Nontraditional IMC Most Updated (1)

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University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
School of Graduate Studies & Continuing Education
Integrated Marketing Communications Plan
Nontraditional Students
Creative Marketing Unlimited
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents............................................................................................................................ 2
Executive Summary........................................................................................................................ 3
Secondary Research Summary...................................................................................................... 5
Primary Research Summary........................................................................................................... 7
SWOT Analysis............................................................................................................................. 15
Target Audience............................................................................................................................ 16
Integrated Marketing Strategy ...................................................................................................... 20
Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 20
Key Messages to Target Audience ....................................................................................... 20
Positioning ............................................................................................................................. 20
Key Benefits........................................................................................................................... 21
Marketing Communications Strategies and Tactics.............................................................. 22
Creative Brief ................................................................................................................................ 23
Online Media Strategy .................................................................................................................. 24
Website Development ........................................................................................................... 24
Social Media .......................................................................................................................... 25
Email Promotion .................................................................................................................... 28
Search Engine Optimization.................................................................................................. 30
Print Media Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 32
Evaluation ..................................................................................................................................... 34
Recap of Campaign Objectives............................................................................................. 34
Nontraditional Student Satisfaction....................................................................................... 34
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 35
Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 36

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Executive Summary
UW-Whitewater’s School of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education has expressed an
interest in improving marketing communications efforts in nontraditional and adult students in
order to increase enrollment from this group. Nontraditional students have an average age of
36.3 years old, and include those that are not students who are coming to college directly from
high school. This may include returning veterans, single parents, working adults, or any of a
wide variety of individuals in varying life situations.
The primary competition for UW-Whitewater in this group includes all other four year universities
in southwestern Wisconsin, as well as online programs such as the University of Phoenix. To a
lesser extent, competition comes from two-year universities as well.
To improve our position to convert enrollments from our target audience, we have developed
this Integrated Marketing Communications plan to raise awareness of our collegiate programs in
order to align our strategies and tactics with the objectives of the School of Graduate Studies
and Continuing Education.
The overall theme of the strategy to achieve this goal is to create a well-maintained digital and
print marketing campaign in which messaging is consistent across all channels.
The strategies have been developed by examining the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and
threats to our nontraditional and adult learner program, describing the positioning of the UW-
Whitewater nontraditional program relative to that of competitors, and summarizing extensive
primary and secondary research about needs and behaviors of our target audience.
Based on these initial steps, the strategies and tactics are included that will provide the best
opportunity to effectively communicate why UW-Whitewater should be their institution of choice
for continuing their education.
Research Objectives
In order to identify how potential nontraditional students can be marketed to most
effectively, three research objectives were identified:
1. Identify what factors adult learners consider when selecting an institution for
continuing education.
2. Determine value proposition/key benefits to adult learners of pursuing a degree
from UW-Whitewater.
3. Gain further understanding of programs and efforts of other institutions.

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Methodology
Recommendations in this report were guided by a wide range of research. Initially, secondary
research was performed that examined the offerings and marketing activities of a variety of
potential competitor universities, or those that were considered comparable to UW-Whitewater.
These included all four-year University of Wisconsin campuses, and other major universities in
Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. In total, 36 other universities were researched.
Secondary research also included an examination of current UW-Whitewater enrollment data
and marketing practices, as well as research of industry best-practices in various publications.
Next, primary research was conducted in the form of a mostly open-ended, ten question survey
distributed to current UW-Whitewater nontraditional students. Responses were categorized and
summarized in the Primary Research Summary. This was designed to gain insights into
strengths and weaknesses of UW-Whitewater that are relevant to nontraditional students, how
these students get information about colleges when they decide to return to school, motivations
for returning to school, and a variety of other areas. This helped identify various target audience
segments what types of messaging are important to reach each one.
Finally, an in depth marketing plan was developed including information regarding positioning,
creative messaging, which communication channels to use, and how to reach each segment of
the audience.

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Secondary Research Summary
Web Page Information Related to Nontraditional Programs-
Finding:
Many universities have a lack of available information to nontraditional students. Of our study
group of 31 universities, 36.4% did not even have a separate web page for nontraditional
student information. Only 16.1% of universities had an e-mail sign-up for these students. No
schools offered a nontraditional student Facebook page.
73.6%
16.1%
0.0%0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
Separate Web Page Email Sign-up Facebook
Nontraditional StudentMarketing Channels

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Search Engine Optimization-
Finding: According to primary research, a Google search is one of the most likely ways that a
nontraditional student would search for information related to returning to school to obtain a
degree. Only 29.0% of universities in our study group had web pages that could be found on
the first page of Google search results for a selection of nontraditional student education
keywords.
The graph below compares the proportion of universities that had separate nontraditional
student web pages to those that had web pages with page 1 search rankings.
FAQ Resources for Nontraditional Programs-
Finding: UW-Whitewater is one of only six schools in our study group (19.4%) that offer a
“Frequently Asked Questions” page for nontraditional students. The information on each of
these pages was categorized based on 17 content areas.
UW-Whitewater and UW-Oshkosh offered two of the most informative pages, with information
covering 47.1% of content areas.
Of the most common content areas covered, UW-Whitewater lacked information about how
nontraditional students can register (66.7% of sites had this information), how to find financial
aid for nontraditionals (50.0% of sites had this information), and how nontraditional students can
find more information (50.0% of sites had this information).
73.6%
29.0%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
Separate Web Page Page 1- Google
Nontraditional SEO Rankings

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Primary Research Summary
Methodology
Primary research was conducted in the form of a comprehensive survey distributed to current
nontraditional students at UW-Whitewater. The survey was designed to gain insight into needs
of nontraditional students, benefits of the nontraditional program at UW-Whitewater, potential
improvements that could be made by the university, and a variety of other areas. Findings have
been outlined below.
Results
Note: Please refer to Appendix for sample responses and word clouds demonstrating common
response themes for each survey question.
Q1: What are the main reasons you decided to return to school to get your bachelor's
degree?
Finding: The most common motivation for returning to school was that individuals wanted to
find a way to advance their career or increase their income (76.5% of respondents). This was
followed by individuals who had a lifelong personal goal of receiving a Bachelor’s degree
(54.5%). Another common response came from individuals whose employer’s had encouraged
them to go back to school to make them a more valuable professional (8.8%).
76.5%
54.4%
8.8%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
Advance my career Personal goal Employer encouragement
Reasons for Returning to School

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Q2: What were the biggest concerns you had when deciding whether or not to return to
school?
Findings: Some of the most common fears that nontraditional students experience before
beginning a degree are ‘Can I afford it?’ (49.2% expressed this concern), ‘Can I fit my education
into my schedule?’ (43.1%), and ‘Can I handle the coursework?’ (26.2%).
49.2%
43.1%
26.2%
10.8%
6.2%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
Affordability Time Coursework Fitting in Finding financial aid
MostCommon Concerns

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Q3: What are the main reasons you decided to attend UW-Whitewater instead of another
school?
Finding: One of the strongest reasons to attend for many students (51.5% of respondents) was
the proximity of UW-Whitewater to where they live. Nontraditional students are likely to be less
willing to move due to the fact that they oftentimes have families or jobs. Other common
reasons for attending UW-Whitewater included the prestige of the school (36.4%), and the low
cost of attendance relative to other area schools (13.6%).
51.5%
36.4%
13.6%
10.6% 9.1% 9.1%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
Proximity to
home
Program
prestige
Cost of
attendance
Online program Word of mouth Class size
Main Reasons to Attend UW-Whitewater

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Q4: What other schools did you look at besides UW-Whitewater? Why were you
considering those schools?
Finding: The first part of this question, “What other schools did you look at besides UW-
Whitewater”, showed that the most popular competitor school was UW-Madison (22.1% of
respondents). Other popular schools were UW-Milwaukee (11.8%), and UW-Rock County
(5.9%). 19.1% of respondents did not consider any other schools before applying to UW-
Whitewater.
Finding: The second part of this question, “Why were you considering those schools?”, showed
that the two biggest factors for students when deciding between schools were the proximity to
where they live (17.6% of respondents), and whether they offered the academic program they
wanted (17.6%). Another key factor included the lifestyle the respondent pictured having at the
university (13.2%).
22.1% 19.1%
11.8%
5.9% 4.4% 2.9% 2.9%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
What Other Schools Did You Consider?
17.6% 17.6%
13.2%
5.9% 5.9% 4.4%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
Proximity to
home
Academic
programs
The lifestyle Low cost of
attendance
University
reputation
Great credit
transfer
programs
Why Did You Consider Those Schools?

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Q5: How did you hear/learn about UW-Whitewater?
Finding: The most common response was from those who said that they heard about UW-
Whitewater via word-of-mouth from a family member, friend, or coworker (47.1%). Other
common responses included those who did online research on their own (19.1%), and those
who already knew about UW-Whitewater from living in the area or growing up here (17.6%).
47.1%
19.1% 17.6%
5.9% 5.9%
2.9%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
Word-of-mouth Online research I live nearby I attended
before
High schoolr
recruiters
Advertisements
How Did You Hear About UW-W?

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Q6: What could UW-Whitewater do differentlyto reach non-traditional students like you?
Finding: The most common response, “Reach out to two-year schools” (27.9% of respondents)
suggests that UW-Whitewater could improve their efforts at marketing to students who are
soon-to-be graduates of two-year schools. Other common responses included students that
believed UW-Whitewater needs to advertise the nontraditional program more (25.0% of
respondents), those that believe the university should emphasize the nontraditional “pad”
(20.6%), and those that believe that UW-Whitewater should make the registration process faster
or easier (14.7%).
27.9%
25.0%
20.6%
14.7% 13.2%
10.3%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
Reach out to
two-year schools
More advertising Advertise the
nontraditional
"pad"
Make
registration
easier
Allow more
credits to
transfer
Better
communicate
online options
What Could UW-W Do Differently?

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Q7: If another non-traditional student was considering UW-Whitewater and asked your
opinion about the school, what would you tell them about UWW?
Finding: A majority of students (57.4%) said that they would simply tell another prospective
student that UW-Whitewater was a great school to attend. This question did reveal other
strengths of UW-Whitewater, such as “Great professors” (10.3% of respondents), “Great
academics” (10.5%), “Take online classes” (10.3%), and “Good class sizes” (8.8%). All of these
strengths are things that should be considered when positioning the university’s nontraditional
program and messaging to potential students.
Q8: Which format of classes have you taken at UW-Whitewater? SELECT ALL THAT
APPLY
Finding: Online classes are in high demand with nontraditional students. Only 81.5% of
respondents had taken online classes. While a high number, this suggests that there is a
significant number of nontraditional students (18.5%) who have never taken a face-to-face class
in their college career. Meanwhile, as many as 70.8% of respondents have participated in at
least one online class.
57.4%
10.5% 10.3% 10.3% 8.8%
0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Great school Great
academics
Great
professors
Take online
classes
Good class
sizes
What Would You Tell SomeoneAbout UW-W?
81.5%
70.8%
43.1%
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
Face-to-face Online Hybrid
Which formatof classes haveyou taken
at UW-Whitewater?

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Q9: What college is your major from?
Finding: The two most common programs for nontraditional students (in our sample group)
came from the College of Business & Economics (40.6% of respondents) and the College of
Letters & Sciences (37.5% of respondents).
Q10: Gender
Finding: Females were far more likely to respond to our survey. 73.9% of respondents were
female.
Gender
40.6% 37.5%
12.5% 9.4%
0.0%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
Business and
Economics
Letters & Sciences Arts &
Communication
Education Undeclared
What college is your major from?
73.9%
26.2%
0.00%
50.00%
100.00%
Female Male
Gender
Gender

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SWOT Analysis
In order to establish how to position the nontraditional program at UW-Whitewater, it is first
necessary to examine internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and
threats) that affect nontraditional enrollment at UW-Whitewater. Positive factors will need to be
taken advantage of, and negative factors will need to be overcome as outlined in later sections
of the report. This analysis is based on primary and secondary research.
Strengths: Weaknesses:
 Great local awareness for quality
business & education programs
 Supportive community of current
nontraditional students to help socially
transition
 Lower tuition costs than most area
four-year universities
 Strong web presence with most
relevant information provided and
easy to find
 Childcare services are offered to
students
 Lack of available testimonial videos
from current nontraditional students
 Nontraditional students have
expressed a difficulty in finding
information related to admissions and
financial aid availability
 Campus is located a considerable
distance from large population centers
Opportunities: Threats:
 Competitors are failing to take
advantage of social media to
communicate with target audience
 Competitors have a lack of available
information on their web pages
 Local universities like UW-Madison
and UW-Milwaukee may have tuition
prices that are too high for some
nontraditional student segments
 There are many other universities in
the southeastern Wisconsin area that
can be considered competitors
 Many potential nontraditional students
have fears of not fitting in, not having
time for school, and not being able to
pay for school

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Target Audience
The target audience for the UW-Whitewater Nontraditional Program consists of adult individuals
who are looking for an education to further their professional careers or fulfill educational goals
by receiving their first college degree or second. These individuals typically have other time and
financial obligations against which they have to balance time and money put into their
education. Our research has highlighted four main audience segments to cater communications
efforts to.
Primary Audience Demographics
Note: Refer to Appendix for a matrix showing segmentation and benefits for individual Target
Audience profiles.
Segment A: Working Adults & Stay at Home Parents
These individuals are adults who are already independent and either employed full-time or
taking care of their children while their significant other works. They typically have a family (or at
least one dependent). These individuals are motivated to advance their career or change career
paths, to improve their long-term opportunities. They are somewhat financially sensitive due to
the fact that they have significant financial obligations like children and mortgages. They are
also sensitive to time commitments as they have jobs and families to tend to while they pursue a
degree. For this reason, these individuals may be more interested in part-time education or
online degrees, and childcare services are a necessity.
● Males and females
● Aged 25+
● High school diploma or some college
● Have 1+ dependent
● Typically employed 35+ hours per week
● Household income of $30,000-$65,000
● Geographic: Located within 50 miles of the university

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Segment B: Single Parents
This segment includes potential students that decided not to pursue a degree after finishing high
school or their GED, but are now looking at advancing their education. Adults who have recently
become unemployed are also included in this segment. This is due to the fact that many
similarities in demographic traits and behavioral traits exist in these people such as age, gender,
and campus resources or characteristics that appeal to this group. Segment B is more likely to
enroll full-time than their counterparts in Segment A. They are likely not as sensitive to time
constraints as those in Segment A, but are equally as sensitive to financial constraints. They
are also likely interested in campus resources such as childcare.
● A high proportion of females, some males
● Aged 22-25
● High school diploma or GED
● May have a dependent
● Typically unmarried
● Likely unemployed or returning veterans
● Household income of $30,000 or less

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Segment C: Returning Veterans
The Returning Veterans segment includes a majority of men, but an increasing proportion of
women each year, rising from 2% in 1973 to 14% in 2011.1
These individuals are oftentimes
either unemployed, or employed part-time. Financial constraints apply to them, but additional
government assistance is often available, and should be communicated to this group. They
may be single or married, and may have children as well. Services such as tutoring and
academic services are likely of particular concern to this group, as well as financial aid. Unique
to this group (especially those who are at the younger end of the age range) is that some may
be interested in on-campus housing opportunities.
● Typically males, but a growing number of women
● Aged 20-30
● High school diploma or GED
● May be single or married
● May or may not have dependents
● May be unemployed or employed full/part time
● Household income of $30,000 or less
1
Patten, Eileen,and Kim Parker. "Women in the U.S. Military: Growing Share,Distinctive Profile." Pew Research
Center. N.p., 22 Dec. 2011.Web. 3 Mar. 2015.

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Segment D: Two-year Degree
Those in the Two-Year Degree segment will be age 20+ and will include roughly an equal
proportion of males and females. They will be coming from a two-year school with an
Associates or equivalent degree. This means that they will be highly interested in transfer
programs and learning how many of their existing credits will transfer. These individuals will be
very diverse in lifestyle, age, marital status, and size of family. They are likely sensitive to the
cost of continuing their education. These individuals have an understanding of post-secondary
education, and are less likely to need information about academic tutoring and similar campus
resources. They will want more in-depth information related to their chosen field of study, and
on-campus career services.
● Male or female
● Aged 20+
● Have an Associate’s Degree, or are in
progress on completing one
● May be single or married
● May or may not have dependents
● Includes unemployed, part-time, full-
time employed individuals
● Household income varies greatly

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Integrated Marketing Strategy
The proposed campaign will use the following strategies and tactics in both online and print
media in order to create an integrated marketing communications campaign that can meet the
outlined objectives.
Objectives
1. Increase UW-Whitewater enrollment by nontraditional and adult students
2. Increase response rates and conversion rates for marketing communications efforts to
nontraditional and adult students
3. Increase satisfaction of nontraditional and adult students that choose to attend UW-
Whitewater
Key Messages to Target Audience
Key messages are directed to all of the target audience segments. They are simple and
straightforward statements that the UW-Whitewater Nontraditional program needs to
communicate effectively.
1. The goal of the program at UW-Whitewater is to provide adults an opportunity to get
ahead in their career and provide for their family
2. UW-Whitewater is an accepting environment where nontraditional students will fit in
3. The program at UW-Whitewater offers many services to help nontraditional students
while balancing school with other responsibilities.
Positioning
The following is a concise statement that describes what the University of Wisconsin-
Whitewater wants every member of the target audience to perceive and think about their
nontraditional program.
“The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater strives to provide the best educational
experience possible for nontraditional or adult students to develop themselves, advance
in their career, and pursue a degree.”

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Key Benefits
The following are some of the most important benefits that the nontraditional program offers,
from the perspective of the potential student. Identifying these results is an opportunity to match
each benefit offered by UW-Whitewater with an emotional appeal to the potential student in
promotional messaging.
1. The Degree:UW-Whitewater offers a wealth of areas of study where an individual can
advance in their career and better provide for their family including many that can be
completed online or at night.
2. The Experience: The University offers many student organizations and extracurricular
programs that can help nontraditional students find the “college experience” while
balancing other areas of their life.
3. The Lifestyle: There are many tools and course options both on campus and online that
can help students effectively balance their work/family lives with their education.
Examples include childcare services on campus, the Adult Student Outreach office,
campus academic services, and more.
4. The Resources: A variety of financial aid, educational, informational, career services,
and other resources are offered by UW-Whitewater to help adult students achieve their
educational goals and aid in the transition to their dream career.
Tagline: “UW-Whitewater: Education. Opportunity. Possibility.”
This tagline appeals to all target audience segments as it emphasizes the offering of UW-
Whitewater (education), what it means to the audience (opportunity), and the unique benefits
that they get when enrolling at UW-Whitewater (possibility). This comes in the form of the
extensive services that are offered at UW-Whitewater that make degrees attainable to
nontraditional or adult students.

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Marketing Communications Strategies and Tactics
Strategy:
Create a unique program identity for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater nontraditional
program through creative messaging.
Tactics:
● Adjust current messaging to convey new positioning
● Emphasize program benefits in all marketing media
● Develop a positive “tone-of-voice” in messaging that helps the potential student
feel connected to the program
Strategy:
Develop an online marketing plan to effectively convey information about the program to
potential adult students.
Tactics:
● Add additional information on all online platforms to help potential students better
understand the program
● Develop a Facebook page for the UW-Whitewater Nontraditional Program
● Develop online video content
● Overhaul website SEO practices
Strategy:
Outline a print media campaign to reach out to nontraditional students
Tactics:
● Develop an effective mailing campaign
● Develop marketing materials for local employment resources (job centers,
staffing agencies, etc.)
● Establish relationships with two year schools in the area.

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Creative Brief
A creative brief is a set of guidelines that can help ensure that all marketing communication
efforts related to the UW-Whitewater Nontraditional program are integrated, appropriate, and
targeted to our specific audience. Every point of communication with the audience should follow
these guidelines.
Why are we advertising?
To promote the UW-Whitewater Nontraditional Program and increase enrollment in this group.
Who are we trying to communicate with?
Nontraditional and adult students who are typically aged 25+, work 35+ hours per week, and
oftentimes have a family with children.
What are their current beliefs/views of our program?
UW-Whitewater is an institution that offers a variety of very competitive educational programs,
but choosing to attend is a big change of life. There is a lot of uncertainty related to feeling like
an outsider, handling the workload, and their ability to pay tuition.
What would we like their beliefs/views to be?
At the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, receiving a degree is achievable even given the
financial and time constraints of adult learners.
What is our most persuasive benefit to communicate?
UW-Whitewater has a thriving community of nontraditional students to which it extends
educational and financial resources to make the transition manageable.
Why is this believable?
UW-Whitewater makes specific efforts to cater to adult students with a campus department
specifically for “nontraditional students” (the Adult Student Outreach office). The average age of
these students is 36.3 years old, and many of them have children, full-time jobs, and other
obligations.
Tone of voice?
Accommodating and understanding.

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Online Media Strategy
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater already has a significant competitive advantage when it
comes to reaching and communicating to nontraditional students via digital media. Significant
opportunities are still present to better integrate online media with the overall communication
strategy.
Website Development
Web media targeting for nontraditional students is a significant area of strength for the UW-
Whitewater nontraditional program. The website is both well-organized and appealing, and it is
very easy to find relevant information. Creating web design, search engine optimization, e-mail
promotion, and social media efforts that echo the messaging and tone of the overall strategy will
help create effective brand identity. However, there are some minor improvements that should
be made to nontraditional-related pages.
1. FrequentlyAsked Questions pages: In a study of over 30 universities’ nontraditional
student web pages, it was found that only six schools in our group featured FAQ pages
like UW-Whitewater’s. Information featured on those six schools’ FAQ pages showed
that the following questions were featured on other schools’ pages, but not on those of
UW-Whitewater.
a. What are admission requirements for nontraditional students?
b. Is financial aid available to me? How do I find out?
c. What is the cost of attendance?
d. When should I apply?
2. Email sign-up: Very few nontraditional programs at other universities featured a link to
sign-up for an email list, or to request more information via e-mail. This would be a
simple addition to the UW-Whitewater nontraditional pages that could help build the
email communication audience and answer potential students’ questions.
3. Testimonial videos:The UW-Whitewater Adult Student Outreach page features a
testimonial video prominently. However, it is the only testimonial video that is easy to
find on the page. Many respondents to our survey suggested that testimonial videos are
a resource that they find valuable. An additional subsection of the Adult Student
Outreach page should be created to feature additional testimonial videos that are posted
to social media channels.

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Social Media
Facebook is the most important current social network to utilize in reaching out to our particular
target market. There are over 100 million Facebook users in the United States, over 50% of
which visit Facebook daily. It receives more than twice the traffic of all other social media sites
combined.
Our specific target market, nontraditional/adult students, matches very well with two of the
largest demographics of Facebook users. Individuals aged 25-34 accounted for 22.6% of
Facebook users in 2014 per the 2014 Facebook Demographic Report. That same report
suggested that individuals aged 35-54 accounted for 27.0% of Facebook users, and this group
was also one of the fastest growing segments.
There are many potential benefits to using Facebook as a marketing tool. First, it allows us to
identify and reach out to previously unknown potential students. We can identify these
individuals because they will have liked our page in their search for information while deciding
whether to attend, or they may be an active participant in Facebook groups related to
nontraditional students. Facebook also allows for fast sharing of video content.
Perhaps the most important benefit for our purposes is that Facebook allows you to develop a
community and better communicate the ‘brand personality’ of the UW-Whitewater Nontraditional
Program.
Additionally, Twitter should be utilized as a more real-time means of communication by creating
a nontraditional program-specific Twitter account. When deciding on account names for these
platforms, it is important that the profile both clearly and concisely identifies that the page is
specific to nontraditional students, and maintains consistency in branding with names of other
social media platforms. Examples could include:
 UW-Whitewater Nontraditional Program
 UW-Whitewater Adult Students Program
 Adult Students of UW-Whitewater
Social media is a very important part of communication, outreach, and relationship building with
current and potential nontraditional students. It is also crucial in SEO efforts, where pages that
are active topics of discussion on major social media platforms are often given page-ranking
priority over pages that are not mentioned.

26 | P a g e
Nontraditional Student-Oriented Facebook Page
A page specific to nontraditional/adult students at UW-Whitewater should be created and
promoted on web pages related to these students. Two common concerns among nontraditional
students were a lack of information and a fear of feeling like an outsider on campus. The
Facebook page will allow us to help potential students overcome these fears using the following
types of content.
1. Testimonial videos: Potential nontraditional students express that they want to hear
other nontraditional students talk about the school when they are choosing whether to
attend and where to attend. This type of content will be some of the most credible and
believable marketing communications that can be provided because it comes from peers
of our target audience.
2. Discussion prompts: Asking simple questions like “What do you think are some of the
biggest challenges of attending college as a nontraditional student” can develop
interaction from current students as well as those considering UW-Whitewater. Seeing a
responsive and active community on Facebook could help overcome the fear some have
of feeling like an outsider on campus. This can also be used as a means of addressing
any other potential issues that users may have. This type of post should come on a
weekly basis in order to provide ample time for individuals to respond and participate.
Discussion prompt activity should be monitored and responded to on a daily basis.
3. Campus resource information: Facebook is an excellent opportunity to communicate
messages about the key benefits of UW-Whitewater compared to other universities.
This is an opportunity to make sure that the audience is aware that services like financial
aid, career counseling, child care, and many other resources are offered to
nontraditional students.
4. Articles & information about the benefits of receiving an education: Universities that have
successful Facebook pages for their nontraditional programs often link external content
(articles, videos, etc.) that show the career opportunities that receiving a degree comes
with. This is a tool to make an emotional appeal to the audience by demonstrating the
potential impact of going back to school.
5. Facebook advertising: Advertisements can be posted to Facebook that generate
awareness of the program as well as encourage an ‘action’ such as visiting our website.
Facebook advertisements are valuable in that they can be very carefully targeted to our
individual target segments. Students that are interested in or attend local two year
schools such as UW-Rock County could be quickly identified and communicated with as
well.

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Nontraditional Student-Oriented Twitter Page
The real-time nature of Twitter as a social media platform may mean that content has less
lasting value, and thus users do not look to Twitter as often for information. However, Twitter
provides many organizations tremendous value as a platform for interacting quickly with their
audience and answering questions. A Twitter page should be implemented to provide a more
personal interaction with individual students as well as to quickly respond to questions and
complaints.
Nontraditional Student YouTube Channel
A nontraditional student-oriented YouTube channel will provide additional social media
coverage for the UW-Whitewater nontraditional student program. It will also serve as a
resource to host videos such as student testimonials that will be featured on the webpage and in
other areas.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn provides a more professional means of communication with target audiences, and
students may consider this to be a more credible and ‘believable’ means of communication with
an educational institution. This platform can also be used to maintain a connection with
nontraditional alumni in order to show potential students what people have achieved with a UW-
Whitewater degree.

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Email Promotion
Email promotion is one of the primary ways that the UW-Whitewater nontraditional program can
reach out to new potential students and provide messaging and information about continuing
their education.
While email traditionally has a low response and conversion rate it is also one of the few
inexpensive ways to reach out to large groups of people. This factor allows it to remain a
valuable marketing communications tool. In order to be effective a large list of quality leads will
need to be developed, content will have to be planned to include that appeals to individual
target segments, and emails need to be carefully scheduled around important dates and
deadlines to help gradually influence the audience towards enrollment.
List development-
Growing and managing the list of email contacts is one of the most difficult parts of marketing
through this medium. Contacts need to be found in (in an ethical manner) that meet criteria that
suggest they may be interested in continuing their education. Some methods of achieving this
include:
1. Email sign-ups from the website: Creating a means for the audience to opt-in to
our email list manually on our website (as outlined in the Web Development
section) is a method of list creation that provides contacts that are already known
to be seeking information about our program. These contacts may be more likely
to enroll than those found through other means. Information to request for those
who opt-in for program emails includes:
 Contact information (name, address, email address, phone number)
 Demographic information (age, gender, marital status, interest in
childcare services)
 Veteran status
 Desired area of study
 How they learned about UW-Whitewater
2. Cooperating with local two-year colleges: If relationships are developed with two-
year schools it is possible that they would be willing to provide detailed contact
information for their graduates who are interested in continuing on to a four-year
degree. If it is demonstrated that UW-Whitewater can provide their graduates
with additional opportunities these institutions may be willing to help.

29 | P a g e
Content-
From the audience perspective, content is the obviously the most important part of email
communication. Emails that are sent to contacts need to be customized to individual target
audience segments, if possible. This allows for messaging to be specific and to appeal to the
specific areas of concerns of each individual contact.
Each email that is sent out should be viewed as an individual point of contact with the audience
that either moves them closer or further away from the end goal of getting them to enroll. A
variety of different types of emails should be developed to continuously move the audience
along in this process.
Awareness:
This will be the initial point of contact with an individual, and will serve as a means of
providing general information about the UW-Whitewater program for nontraditional
students. This step could include a series of several emails. Content should be
included that demonstrates what the impact and value of a degree can be such as
income statistics and job placement rates. Testimonial videos could be embedded or
linked within emails to help establish an emotional appeal that helps the audience
develop the feeling that they need a degree.
This step in the process involves helping the audience develop an understanding of why
UW-Whitewater should be their institution of choice for their degree. Those that sign-up
for the email list through the website can be placed directly at this point in the process.
Consideration:
These emails will have to be the most highly targeted emails. The content should
demonstrate that UW-Whitewater provides services and other benefits that appeal to the
individual’s given Target Audience segment.
Once again, this can be done through the use of testimonial videos, or pictures from the
campus relating to the lifestyle that one would experience while attending UW-
Whitewater. In depth explanations in the body text of the email that explain each of the
relevant benefits of the program are crucial.
Finally, these emails should feature a call-to-action for a higher engagement form of
communication. This would be in the form of an invitation to tour the campus, speak on
the phone with somebody for assistance in enrollment/admissions, or an opportunity to
speak to a current student or alumni.

30 | P a g e
Enrollment:
The final point in our ‘conversion funnel’ ends in the individual actually enrolling. By this
point, the recipient should have a feeling that they need additional education, and an
understanding of the benefits of the UW-Whitewater program.
Content at this stage should help overcome objections and fears that the audience may
have when enrolling. Additional information about managing an education with work or
family obligations, handling the cost of attendance, or a demonstration of the large
community of similar individuals on campus are all valuable.
A final call-to-action should be featured that communicates a sense of urgency such as
enrollment deadlines.
Search Engine Optimization
One of the main ways that nontraditional students may research information on universities is
through an online search engine such as Google or Bing. Achieving a high ranking for
important search keywords related to nontraditional student programs, adult degrees, part-time
degrees, or online degrees is crucial. Studies show that up to 71.33% of clicks in search
engines come from links that are shown in the first page of results.2
A simple process can be followed that will help boost search rankings over time, but search
engine optimization (SEO) best practices should be routinely researched as search algorithms
are rapidly changing.
Technical SEO:
In a simple SEO technical audit for nontraditional and adult student related pages under
the uww.edu domain, it appears that technical SEO practices are already strong.
Correct tags are in place to keep each of the site’s pages indexed in major search
engines. One potential improvement in this area would be to get more links to pages
that are relevant to nontraditional or adult students on other areas of the site, or even on
the home page. These are referred to as “internal links”, and help search engines
identify important pages.
2
Schwartz, Barry. "A New Click Through Rate Study for Google Organic Results." Marketing Land. N.p.,
1 Oct. 2014. Web. 7 Mar. 2015.

31 | P a g e
Keyword research:
Each page that is related to nontraditional students or adult students should be tailored
to compete for 3-5 keywords. These are terms or phrases that are related to the content
on the given page and that we would like our page to rank highly for in search results.
This is determined based on search volume (the number of monthly searches that a
given term receives).
A free tool called Google Adwords Keyword Planner can be used to look up search
volume for a term, and ideally words that receive greater than 100 searches but fewer
than 7,500. Terms with fewer than 100 searches provide little value in terms of potential
clicks while terms with over 7,500 are too difficult to compete for.
Many organizations keep track of keywords that are targeted for each page in a
spreadsheet. Information that should be recorded includes the keyword, search volume,
and page URL.
Note: See appendix for a table that can guide keyword research as well as provide
examples of potentially successful keywords.
Content Development:
Content and media needs to be posted under each page that is valuable and relevant to
the page subject. Search algorithms are very advanced at increasing search rankings
for pages with good, informative content.
This means that the text in the body of the page should be similar to the page headings.
Both of those fields should also contain the 3-5 keywords that are selected for the page.
Additional weight is given to higher-effort content and media on pages. This means that
blogs, videos, articles, infographics, and images that help the viewer become more
engaged and informed by the page can help drastically increase search rankings.
Inbound Links:
Search algorithms also highly weight the importance of the number of links on the web
that point to a given web page. For that reason, it is important to network with
webmasters of other sites (perhaps community colleges, employment centers, etc.) to try
to get the URL for nontraditional or adult students page linked on other domains.
Public relations can be another very effective way of building an inbound link structure.
The more news stories and PR coverage that the UW-Whitewater nontraditional
program can achieve, the more likely it is that links to our webpages will be published
online.

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Print Media Strategy
Communications through print media should follow similar visual templates to online media by
featuring similar graphics, logos, and the campaign slogan. All messaging guidelines outlined in
the Creative Brief should be followed for print advertisements as well as online.
After examining some of the print mailings that UW-Whitewater currently distributes to
nontraditional students, it is possible that improvements could be made in this area to better
match our strategies and tactics.
Three potential types of print marketing communication should be considered.
Individual Mailings
Similar to the pamphlet shown in the “Current Print Mailings” section of the Appendix, efforts
should continue to be made to issue pamphlets or other mailings to individual students.
However, unlike the current mailings, these should not necessarily apply to individual areas of
study at UW-Whitewater, but should instead be more general information about the campus.
Whenever possible, each contact should be sent a targeted mailing for their given Target
Audience segment that appeals to the specific benefits that are likely to appeal to them.
This type of communication can be used in unison with our email conversion funnel strategy
outlined in the Online Media Strategy section, as well. While costly, these print mailings can
provide a valuable method of moving an individual target to the beginning of the path towards
enrollment.
Scheduling for these mailings should take place several months in advance of enrollment
deadlines. This is due to the fact that it takes considerable time to move an individual through
the conversion funnel, and mailing too close to these deadlines could result in lost
conversions/enrollments.

33 | P a g e
Marketing Materials for Two-Year Universities & Job Centers
A potential resource for finding contacts is two-year universities who have graduating students.
UW-Whitewater is likely to not be considered a competitor to these schools, at least for their
graduating students, and thus they may be willing to cooperate by distributing mailings to their
students or posters on campus that talk about capitalizing on their two-year degree by
continuing on to their Bachelor’s Degree.
A full suite of pamphlets and posters should be developed that provide information about credit
transfer programs at UW-Whitewater, as well as other benefits that are important to Segment D,
Two-Year Degrees. These materials can also be distributed to local job centers, which are city
facilities where individuals go to seek information about jobs, education, apprenticeships, and
careers.
Marketing Materials for Veteran’s Affairs Organizations
Similar to providing materials to distribute on two-year campuses and job centers, Veteran’s
Affairs Organizations are institutions where there are individuals that are likely interested in
continuing education.
A unique suite of pamphlets and posters should be developed to appeal specifically to Segment
C, Returning Veterans. This would include materials that appeal to specific benefits of this
target audience.
The tone-of-voice should be altered slightly for these marketing materials to emphasize
respectful and thankful messaging to appeal to the Returning Veteran segment.

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Evaluation
Recap of Campaign Objectives
1. Increase enrollment by nontraditional students
2. Increase conversion/response rates for nontraditional student communications
3. Increase nontraditional student satisfaction of university services and academics
To determine the effectiveness of the IMC plan, methods of evaluation for each objective need
to be developed. It is important to increase overall student enrollment of a university, especially
in an area where there is a lack of presence. It is crucial that the nontraditional student is being
delivered proper material for their degree, as well as advancement in their career under a
constructive learning environment with many time and lifestyle constraints.
Objectives #1 and #2 are easily quantifiable by simply tracking enrollment statistics and
conversion/response rates before and after implementation of IMC strategies. However,
Objective #3 will require a more active approach to evaluate success.
Nontraditional Student Satisfaction
In order to track the satisfaction of nontraditional students with the UW-Whitewater
nontraditional and adult learner program it is necessary that a method be developed to quantify
their satisfaction.
A simple method to accomplish this is by developing a survey that will rate satisfaction among a
variety of areas for these students. It will be important that the survey remains identical from
one semester to the next in order to not skew results. This can also be an opportunity to gain
additional insights on the thoughts of the nontraditional student body.
Potential questions could include:
1. Please rate your satisfaction with academic support services on campus such as
tutoring, the university testing center, and media labs. (1= Very Unsatisfied 5=
Very Satisfied)
2. Please rate your satisfaction with the availability of financial aid at UW-
Whitewater. (1= Very Unsatisfied 5= Very Satisfied)
3. Please rate your satisfaction with university childcare services. If this does not
apply to you, please select “Not applicable”. (1= Very Unsatisfied 5= Very
Satisfied)

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Conclusion
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater provides a competitive, quality education to
nontraditional and adult students.
Strengths include great local awareness, a well-established community of adult students to help
nontraditional students transition socially, and an existing advantage over competitors in the
area of online communications such as providing in-depth information on their nontraditional
web pages.
Some recognized weaknesses of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater when it comes to the
nontraditional students are a lack of testimonials from current nontraditional students and a lack
of information provided for certain common questions such as admission requirements.
Additionally, UW-Whitewater faces the threat of a variety other local universities (both four-year
and two-year universities) within the southeastern Wisconsin area.
The school has the opportunity to adopt new positioning and messaging strategies across all
points of contact with the aforementioned four select target audiences. This will help build the
brand of the University and establish it as the go-to institution for area adults that decide to
enrich themselves by pursuing additional education.
By adjusting online and print marketing communications strategies to incorporate consistent
messaging and positioning UW-Whitewater can achieve each of their goals outlined in this plan.
These objectives include an increase in enrollment from nontraditional students, an increase in
conversion rates and response rates from nontraditional student communication efforts, and an
increase in satisfaction from nontraditional or adult students.

36 | P a g e
Appendix
Current print advertisements

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Primary Research Responses & Word Clouds
Q1: What are the main reasons you decided to return to school to get your Bachelor’s
degree?
Sample responses:
“I was working in a factory doing manual labor on a printing press. This job was done through on
the job training and so was the promotion process. Work shifts were twelve hours long three
days a week. I cannot be cooped up in a factory for that long. I also wanted to make more
money.”
“The reasoning to return to school was both personal and professional. Although gaining
awesome experience in the field has advantages re: applicability, there is still the fact that I had
not completed my degree. this impacted me anytime new management was hired or I was up
for potential promotion. The act of actually coming back and completing my degree has a
monumental impact on my personal growth and experience as an individual as well as future
professional.”

39 | P a g e
Q2: What were the biggest concerns you had when deciding whether or not to return to
school?
Sample responses:
“How am I going to be able to afford this and still maintain my home, work and care of my
mother along with homework and classes? Would I be able to keep up with the homework?”
“Could I afford it? Would I have time? Did the opportunity pass me by? Would online learning
work for me?”

40 | P a g e
Q3: What are the main reasons you decided to attend UW-Whitewater instead of another
school?
Sample responses:
“It is fairly close to Madison (where I am from) and has a good Education program (I am a
special education major).”
“I did the research about their Social Work program and really felt it was a positive fit for my
situation. Also I knew I did not want to travel to Milwaukee every day for classes. I live 40
minutes away from campus but the commute is not stressful compared to being downtown
hustle and bustle of UWM.”

41 | P a g e
Q4: What other schools did you look at besides UW-Whitewater? Why were you
considering those schools?
Sample responses:
“Madison, MATC. I was considering Madison because of its reputation, but it was too expensive.
I was considering MATC because of price.”
“UW-Milwaukee. I wanted an environmental science or safety degree and wanted a public
school so those were the only two reasonable options.”

42 | P a g e
Q5: How did you hear/learn about UW-Whitewater?
Sample responses:
“I work on campus. It has always been here - I grew up on a farm just outside of Whitewater.”
“Who *hasn't* heard of UW-Whitewater? What I heard most were the radio ads for Young
Auditorium on the UW-Whitewater campus.”

43 | P a g e
Q6: What could UW-Whitewater do differentlyto reach non-traditional students like you?
Sample responses:
“Invite me to tours. Call me on the phone. Include an email address and phone number on the
correspondence I receive from the mysterious person who responds to the on-line application. I
had one heck of a time trying to talk to a human being at your university who didn't try to steer
me back to the website for information. All I really wanted to do was sit down with a counselor
and talk about what I'd need to do to get started and what to expect. I didn't get to talk with
anyone until Planet Purple... which, for me, was less than a week before classes started. You
really need to make your website more user-friendly. It is very hard to navigate and find
information on specific degrees. Yes, it's easy enough for your employees to find things. You
need to make it very, very obvious to the rest of us how to find things.”
“Utilize technical college information to provide additional material to recent graduates; provide
information on transfer of credits and provide a better pathway to complete courses through
technical colleges to transfer into UWW.”

44 | P a g e
Q7: If another non-traditional student was considering UW-Whitewater and asked your
opinion about the school, what would you tell them about UW-Whitewater?
Sample responses:
“I would recommend UWW 100% and tell them that it's a good fit for non-traditional students.”
“I would tell them that I really enjoy Whitewater. The class sizes are small enough to still be
personable and most of the teachers are always willing to give you their time and help.”

1 | P a g e
Target Audience –Benefit Matrix
Segment Age Gender Education Family/Marital Status Important Benefits
Working Adults &
Stay at Home
Parents
 25+ years  Males and females  High school
diploma/GED
 Have 1+ dependent  Part-time programs
 Online degrees
 Child care services
 Academic tutoring/services
 Community of similar individuals
Single Parents  22-25 years  Mostly females  High school
diploma/GED
 Typically unmarried
 At least one dependent
 Financial aid
 Career services
Returning
Veterans
 20-30 years  Mostly male  High school
diploma/GED
 Single or married
 May or may not have
dependents
 On-campus housing opportunities
 Financial aid
 Academic tutoring
 Community of similar individuals
Two-Year Degrees  20+ years  Male or female  Associate’s
Degree
 May or may not have
dependents
 Credit transfer program
 Information specific to their field of
study
 Financial aid
 Career services

1 | P a g e
SEO Keyword Research Template
SEO keyword research is an ongoing process that continues as webpages are changed and
maintained. The researcher should put themselves in the position of the target audience by
thinking about what types of search terms they might use while gathering information or
considering going to college. These should be keywords that are relevant to UW-Whitewater
(and the specific URL that the keyword will be used on), but also general enough to have
adequate search volume. Some potential examples include:
Keyword Search Volume
Online Degrees 27,100
Online Degrees 22,200
Adult Learning 8,100
College Online 6,600
Online College Classes 6,600
Going Back to School 2,900
Wisconsin Colleges 2,400
College Online Courses 1,900
Night Classes 1,900
Business Degree Online 1,900
Going Back to College 1,600
Adult Students 480
Scholarships for Adult Students 390
Adult Student 260
How to go Back to College 260
Nontraditional Students 170
What is a Nontraditional Student 140
Grants for Nontraditional Students 110

2 | P a g e
Welcome Email Series
Segment A: Working Adults/ Stay at Home Parents
Subject Line: UW-Whitewater: Work During the Day, Study at Night!
Body Text: UW-Whitewater offers a variety of degrees available at night or online that
fit your schedule.
Do you want to earn more money, change careers, or simply fulfill a goal of
getting a degree? UW-Whitewater wants to help you achieve that goal.
Many successful people have received our degrees even while working
full-time and raising children. We offer many services such as childcare,
academic tutoring, and online academic services to help you in your
education.
Why, you may ask? We want you to succeed!
Other Content: Embed testimonial videos from others who fit this target audience profile.
The campaign tagline could also be featured. Link to the nontraditional-
related webpages where the audience can find additional information to
further engage them.
Timing: This email should be sent before the end of the typical workday, around
2pm-3pm. This allows time for full-time parents to view the email before
children get home from school and for employed individuals to see it before
leaving work.

3 | P a g e
Segment B: Single Parents
Subject Line: UW-Whitewater: Decide your future!
Body Text: UW-Whitewater strives to make a college degree attainable for hard-
workers, no matter the circumstances. Education is a key for many to keep
improving their future and finding a rewarding career.
With services like childcare facilities, academic tutoring, and financial aid
help, people from all walks of life have fulfilled their dreams with UW-
Whitewater degrees.
Other Content: Embed testimonial videos from others who fit this target audience profile.
The campaign tagline could also be featured. Provide a link to webpages
related to childcare services so to further engage the audience and move
them further in the path to enrolling.
Timing: These emails should be sent in late morning. This allows more time in the
day for single parents to see the email. This segment has a particularly
unpredictable schedule, and sending the email between 10am and 2pm
should be optimal. Continue to experiment with different times to see when
the best click-through and open rates are achieved.
Segment C: Returning Veterans
Subject Line: UW-Whitewater: Degrees and Opportunities for Veterans
Body Text: UW-Whitewater is a veteran-friendly campus, with a thriving community of
current and former military personal that understand you and your needs.
There are many services and options for returning veterans who now hope
to advance their career by receiving a degree. Here (link), you can find
information related to financial aid options and other campus services that
can help you achieve your dreams!
Other Content: Include pictures and graphics that show veterans and military personnel on
campus or in class. This may help this target audience segment better
identify with the messages we are trying to communicate. If appropriate,
use the campaign tagline as well.
Timing: Depending on how recently the individual’s service ended, this segment
may be accustomed to waking up early. Testing should be done to
determine best timing for these emails by sending some in the morning
(7am to 9am) and some in the late afternoon (2pm to 4pm) to see which
time is more successful.

4 | P a g e
Segment D: Two Year Degrees
Subject Line: UW-Whitewater: Keep Your Momentum, Continue Your Education
Body Text: UW-Whitewater offers an extensive credit transfer program that recognizes
credits from many two and four year colleges! This allows those with two-
year degrees to have a head start towards receiving their Bachelors’.
If you’re interested in furthering your education and your career
opportunities go to http://www.uww.edu/aaec/student-tools/transfer for
more information about how your credits will transfer.
Other Content: Include pictures and other content that shows students learning, meeting
with academic advisers, and similar activities. Videos showing testimonials
from individuals who have transferred to UW-Whitewater from two-year
schools could be embedded as well. If appropriate, include the campaign
tagline as well.
Timing: Send these emails in the late afternoon (2pm-4pm).

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