 2010) (see graph below). This is significant given that the University s first, second and third preferences as a total only increased by 1%. First preferences for CASS programs increased by 2% from 1,564 in 2011 to 1,594 in 2012, which is a positive result given that the University s overall first preferences declined by 1% from 2011 to The only other ANU College to have an increase in first preferences was the College of Law, with a 5% increase from 2011 to 2012 most likely due to the introduction of the Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of International Relations combined program. Graph showing first, second and third preferences for CASS programs in 2010, 2011 and 2012 (as at the end of the change of preference period on 6 January 2012) First preferences Second preferences Third preferences

9 During the campaign, first, second and third preferences for CASS programs increased by a total of 461 (see graph below). This includes an increase in first preferences of 214 (from 1,380 to 1,594), second preferences of 134 (from 1,191 to 1,325) and third preferences of 113 (from 979 to 1,092). Graph showing first, second and third preferences for CASS programs during the campaign (using preference data from 3 October 2011 to 6 January 2012) First preferences Second preferences Third preferences Oct Oct-11 7-Nov Nov-11 5-Dec Dec-11 6-Jan-12 Targeted marketing activities were undertaken to generate preferences for new CASS programs. The first, second, third and total preferences for these programs are shown in the table below. Table showing preferences for new CASS programs Program First preferences Second preferences Third preferences Total preferences Bachelor of European studies Bachelor of Latin American studies Bachelor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian studies Bachelor of Environmental studies Offers and acceptances for CASS undergraduate degrees In the 2012 early and main rounds of offers, a total of 1,935 offers were made, of which 86% of offers were made to domestic students (see graph below). As at 31 January 2012, the acceptance rate for these offers was 59%. 9

10 Graph showing offers made to domestic and international students Domestic International 10

11 KEY LEARNINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the findings of the campaign the following are recommended: Whilst print advertising is useful for building profile, future campaigns should focus on digital marketing, with social media and search engine marketing as key areas of focus. The undergraduate web page should continue to be reviewed and updated to maintain, and increase, traffic to the page. This should include regular news and events postings, and new video testimonials. Direct marketing activities should continue to feature as part of future undergraduatefocused campaigns particularly utilising UAC data. Options to promote CASS undergraduate degrees to undergraduate students in other universities should be considered as part of future campaigns to encourage student transfers into the College. The College should continue to be represented at ANU advisory days, as these provide important opportunities to recruit new undergraduate students, confirm students preferences and capture student details for the College database. Options to utilise a customer relationship management system to allow for better coordination of responses and tracking of prospective student enquiries should be explored. CASS Marketing and Communications should continue to work closely with the CASS Schools and Centres to keep abreast of program changes, key selling points and new opportunities for undergraduate students. An enquiry management strategy should be developed to assist the College in improved tracking of enquiries, and conversion of students from enquiry to enrolment. The new Future Students Officer in the CASS Student Office will be able to assist with this, and in managing the increased volume of enquiries associated with future campaigns. 11

12 APPENDIX A - Advertisements Print advertisement 12

13 Facebook advertisement Google advertisement 13

14 APPENDIX B s to Heads of Departments in ACT schools 14

15 to prospective students with a CASS first, second or third UAC preference 15