Undergraduate Conversion Stream Emails
// California College of the Arts
CCA’s Undergraduate Admissions team needed to update their email communications to prospective students after a rebrand.
Role
As the lead marketer on a newly conceived team, I was also responsible for defining how the school’s new brand identity and voice would be expressed across all external communications and this project was the first to embody that change. Working within brand guidelines, I drafted headlines, body copy, and subject lines, then worked with an in-house designer to develop supporting creative.
Strategy
I first conducted an audit of the client’s current and past communications to prospective students, which revealed an opportunity to increase conversion rates by leveraging personalized automated email marketing to better nurture leads toward submitting an application. I proposed an 8-email drip campaign with personalization and segmentation based on the lead’s program(s) of interest, cohort, and current academic status (high school, transfer, international) as well as their past engagement with CCA’s online properties (web, email, application portal), so the messaging would be tailored to each lead’s interests and needs.
I analyzed data from “admitted student” and “cancelation” surveys (ie. surveys from students that did and did not end up attending after applying) to define key decision-making criteria, so I could develop a campaign outline that addressed students’ common concerns by reinforcing the brand's major proof points in a fun and engaging way.
Outcome
The redesigned and reimagined email stream was a drastic departure from its predecessor in both style and substance, creating a bold new approach to marketing the school. As a result of the update, the email stream was able to convert 79% more leads into applicants, and helped contribute to a 17% overall increase in total applicants from the previous year.