It all becomes clear.Developing a personalized communication plan utilizing Consulting Services Presented by Molly Olson and Madison McKone Hobsons University 2015

2. It all becomes clear.
Developing a personalized communication plan utilizing Consulting Services
Molly Olson
Madison McKone
University of Minnesota Rochester
Office of Admissions

3. Molly & Madison
Molly Dislikes Madison Dislikes
Camping Slow computers
Corn Dogs Swedish Fish
Bugs Slow vehicles in the left lane
The song “Sangria” Darius Rucker
Skiing Craft Beer
And our side business – Reloving junk, treasures and vintage items -
facebook.com/occasionalmarket
Molly Loves Madison Loves
Yoga Anything Mexican
Pickles (and pickle juice) Turquoise
Retail Therapy Netflix
Mustard (the color) Hitting all green lights
Stripes Fall Leaves

4. • The University of Minnesota Rochester? You’re in a shopping
mall? Who are you?
• All previous pieces were designed internally or by a small
designer locally
• UMR wrote all of the content
• Photos were old, dated and overused
History

7. • Limited focus on Social
Media/limited presence in Social
Media
• Significant delays in overall
campus branding
• Website was ancient
• New campus, New program,
New Curriculum.
• Budget
History

8. • Health care focused
• Personalized
• Unique just like us
What we needed

9. What we didn’t want
When you finally get your email inbox
cleared out and you go back to check 5
minutes later #how #collegemail

13. • Looked at 3 options (local, Twin Cities and Hobsons)
• Needs:
Starting point
• Fit within budget - but willing to spend
the money that was needed
• Creativity
• FRESH
• Writing included
• Understood higher education and our
audience
• Options- previously we have always
only been given 1 option for everything

14. Flew to
Cincinnati in
February of
2014

15. Experienced the one-and-only, skyline Chili

16. • Met with Hobsons creative/writing team
• Shared our needs
• Hobsons shared their work
• We would be their largest client
• 21 piece communication plan
Meeting Hobsons

17. Stranded in Cincinnati due to a
horrible snow storm in MN

18. So…why
Hobsons?

19. Skyline Chili, of course!

20. No really- they blew us away. Professional, creative!,
excited, passionate, understood higher-ed, knew the
importance of personalized experiences for students and
within budget.

21. • What pieces do we need?
• High school visits, mailing/communication flow pieces, templates,
electronic pieces, on campus pieces
• Pieces we had never thought of
• 21 pieces!
• Brochures
• Postcards
• Digital Magazine
• Displays
• Posters
• 9 templates
• and additional add on projects...
• Discussed Money
• Signed the contract!
Getting the ball rolling

22. • Marking up
old, outdated
pieces
• Finding
examples of
new, fresh
designs
• Creation of a
theme and
“feel” that
would fit UMR
Diving right in

23. • Hobsons provided a Concept Board
• Concept boards helped us:
• Get the personalized, science-y feel we wanted
• Visualize where the campaign was going
• Show our department and others on campus what it will look like
• “Win over” the leadership team
• Gave Hobsons our thoughts and favorite aspects of the boards to give
them more direction
Concepts

25. • Process began in late June
• Needed 75% of the pieces by the end of September
• This meant tight deadlines
• Within UMR Admissions it was the Molly (Assistant Director) and
Madison (CRM Coordinator)
• Wanted to keep the team small to keep things moving
• Swimming in drafts before long!
Timeline
A C
B D
E
F
G
H

27. • Communication
• Weekly Webex Meetings with Laura (Project Manager),
Hannah (Content Writer) and Cindy (Graphic Designer)
• WE LOVED OUR TEAM! (And they loved us!)
• Sharing the information internally
How we did it

28. • Flexibility
• 1-5 new drafts to review at a time
• Prioritize and get it done
• Google Doc of edits
• Less edits as time went on
How we did it

29. • Deadlines
• Molly and I reviewed in a few days
• All pieces sent to internal marketing
• Additional departments (Housing, Student Affairs, Financial
Aid) and our educational collaborator (Mayo Clinic) as
needed
• 2-3 rounds of edits (keep under 4)
• Multiple projects at once
How we did it

30. • Highlighted many different aspects of UMR
• Digital Magazine
• Cohesive
• Health Sciences focused
• Personalized
• Individual student stories
• Sparked our creativity
End product

31. • So many options!!
• For our posters we received 5+ options!
End product

34. • Top poster designs:
• You're Like No Other- We Have That In Common
• Get A One-Of-A-Kind Health Sciences Education
• Other top contenders:
Poster Feedback from Students
• Into the Icky Stuff: (The students LOVED this one. They
think it might be better if there was a different picture; so
it would be less likely to get defamed. They very much
like the tagline because it attracts students like them).
• Unparalleled Medical Research:
(Students voted this as their least favorite.
They especially didn't like the word
"medical.") (But staff loved this one)

35. Both the
design and
statements/w
riting were

36. we are a very different
university and needed
something different to
show us off.

37. quotes and stories

38. by name

40. • Health care focused
• Personalized
• Unique just like us
And we got:
Just what we asked for!

41. We are
#HobsonsH
appy!!!
Where are we now

42. • Images
• Eye-grabbing
• Fresh
• Relevant
• Health-science focus
• Understood in one glance
• Text
• Catchy and strong
• Now used as key messages
• Easy to understand
• Fun!
Where are we now

43. • Cohesive feel
• Everything has a purpose
• Students will recognize this campaign through a
variety of mediums
Where are we now
• Direct mail
• Beautiful postcards and brochures
• Hand out on campus tours, visit
days, college fairs, school visits, etc.
• Distributed a combination of
approx. 100k print pieces

44. • Microsite
• Improved traffic
• Over 900 visits from over 700 users
• 2:06 average visit duration (+30.7%)
• 4% increase in clicks on BSHS
• 44% increase in clicks on BSHP
• 29% increase in clicks on
Request Info
• 100% increase in clicks on
Contact Us
Where are we now

45. • UMR Website
• Digital Viewbook
• Interactive BSHS
Degree Image
• Incorporate text and
images
• My UMR Story extends
the “Share Your Story”
idea
• Quotes and key
messaging
Where are we now

46. • Templates
• Hobsons templates are now used on the majority of emails
sent out using our mass emailing system
• 5 templates: Sophomores/Juniors, Seniors, Admits, Matrics,
Transfers
• Other newsletter templates: Parents, Counselors, HS Teachers
• Messaging and content specific to the audience
• Sent over 300 different emails to over 700,000
students/parents/counselors using the Hobsons designs
• Simple buttons and CTAs
• Click-thru-rate up to 77% for some audiences, higher open
rates
Where are we now

48. • Social Media
• Every print or email piece includes social media icons
• Drive more traffic to our pages
• Use Hobsons images and text in posts
• Hashtags like #WorthEveryPenny and
#CampusLivingReimagined
• Spin-off social campaigns like
#iheartUMR #WhyUMR and
#WhyRochester
Where are we now

49. • Renewed sense of creativity
• Longevity
• Now create similar in-house pieces
• Table centerpiece
• Posters and signs
• Holiday cards
• Admit and Matric certificates
• Admitted student timeline
• Many more
• SO MUCH BETTER THAN OUR OLD COLLATERAL
MATERIAL
• Fits together, to the point, not over-complicated
• We LOVE it. Our students LOVE it.
Where are we now

50. • Have photos ready prior to beginning
the project, make sure they are new,
fresh and not overused.
• Landing Pages for better tracking
• Social media tracking, SEO, web tracking
• Communication flows
• “Always turn to Hobsons for inspiration”
• Plan ahead in your budget
• Have dedicated staff
• Open communication throughout
departments
Conclusion/Next Steps/Advice

51. Thank you!
Molly Olson
Assistant Director of Admissions
sjoqu032@r.umn.edu
Madison McKone
CRM Coordinator
memckone@r.umn.edu

52. Questions?