More Than A Logo: How Market Research and Brand Cultivation Impacts Admission

Grant M. Gosselin, VP of Enrollment, Wheaton College Massachusetts

Dana Edwards, Vice President and Partner, SimpsonScarborough

Gene Begin, VP of Marketing & Communications, Wheaton College Massachusetts

Setting the Scene

• Enrollment and Marketing & Communications Partnership

• Higher Education Landscape

• Why is Market Research Important?

• Sample of Wheaton’s Market Research

• Brand Cultivation

Higher Education Landscape

• An increasingly competitive higher education marketplace requires institutions to better understand their diverse constituencies and their differentiators

• Prospective students apply to an increasing number of institutions

• Awareness and perception can affect a school’s ability to enroll students –understanding this data informs strategies for more effective messaging

• Decreasing population of high school graduates in select geographic regions

• Focus on outcomes data while the liberal arts curriculum is being challenged

• Employers demand graduates with workforce-ready competencies AND writing and problem-solving skills

Challenges Facing Higher Education

The Headlines

Tuition Revenue Isn’t What It Used To Be For Universities

Why Businesses Need To Look Beyond The College Degree

Moody’s warns Trump presidency could hurt colleges counting on international students

Why The Price Tag Of College Continues To Rise

With Trump, Investors See Profits Again in For-Profit Colleges

When Education Brings Depression

When The College Degree Is Useless And The Debt Is Due

Student Loan Debt In America: Lend With A Smile, Collect With A Fist

Is college worth it?

Why Is Market Research Important?

Why is everyone talking about data, analytics and benchmarking?

• Need for validation of appeal and importance of current messages

• Need for data to inform recruitment marketing

• Fewer resources available

• More recruitment and marketing tactics

• More accountability demanded

• More ways to measure

• DATA has become the buzzword that won’t stop

Benefits of Market Research Data

• Allows insights to move beyond anecdotes

• Generates understanding between target audiences

• Mitigates risk and builds confidence in decision-making

• Proves or disproves hypotheses

• Generates buy-in

• Gathers key performance indicators• Admissions

• Visibility

• Desired attributes

• When you need to gain credibility

• When you need someone to facilitate internal buy-in

• When you need an objective perspective

• When you need a broader knowledge of the higher education landscape

• When you lack knowledge/expertise in research methodologies

• When you do not have the internal resources

• When you need to meet ambitious deadlines

When to Hire an Expert

Branding ResearchBlueprint for Collection, Measurement, & Analysis of Data

Analysis/Insights

Data Collection

Instrument Development

Kick-off/Planning

Research Design/Methodologies

Guiding Questions/Objectives

Audience Details Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Fee

Prospective UndergraduateStudents

• 20 in-depth phone and video interviews X X $10,000

• 12-minute online survey (n=400) X X X $28,000

Parents of Prospective Undergraduate Students

• 20 in-depth phone interviews X $10,000

• 12-minute online survey (n=400) X X X $28,000

High School Counselors• 20 in-depth phone interviews X X $10,000

• 12-minute online survey (n=300) X X $28,000

Higher Ed Peers • 20 in-depth phone interviews X $10,000

• 12-minute online survey (n=300) X $28,000

Alumni• 20 in-depth phone and video interviews X $10,000

• 12-minute online survey (n=400) X X $28,000

Internal (undergrad, grad, and professional students, faculty and staff)

• 4 focus groups X $10,000

• 12-minute online survey (n=1,000) X X $28,000

Business & Industry Leaders • 20 in-depth phone interviews X $11,000

Total $76,000 $150,000 $229,000

Institutions conducting a similar study

Franklin & Marshall CollegeBall State University

Saint Joseph’s UniversitySanta Clara University

Wheaton College

Michigan State UniversityButler University

University of RichmondAmerican University

University of Rochester

Northwestern UniversityFashion Institute of TechnologyHarford Community College

Miami University OhioSyracuse University

Examples of Research Scopes

Awareness Momentum Choice PromotionFamiliarityQuality

Most Useful Types of Market Research Data for Admissions

FROM 2016 BIANNUAL SURVEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION MARKETING LEADERS

Nearly

64%measure success through

anecdotal feedback

Not So Good News

More than

65%have a brand strategy

Good News

Don’t just collect data one time. Track progress.

WebPage viewsUnique visitorsNew vs. repeat visitorsAverage time spentTraffic sourcesTop pagesWeb inquiriesSearch terms

Traditional AdvertisingTraditional reach and frequencyImpressionsCost-per-click, cost-per-impressionTraffic to trackable URL

Digital AdvertisingCost-per-clickConversion rateCost to acquire lead

SocialFacebook (page views/likes, interactions/posts, groups)Twitter (Tweets/retweets, followers, mentions, profile views, @Reply ratio, clicks per tweet)Blog RSS feed subscribersLinkedIn contactsYouTube (views, top videos)InstagramPinterest (referral traffic, links, pins, followers)

Media RelationsMedia placementsType of placement“Tone” of media coverageKey terms and brand language

Direct ResponseEmail campaigns (click-throughs, open rates, unsubscribes, shares)Direct mail (hits to URL’s, reply cards, call-to-action response)

Admissions/EnrollmentInquiries, applicants, depositsFirst choiceAdmit rateYield rate

Brand and ReputationRankingsBrand strength metricsAwareness

Collect Metrics - Dashboards

Samples of Wheaton’s Market Research

What attributes influence consideration for prospects?

Notes: “Don’t know” excluded from calculation of means. Sorted in descending order by mean ratings. Unlabeled bars represent <5% of respondents.

Question Wording: (Prospects) Rate your likelihood to consider attending a college or university that offers or focuses on each of the following. / (Parents) Rate your likelihood to encourage your child to attend a college or university that offers or focuses on each of the following.

Scale: 1=Not at all likely, 10=Extremely likely, 11=Don't know

Wheaton not identified as study sponsor

8% 9% 13%6% 9% 5%

16% 11% 12%7%12% 11%

13% 17% 15% 18%16%

19% 18%35%

45%41% 41%

46%35%

46% 40%

45% 47% 42%

59%45% 39% 38%

27%37%

27% 34%22% 23% 25%

8.7 8.2 7.9 7.8 7.5 7.4 7.3 7.3 7.1 7.1 7.1

Mean

9 to 10 (Top 2 Box)6 to 83 to 51 to 2 (Bottom 2 Box)Don’t Know

Likelihood of attending a college with each of the following attributes. (Mean and Distribution by Rating)

Academic quality is important but how do we talk about it in a way that matters to our target audiences?

Notes:“Don’t know” and “none of the above” not shown; each represented 1% or fewer of prospects, parents, and counselors. Unlabeled bars represent <1% of respondents.

Question Wording: (Prospects) When thinking about the QUALITY OF ACADEMICS, which of the following are MOST IMPORTANT to you…in the school you ultimately would like to attend? (Parents) …in the school your child ultimately attends:? (Counselors) In assessing the QUALITY OF ACADEMICS, which of the following are MOST IMPORTANT to you? (select all that apply)

69%

69%

59%

58%

54%

41%

40%

33%

31%

30%

28%

23%

22%

20%

18%

10%

5%

70%

52%

55%

54%

58%

30%

43%

27%

22%

28%

12%

18%

17%

11%

6%

7%

76%

64%

43%

43%

71%

41%

45%

28%

15%

61%

15%

17%

9%

8%

9%

11%

9%

Many areas of excellence

Experiential learning

Employment after graduation

Small class size

4-year graduation rate

Undergraduate research funding

Full-time professors

Grad/prof school placement

U.S. News rankings

Incoming student quality

Study abroad

Elite accreditation

Faculty honors

Junior year at partner institution

Selective admission

Fulbright/Rhodes Scholars

Other

Prospects Parents Counselors

Which attributes are most important in assessing quality?

Wheaton not identified as study sponsor

Shading identifies top mentions

How should we talk about outcomes in a way that matters?

Notes: Don’t know” and “none of the above” not shown; each represented 1% or fewer of prospect and parent respondents. Unlabeled bars represent <1% of respondents.

Question Wording: (Prospects) When thinking about LIFE AFTER GRADUATION, which THREE of the following are MOST IMPORTANT to you? (select up to 3)(Parents) When thinking about your child’s LIFE AFTER GRADUATION, which THREE of the following are MOST IMPORTANT to you? (select up to 3)

51%

49%

42%

40%

33%

22%

21%

13%

10%

6%

52%

48%

28%

37%

51%

20%

23%

17%

5%

4%

Little or no debt

Discovered new interests

High starting salary

Strong employer name recognition

High job placement

Global alumni network

Grad/prof school acceptance

Alumni give back to communities

Alumni with awards/honors

Noteworthy alumni

Other

Which three aspects of life after graduation are most important to you?

Prospects Parents

Wheaton not identified as study sponsor

Shading identifies top mentions

38%

33%

27%

25%

23%

23%

21%

19%

19%

15%

13%

12%

11%

10%

39%

40%

25%

24%

38%

18%

14%

30%

22%

7%

8%

8%

39%

41%

15%

32%

57%

21%

8%

25%

32%

7%

7%

7%

Well-rounded education

Intellectual curiosity

General coursework

Learning to view problems from multiple perspectives

Critical thinking skills

Encouraged to consider different perspectives

Indivdual attention

Communication skills

Exploring different areas of study

More innovative, non-traditional academics

Encouraged to question conventional wisdom

Active role in community

Removing barriers b/w areas of study

Small courses (<=20 students)

Liberal political view

Most Important/Beneficial Aspects of Liberal ArtsWell-rounded education and intellectual curiosity are widely seen as benefits. Parents and counselors also cite critical thinking skills.

Which of the following are the most important/beneficial aspects of liberal arts?

Notes: Unlabeled bars represent <5% of respondents. “None of these” not shown (represents 2% or less of respondents in each audience).

Question Wording: (Prospects) Looking at the same list, which THREE of the following are MOST IMPORTANT to you? (select up to 3) / (Parents) When thinking about LIBERAL ARTS, which THREE of the following are MOST IMPORTANT to you for your child’s education? (select up to 3) /(Counselors) When thinking about LIBERAL ARTS, which THREE of the following are the GREATEST BENEFITS? (select up to 3)

Prospects Parents Counselors

Wheaton not identified as study sponsor

Parents more interested in Wheaton mention intellectual curiosity more often as a benefit of liberal arts

Shading identifies top mentions

Awareness of More than One Wheaton College Before SurveyThree quarters of counselors, but fewer than half of prospects and parents, were previously aware there were two Wheatons.

Notes:This question was not asked of respondents who had never heard of Wheaton College in Massachusetts AND Wheaton College in Illinois.

Question Wording: Before taking this survey, were you aware that there is more than one Wheaton College?

42%

45%

76%

58%

55%

24%

Prospects (n=368)

Parents (n=284)

Counselors (n=392)

Before taking this survey, were you aware there is more than one Wheaton College?

Yes No

Wheaton not identified as study sponsor

Note: Among those who knew there were two Wheaton Colleges, half of prospects, 40% of parents and about 25% of counselors did not know any differences in the two Wheaton Colleges.

Brand Cultivation

Market Research and Brand Strategy

Strategic Plan

Market Research

Brand Strategy

New Brand Framework &

Identity

Owned Media Rebrand

Website Reimagination

Brand Discovery Research

Primary

Simpson Scarborough Market Research

Strategic PlanFocus GroupsWorkshopsInterviews

SurveyInstitutional research

Outcomes data

Supplemental

Competitive landscape

Socioeconomic trendsDemographic trends

Market trendsHigher education

trends

Communications Audit

Current brand toolkitEmailPrint

WebsiteSocial Media

Departmental collateral

Building a Brand Essence Framework

Brand Attributes

Emotional Benefits

Functional Benefits

Brand Characteristics

Brand Idea

Brand Cultivation Process

Brand Testing with Prospective Audiences

Opportunity to engage with prospective students with a focus on brand

Explore brand impact on the college search process

Additional input on current perceptions of college brand

Explore preferences in messaging

Reactions and immediate perceptions of brand expression visuals

What can a rebrand include?

Name change

Positioning- Usually accompanied with a positioning statement

Messaging- Brand idea, style and tone- Messaging architecture, key messages, headlines, taglines

Design- Design intent- Color palette- Photography framework

Logo/Mark/Symbol

Questions?

Grant M. GosselinVice President of EnrollmentWheaton Collegegosselin_grant@wheatoncollege.edu

Dana EdwardsVice President and PartnerSimpsonScarboroughde@simpsonscarborough.com

Gene BeginVice President of Marketing & CommunicationsWheaton Collegebegin_gene@wheatoncollege.edu