2. Table of Contents
Overview 1–2 Geographic
Reference Information 3–5 Prospects: Top 10 MD Cities 42
Conversion Rates & Funnels 6 Applicants: Top 10 MD Cities 43
Prospect Questionairre 7–8 Matriculated: Top 10 MD Cities 44
Web Prospects: MD Counties 45
Web Visits 9 Applicants: MD Counties 46
Unique Visitors 10 Matriculated: MD Counties 47
Average Visit Duration 11 Applicants: US State 48
Bounce Rate 12 Applicants: Non-US Countries 49
Pages Per Visit 13 Matriculated: Non-US Countries 50
Pageviews 14 Enrollment Funnel
Visits by Month 15 Prospects: Timeline 03–12 51
Unique Visits by Month 16 Prospects: Timeline 09–12 52
Average Visit Duration by Month 17 Prospects: Timeline 10–12 53
Bounce Rate by Month 18 Prospects: Year Over Year 54
Pages Per Visit by Month 19 Applicants: Timeline 06–12 55
Pageviews by Month 20 Applicants: Year Over Year 56
MBA Homepage Bio Demo 21 Stealth Applicants by Term 57
MBA Homepage Visitors by State 22 Matriculated Year Over Year 58
MBA Homepage Audience Profile 23 Subplan
Sex Subplan by Status 59
Sex: Prospects 24 Conversion Intervals
Sex: Applicants 25 Prospect to Applicant: Months 60
Sex: Matriculated 26 Applicant to Matriculated: Months 61
Sex: Enrolled 27 Prospect to Matriculated: Months 62
Race Conversion Intervals by Status/Term 63
Race: Prospects 28 Enrollment
Race: Applicants 29 Term: Online 64
Race: Matriculated 30 Term: Face-To-Face 65
Race: Enrolled 31 Term/Age/Delivery (Fall 12) 66
Age Term/Gender/Delivery (Fall 12) 67
Age: Prospects 18–55 by Age 32 Term/Delivery /Gender/Credits (Fall 12) 68
Age: Prospects 18–55 by Term 33 Term/Race 69
Age: Applicants 18–55 by Age 34 Term/Delivery/MD/City (Fall 12) 70
Age: Applicants 18–55 by Term 35 Term/Sub-Plan/Delivery (Fall 12) 71
Age: Applicants by Year 36 Past Marketing
Age: Matriculated 18–55 by Age 37 MGH Online Results July '12 72–75
Age: Matriculated 18–55 by Term 38 Tuition & Fees Comparison 76
Age: Matriculated by Year I 39 MGH Campaign Analysis: Web Traffic 77–78
Age: Matriculated by Year II 40 MGH Media Schedules
Age: Enrolled to 55 41 Fiscal 2008–09 79
Fiscal 2009–10 80
Fiscal 2010–11 81
Summer 2012 82
Millennial Notes 83–86
3. OVERVIEW
Introduction
University of Baltimore and Towson University began jointly offering the UB/Towson MBA degree program
in 2006. Prospect volume has trended upward since; however applications and enrollments have been in
decline since at least 2009.
While the decline in applications and enrollments can be attributed to many factors, this request for
proposal seeks to address marketing-centric factors, specifically branding, creative, media strategy and web
presence.
RFP recipients are asked to participate in a preliminary review meeting with the program team
within one week of receiving this document. In addition, RFP Recipients are asked to respond
within four weeks with an in-person presentation to the program team at a mutually convenient
date, time and location. Extensive data is summarized and attached to provide a strategic
foundation for presentation preparation.
An open and ongoing dialog throughout the four-week preparation process is encouraged, and the
point of contact for all questions is listed below.
A decision will be rendered by the program team within two weeks of the final presentation.
Point of Contact
Jesse Trahan
Director of Graduate Marketing
Towson University
410-704-2025
jtrahan@towson.edu
1
4. Branding
Issue: The program’s current designation as “UB/Towson MBA” (or any variant incarnations) is bland and uninspired.
Alumni who participated in MBA redesign focus groups related issues with placing it on their resumes including out-of-
state employers asking “What is the ub tow son MBA?”
Visually, the juxtaposition of our two university logos next to the name is awkward and needs to be treated in such a
way as to double the program’s effectiveness and enhance its brand equity.
Objective: A standalone identity (name and mark) for the program with caché and gravitas that combines both
University names and strongly references the program’s contemporary nature and dual Baltimore locations. For
example:
The Baltimore MBA
University of Baltimore / Towson University
Requested: 1–3 program names and accompanying marks, at least one of which should be a combination of UB’s
“sliced quad” and TU’s “banners”
Creative
Issue: Historically, messaging and visuals have been driven by short-term goals (increasing enrollment in the next 1–2
terms) and thus have lacked continuity. Messaging, tone, and visuals were produced with little audience insight from
the universities.
Objective: Develop a multi-year evolutionary campaign that communicates the program’s most prominent strengths
and differentiators using language and imagery that is customized to our audience(s) as defined in the accompanying
overview and detailed analysis.
Requested: 1-3 campaign concepts with accompanying radio script, print advertisement and banner advertisement
samples
Media
Issue: Historically, media strategy has been driven by short-term (upcoming 1-2 terms) goals and as such has lacked
continuity and university-provided target audience insight. Past media plans may be referenced on pages XXX-XXX.
Objective: Develop an annual media strategy that is customized to our audience(s) as detailed in the Data Summary
below. Provide detailed ROI reporting including recommendations for optimization, experimentation and new
opportunities, on a monthly basis with the option to review formally via conference call or meeting.
Requested: Media strategy and schedule for the remainder of this fiscal year ($94,000) and the upcoming fiscal year
($130,000)
Web Presence
Issue: The web site has not been refreshed for two years.
Objective: Develop a new web site that is customized to our audience(s) as detailed in the Data Summary below and
representative of the branding and creative outlined above.
Requested: 1–3 home page treatments, an outline of your web (re)design process, and relevant examples of finished
products
2
5. REFERENCE INFORMATION
Online & On-Campus
Students can complete the entire degree online, but only with a general specialization because not all specialization
elective courses are offered online.
Students may take all fundamental and core courses at either university. However, these courses switch between
semesters. For example, UB will offer MGMT 600 in the fall and Towson will offer it in the spring. A student could
conceivably take all the core and fundamental courses on one campus.
An elective course is usually offered at the campus that has a teaching proficiency in it. It is doubtful a student could
finish their elective at one on-campus location.
SWOT Analysis
STRENGTHS OPPORTUNITIES
AACSB Accredited Increase in 18–24 segment
Less expensive than Johns Hopkins and
Increase in face-to-face students
UMCP
Competitively priced with Loyola Alumni success
Racially diverse student body Employer affinity
2 campuses Upcoming curriculum redesign
Any combination of face-to-face, part-time, Cost positioning against Loyola, Johns
online, full-time Hopkins and UMCP
Strong Baltimore City/County-sourced Brand positioning against UMUC, Frostburg
student body and Mt. Saint Mary’s
More brand equity than UMUC, Frostburg
and Mt. Saint Mary’s
WEAKNESSES THREATS
Inconsistent marketing Contracting enrollment funnel
Similar in cost to Loyola Dual university confusion, apprehension
Many specializations unavailable online Decrease in online students
Weak presence outside of MD Lack of out-of-state recognition
More expensive than UMUC, Frostburg and Lengthening prospect-to-applicant
Mt. Saint Mary's timelines
Less brand equity than Loyola, Johns Frostburg's accreditation, online option,
Hopkins and UMCP aggressive marketing
Decrease in stealth applications
Decrease in 30–34 segment
3
6. Data Summary
Sex: Applicants (26)
Males prefer part-time (strongest overall segment) both online and face-to-face (69)
Females prefer part-time overall, but full time when face-to-face (69)
Feb 2006–Oct 2012: Oct 2011–Oct 2012:
52% Male, 46% Female 54% Male, 45% Female
Race: Applicants (30)
Whites have been steadily increasing, with a decline in 2009
Blacks, Asians and Hispanics peaked in 2009 and have been declining since
Blacks had a strong resurgence in Fall 2012 (perhaps an anomaly)
Feb 2006–Oct 2012: Oct 2011–Oct 2012:
41% White 49% White
27% Black 30% Black
18% Blank 11% Blank
13% Asian 10% Asian
Age: Applicants (35-37)
Feb 2006–Oct 2012: Oct 2011–Oct 2012:
10% 18–24 27% 18–24
39% 25–29 39% 25–29
26% 30–34 16% 30–34
12% 35–39 8% 35–39
6% 40–44 5% 40–44
3% 45–49 2% 45–49
2% 50–55 2% 50–55
Top 10 Maryland Cities (43-45)
Feb 2006–Oct 2012: Oct 2011–Oct 2012:
1. Baltimore 1. Baltimore
2. Owings Mills 2. Towson
3. Towson 3. Owings Mills
4. Bel Air 4. Bel Air
5. Parkville 5. Cockeysville
6. Columbia 6. Columbia
7. Ellicott City 7. Annapolis
8. Cockeysville 8. Parkville
9. Abingdon 9. Ellicott City
10. Annapolis 10. Abingdon
4
7. Top 8 Maryland Counties (46-48)
Feb 2006–Oct 2012: Oct 2011–Oct 2012:
1. Baltimore City 1. Baltimore City
2. Baltimore 2. Baltimore
3. Anne Arundel 3. Anne Arundel
4. Harford 4. Prince George’s
5. Howard 5. Harford
6. Prince George’s 6. Montgomery
7. Montgomery 7. Howard
8. Carroll 8. Carroll
Application Volume & Patterns (56-57)
Due to deadlines, applications in the program ramp up Feb, peaking in Aug and ramp up Sep,
peaking in Jan (57)
Delivery Mode (65-69)
Face-to-face enrollment is greater than online enrollment by an approximate ratio of 5–4 (67)
Online enrollment ramped up to a 2010 peak, and has declined since (65)
Face-to-face enrollment ramped up to 2008, declined 2009-2010, and ramped back up 2011-12
(opposite of online) (66)
Distance--Top Maryland Cities (43-45, 71)
Distance does not appear to be a delivery method factor
Approximate Ratio
City
Face-To-Face Online
Baltimore 5 4
Owings Mills 8 7
Towson 7 5
Parkville 4 3
Bel Air 3 2
Ellicott City 1 1
Cockeysville 2 1
Columbia 8 7
Annapolis 1 1
Abingdon 1 2
Sub-Plans by Delivery (60, 67-69, 72)
Top 3 specializations, after “general,” are finance, marketing, and health management
Finance is more popular face-to-face 2–1
Marketing is more popular face-to-face 3–2
Health management is more popular face-to-face 2–1
5
9. Online Question to Prospects (Info Request Form)
What are the three most important factors to you in selecting an
MBA program? (please select only three)
Choices
AACSB Accreditation
Career Services
Cost
Number of Specializations Available
Online and On-Campus Learning
Reputation / Ranking
291 Population
261 Sample Size
99% Confidence Level
3% Confidence Interval
Votes Feature Percentage*
183 Cost 70%
140 AACSB Accreditation 54%
135 Online / On-Campus 52%
101 Career Services 39%
101 # Specializations 39%
84 Reputation / Ranking 32%
*Based on the population and sample size we can say with 99%
confidence that the response percentages are accurate within 3%
7
10. MBA Selection
Most Important Factors
*Based on the population and sample size we can say with 99% confidence that the response percentages are accurate within 3%
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Cost AACSB Accreditation Online / On-Campus Career Services # Specializations Reputation / Ranking
8
17. Visits by Month
2009 2010 2011 2012
13,000
12,000
11,000
10,000
9,000
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
-
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
15
18. Unique Visits by Month
2009 2010 2011 2012
9,000
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
-
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
16
19. Average Visit Duration by Month
2009 2010 2011 2012
0:04:19
0:03:36
0:02:53
0:02:10
0:01:26
0:00:43
0:00:00
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
17
20. Bounce Rate by Month
2009 2010 2011 2012
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
18
21. Pages Per Visit by Month
2009 2010 2011 2012
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
-
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
19
22. Pageviews by Month
2009 2010 2011 2012
50,000
45,000
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
-
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
20
43. Matr Term Age to 55: Enrolled
Sum of # Skewing younger in later terms
Core Range: 24–26
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 44 45 47 48 49 51 52 53 54
Y
Enr Age
41
44. Pros Yr.Mo Top Ten MD Cities: Prospects
Sum of #
MD Silver
Spring MD
Towson
MD
Columbia
MD Ellicott
City
MD Owings Mills
MD Cockeysville
MD Bel Air
MD Laurel
MD Baltimore
MD Parkville
42
45. App Yr.Mo Top 10 MD Cities: Applicants
Sum of # 46% All; 57% MD
Baltimore 28% All; 36% MD
MD Towson
MD Owings
Mills
MD Bel Air
MD
Cockeysvill
e
MD Columbia
MD Annapolis
MD Parkville
MD Ellicott City
MD Abingdon
MD Baltimore
43
46. Matr Yr.Mo Top 10 MD Cities: Matriculated
Sum of # 50% All; 58% MD
Baltimore 31% All; 36% MD
MD Towson
MD
Cockeysvill
e
MD Bel Air
MD Columbia
MD Parkville
MD Annapolis
MD Ellicott City
MD Baltimore
MD Owings Mills
MD Abingdon
44
47. Pros Yr.Mo MD Counties: Prospects
Sum of # 60% of MD prospects reside in Baltimore/Baltimore City
MD Anne Arundel
7%
MD Prince
MD Montgomery George’s
9% 6%
MD Howard
6%
MD Harford
6%
MD Baltimore
17%
MD Carroll
3%
MD Baltimore City
41%
45
48. App Yr.Mo MD Counties: Applicants
Sum of # 61% of MD applicants reside in Baltimore/Baltimore City
MD Anne Arundel
11%
MD Prince George’s
8%
MD Harford
7%
MD Baltimore MD Montgomery
23% 7%
MD Howard
6%
MD Carroll
3%
MD Baltimore City
33%
46
49. Matr Yr.Mo MD Counties: Matriculated
Sum of # 61% of MD matriculated reside in Baltimore/Baltimore City
MD Howard
MD Anne Arundel 8%
11%
MD Montgomery
7%
MD Harford
6%
MD Baltimore
21%
MD Prince George’s
6%
MD Carroll
2%
MD Baltimore City
37%
47
50. App Term Applicants: US State
Sum of #
USA PA
7%
USA VA
USA NY
5%
3%
USA NJ
3%
USA CA
2%
USA DC
2%
USA FL
1%
USA TX
1%
USA NC
1%
USA MD
75%
48
51. App Yr.Mo Non-US Countries: Applications
Sum of #
SAU, 27
CHN, 14
NGA, 46
CMR, 12
GBR, 11
PAK, 10
CAN, 7
KEN, 6
GHA, 5
IND, 69
49
55. Prospects by Year.Month from Jan 2010
June 2012 Omitted (3,365)
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
53
56. Prospects by Year/Month*
No pattern established
*June 2012 omitted (3,365)
400
350
300
250
2010
200
2011
2012
150
100
50
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
54
58. Applications by Year/Month
Ramp-Ups: Feb-Aug, Sep-Jan
140
120
100
2007
80
2008
2009
2010
60 2011
2012
40
20
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
56
59. Sum of # Stealth App by Matr Term
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1063 1064 1072 1073 1074 1082 1083 1084 1092 1093 1094 1102 1103 1104 1112 1113 1114 1122 1123 1124 1132
1
Stealth App Matr Term
57
68. Term Subject Enrollment by Term / Age / Delivery
Sum of #
F2F Online
900
800
700
382
600
305
500
400
300 149
447
200 410
230
100
44 31
49 57
7
13 3
0 6
21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55
Age Range
66
69. 50
0
100
150
200
250
Term
Gender
21-25 Sum of #
26-30
31-35
Full
36-40
41-45
21-25
Full/Part Age Range
26-30
31-35
Part
F
36-40
41-45
46-50
21-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
Less Than Half
41-45
46-50
21-25
26-30
31-35
Full
36-40
41-45
51-55
21-25
26-30
Enrollment by Term / Gender / Delivery
31-35
Part
M
36-40
41-45
46-50
21-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
41-45
Less Than Half
46-50
51-55
67
70. Term Enrollment by Term / Delivery / Gender / Credits
Sum of #
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
31-35
21-25
31-35
21-25
31-35
41-45
21-25
31-35
21-25
31-35
41-45
21-25
31-35
41-45
21-25
31-35
51-55
26-30
36-40
21-25
31-35
41-45
21-25
31-35
41-45
21-25
41-45
26-30
36-40
21-25
31-35
46-50
Full Part Less Than Full Part Less Than Full Part Less Than Half Full Part Less Than Half
Half Half
F M F M
F2F Online
F2F/Online Gender Full/Part Age Range
68
71. Sum of # Enrollment by Term / Race
700
651
639 643
600
593 601
500
400 422
300 321
270
243 245
200 213
161 163
147 149
131
100
99 91
79
44 18 4 16 24 44 37 20 5
0
1064 1074 1084 1094 1104 1114 1124 1064 1074 1084 1094 1104 1114 1124 1064 1074 1084 1094 1104 1114 1124 1064 1074 1084 1094 1104 1114 1124
WHITE BLACK ASIAN HISPA
ETHNIC_GRP_CD Term
69
72. Term Enrollment by Ter / Delivery / MD / City
Sum of # F2F Online
6000
5000
2424
4000
3000
2000
3100
1000
272 199 168 141 186 90 131
334 276 236 214 185 177 159 94
115 150
0 73
Baltimore Owings Mills Towson Parkville Bel Air Ellicott City Cockeysville Columbia Annapolis Abingdon
MD
STATE CITY
70
73. Term
50
0
100
150
200
250
300
350
Sum of #
UNDGBUS
FINANCE
HEALTH MGT
F2F/Online Sub-Plan
GMKTG
INBU
MBA/JD/UMB
ENTREP
MINS
LEADERSHIP
F2F
MSNUR@UMB
HRMG
MBA/PHARMD
MBA/JD
SMGMT
JMBAWEB
BUSSEC
SPA
SPORTSMGMT
UNDGBUS
FINANCE
HEALTH MGT
GMKTG
INBU
MBA/JD/UMB
ENTREP
MINS
Enrollment by Term / Sub-Plan / Delivery
LEADERSHIP
MSNUR@UMB
Online
HRMG
MBA/PHARMD
MBA/JD
SMGMT
JMBAWEB
BUSSEC
SPA
SPORTSMGMT
MBA/PHDNUR
71
74. UB/Towson Online Summary Report
UB/Towson Online Results - July 2012
Campaign Summary
Campaign Goal:
Increase inquiries for the UB/Towson MBA Studies Program
Campaign Flight Dates:
May 1, 2012 - July 31, 2012
Campaign Geotarget:
Maryland
Campaign Budget:
$88,959
The UB/Towson MBA campaign ended on July 31st and resulted in 410 leads and a cost/lead of $212. As a reminder, a lead is
considered any user who completes a form.
MGH reallocated Undertone's July budget to Quantcast as a response to Undertone's high CPL, and Business Week and
Monster.com ended on June 30th.
Although Monster.com, BusinessWeek and Undertone did not run in July, due to a 90 day cookie window, we are still able to
report on conversions/leads in July that were generated from banners running in previous months.
Leads by Source - Campaign Lifetime
Site Name Month Leads Cost Cost/Lead
Google SEM May 30 $2,517.89 $83.93
June 26 $2,784.46 $107.09
July 48 $6,750.47 $140.63
Google SEM Totals 104 $12,052.82 $115.89
Business Week May 9 $5,000.00 $555.56
June 4 $5,000.00 $1,250.00
July 3 $0.00
Business Week Totals 16 $10,000.00 $625.00
Monster May 2 $5,000.00 $2,500.00
June 15 $5,000.00 $333.33
July 3 $0.00
Monster Totals 20 $10,000.00 $500.00
Quantcast Network May 84 $10,000.00 $119.05
June 109 $10,000.00 $91.74
July 60 $15,000.00 $250.00
Quantcast Totals 253 $35,000.00 $138.34
Undertone Network May 5 $10,000.00 $2,000.00
June 5 $10,000.00 $2,000.00
July 7 $0.00
Undertone Totals 17 $20,000.00 $1,176.47
Overall Totals 410 $87,052.82 $212.32
72
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