One Story of Record Enrollment: Carson-Newman University Shares Insights to Their Success
For the 2019-2020 academic year, Carson-Newman University set all new records: the largest freshman class in the university’s history, the highest number of new students, and the highest total number of students. This enrollment boost translated to more than $1 million in net tuition revenue, a 14% increase from the previous year.
How did they do it?
5° Branding spoke with Aaron Porter, Carson-Newman’s assistant vice president of enrollment management, and Todd Turpin, associate director of marketing, for some clues.
Many factors contributed to the record-breaking enrollment success, Porter and Turpin agree. And it was the synergy and collaboration of everyone involved, they explain, that made it possible. The teamwork across departments included the President’s Office, Admissions, Marketing, and IT all working together.
C-N sees the teamwork as something special. “It takes everyone knowing that everyone else is pulling for each other,” Turpin says. “This matters. Relationships matter more than anything else.”
And in the end, Porter recognizes, the results were “a blessing from God.”
In partnership with 5°, Carson-Newman launched a new enrollment campaign in 2018-19 including all new visual identity materials and new CRM applications. This was the capstone of a process that had begun much earlier. Let’s consider some of the elements that contributed to these off-the-charts results.
Marketing Research
“We had our own ideas about what would work,” Porter says, “but we realized the more important thing was: What did 17-year-olds and parents say?” Long before launching the new campaign, C-N conducted focus groups to glean insights on what’s most important to prospective students.
Later, in the discovery phase of the new enrollment campaign, 5° led focus groups with current students to delve into their motivations in choosing Carson-Newman and to hear more about their experiences since enrolling. “We listened,” Porter says, “and that led to a very fresh-looking marketing campaign.”
Turpin echoes this, saying that the marketing research completely guided the direction and course. He emphasizes the importance of “staying true” to what they learned in the focus groups. “It’s very easy to get rolling along with a project of this scale and begin to fall back into personal preference or old habits—but making a concerted effort to remain true to the customers’ desires is critical,” he says.
Strategic Leadership
Porter’s role at C-N affords him the space he needs to focus on the big picture and to move plans forward. He believes it’s important to allow enough time to strategize and to get the right people in place. It takes a great deal of planning and a lot of conversations, he says, to implement effective new initiatives.
In C-N’s case, there was a strong relationship between Admissions and Marketing. Both offices have the same goals, and they were working in tandem toward those goals. It was also important, Turpin adds, to have buy-in from executive-level leadership throughout the process.
Getting Prospective Students on Campus
Carson-Newman has discovered that yield numbers go up dramatically for students who visit the university. That was the driving factor behind creating a “You Gotta See This Place” recruiting video a couple of years ago. This innovative video proved to be a catalyst in developing aspects of the new campaign in 2018.
Getting students on campus is a key part of enrollment strategy, and it’s super effective for C-N. The unique relational dynamic of Carson-Newman, the energy of living in East Tennessee, the ways that faith is lived out in student life—Carson-Newman understands that prospective students have to feel it for themselves.
Engaging Outside Help When Needed
The C-N marketing team had the humility, Porter says, to recognize that they couldn’t do everything internally. “Our folks are pulled in so many directions, they can’t allocate the time it would take to produce the best campaign.” So they started to consider the idea of a strategic partner.
C-N realized they could outsource comprehensive projects like the enrollment campaign and the communications audit to free up their time for the day-to-day demands of the work. Their in-house teams could continue to produce materials for campus events, handle all social media and video production, and think strategically about their overall plans.
In looking for outside resources, C-N considered multiple vendors and evaluated price points and proposals. They found it very helpful that Lee Insko of 5° took the time to drive to East Tennessee and talk about possibilities over lunch. “It was about spending some time face-to-face,” Turpin says.
C-N’s decision to partner with 5° came down a like-minded approach, Porter explains. “They’re in line with who we are—highly relational.”
Allocation of Resources
There’s no way around it—a top-quality marketing campaign isn’t cheap. To pursue this, C-N had to engage in some difficult discussions about best ways to budget university resources. As they started to analyze various possibilities, they realized that by more strategic targeting in the production and distribution of their printed alumni magazine, they could save enough to fund an entire new enrollment campaign.
Additionally, they stopped doing things that provide no trackable results, like TV, radio, and billboards. This allowed them instead to move forward in innovative ways with social media, CRM, and much more.
“Feel Good” Marketing Materials
Taking off on the “You Gotta See This Place” theme, 5° developed a whole new suite of vibrant, contemporary promotional materials.
Turpin says one of the most profound things they learned in their preliminary research was that students didn’t want to see buildings, professors, and classrooms. This imagery was perceived as overwhelming, unfamiliar, stressful, and anxiety-inducing.
This meant creating a campaign that felt familiar, relaxing, and exciting. Images like kayaks, hammocks, and bikes capture the attention of prospective students and show off the college experience outside the classroom.
When setting up at college fairs, Porter says that the C-N table feels good and readily attracts 16 and 17-year-olds. Many other institutions have imitated some of the new materials C-N presents, such as a die-cut Tennessee map. Porter summarizes the new brand presentation: “It’s memorable, not predictable.”
An Ordered Process
Turpin also highlights the efficiency of regular team meetings and project management. “5° is a dream team,” he says, “when it comes to keeping a project on the rails.” He says 5° felt like a true extension of the C-N team, working with professionalism and organization through the whole process.
Like any great marketing effort, the Carson-Newman enrollment campaign required time and ordered steps. What began with a research and discovery phase led to a communications audit, which led to creative concept development, new printed materials, and innovative CRM strategy. Next up, Carson-Newman is developing an entire new website. (Be on the lookout for the big reveal in 2020!)
It can’t all happen at once, so it’s critical to prioritize and take the process one step at a time.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to recruitment. At a time when many schools are struggling to enroll traditional undergrads, though, it’s worth digging into other schools’ success stories to uncover what’s working for them. In the next few months, we want to connect you to stories of success in recruitment, marketing, and strategy. Stay tuned for more case studies from 5° clients!
Will your higher ed institution be the next big success story?
