Fueling the Demand for MBAs in the Motor City
Creating a customized lead generation campaign for the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University dramatically expanded the pool of prospective students. By combining audience research with paid search, remarketing, and LinkedIn advertising, Lucid generated more than 1,500 digital and mobile leads, increased the school’s MBA class size by 118% over a four-year period, and generated more than 1.6 million dollars in revenue for the university.
OVERVIEW
The Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University came to Lucid Agency in 2013 to help increase enrollment for their flexible MBA program, which offers part-time class offerings for students with professional and family priorities.
RESEARCH
Looking to connect with high quality prospective students and expand the pool of candidates for the university, we began by researching this target audience to understand their motivations, behaviors, and purchasing paths. With our findings, we were able to create a cohesive messaging and targeting strategy executed through a multi-prong digital approach to reach prospective students in the moments that matter most.
ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY
The goal of our campaigns was to increase the volume of qualified leads, enrollment, and ultimately, the revenue generated for the university. Given the university’s budget, we determined paid search, remarketing and LinkedIn advertising would give us the best opportunity to reach prospective students, across devices, at every phase of the admissions cycle.
Syncing digital ads with corresponding mobile-optimized landing pages created a customized experience for each persona within our target audience. Leads interested in the class profile, scholarship information, or those seeking a guide to the MBA program are directed to the landing page subtly tailored to answer their needs. By addressing the pain points and motivations of each group, we positioned the Ilitch School of Business as the number one choice for a flexible and affordable MBA.
RESULTS
558%
Increase in return on investment
118
Percent increase in MBA class size
(2014 to 2017)
$1.6
Million in campaign generated revenue
1,531
Leads generated from digital campaigns
RESULTS
Through the four-year span of working with the Ilitch School of Business, we have been able to increase the conversion rate by 206% while decreasing the average cost per lead by 64%. Today, we continue our work with the Ilitch School of Business to develop innovative approaches to promote their flexible MBA program, and continue to increase their class size and campaign-generated revenue.