This document discusses omnichannel marketing strategies for driving recruitment to Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies master's degree programs. It outlines how the school expanded its degree offerings and shifted to more online programs. It then details the school's internal and external omnichannel marketing approaches for promoting recruitment events across multiple platforms. This includes testing email promotion strategies, implementing a systemized event scheduling process, and utilizing paid channels like search ads, print ads, eblasts, social media, and direct mail. The strategies led to increases in event attendance, applications submitted, and student enrollments.

1. Omnichannel Marketing
Driving Consumer Behavior Across
Channels and Platforms
Leila Sidawy
Senior Marketing Manager
Georgetown University
School of Continuing Studies (SCS)

2. • Communicators must connect with consumers through user-
centric approach
• Omnichannel marketing is designed to deliver consistent and
compelling brand messages to target audiences:
– Across various platforms
– At multiple touch points
2
Introduction: Omnichannel Marketing

3. • Focuses on the overall consumer experience through a
holistic approach
• Communications are aligned across all channels yet are
channel- and audience-appropriate
• The key challenge of omnichannel marketing:
– All channels need to be on brand
3
Introduction: Omnichannel Marketing

4. • Omnichannel marketing can be implemented to market
degrees, programs, schools, etc.
• Demonstrate omnichannel approach, focusing on promoting
recruitment events
1. History of internal marketing
2. Omnichannel strategy for external marketing
4
Case Study: Recruitment Events

5. Background

6. • Professional master’s degrees have increased from 2 to 14 (incl.
3 executive master’s)
• Master’s degrees are moving online (currently 9)
6
Program Expansion: Professional Master’s
FY 2008 FY 2014 FY 2016 FY 2017
• Journalism
• Public Relations
& Corporate
Comm.
• Emergency &
Disaster Mgmt
• Human Resources
Mgmt
• Real Estate
• Sports Industry
Mgmt
• Technology Mgmt
• Urban & Regional
Planning
• Global Strategic
Comm.
• Hospitality Mgmt
• Integrated
Marketing Comm.
• Systems
Engineering Mgmt
• Program &
Portfolio Mgmt
• Project Mgmt

7. 7
Program Expansion: Shift in Revenue
Master's
Degree
Programs
6% Liberal
Studies
Degree
Programs
20%
Summer
School
38%
Special
Programs
10%
Professional
Non-Credit
Education
26%
SCS’s Gross Revenueby ProgramFY 2008
Master's
Degree
Programs
36%
Liberal Studies
Degree Programs
10%
Summer
School 20%
Special
Programs
20%
Professional
Non-Credit
Education
14%
SCS's Gross Revenue by ProgramFY 2014

8. 8
Cultivate Channel-Specific Expertise

9. • Move students through the lifecycle, effectively converting
them at each stage
• Integrated marketing touches all phases of the student
lifecycle
– Focus on first 4 stages: Awareness, Inquiry,
Applicant, Admitted
9
Student Lifecycle Flow

10. Recruitment Events

11. 11
Meet & Greets
• Open-house style
• Breakfast or lunch
• Table for each program
• Prospectives can “shop
around”
• Ideal for: inquiry stage

12. 12
Information Sessions
• Program-specific
presentations by staff and
admissions
• Headshots on event page
• Looking for more detailed
information about a program
and application process
• Ideal for: inquiry & applicant
stages

13. 13
Webinars
• Supplement to info sessions
• No space or ops limitations
• Ideal for: applicant stage
–Can’t attend on-campus
–Interested in online
program
• 1% higher conversation rate
than info sessions: started,
admitted, and enrolled

14. 14
Sample Classes
• Classroom experience
• Attract highly interested
prospectives, who have
completed their
application and/or been
admitted
• Registration-to-
attendance rate is high
• Ideal for: admitted stage

15. Internal Marketing for
Recruitment Events

16. 16
Five Years Ago: Internal Promotion
Website Placement Eblast via CRM

17. 17
Moment of Realization

18. 18
Internal Email Promotion
• Tested optimal frequency for event promotions and
developed systemized promotional schedule

19. 19
Internal Email Testing
• Tested the following based on open rates and CTRs:
–Best-performing subject lines
–Optimal send dates and times
• Tuesday & Thursday: morning, lunchtime, and during
commute home

20. Data-Driven Results

21. • Mad Men, S7:E6, “The Strategy”
• Campaign driven by data
– Review industry & market reports
– Comb through research and data
• Define goals and metrics
– Set up goals in Google Analytics and CRM
– Track and measure results on campaign performance
– Tweak placements, schedule, and budget allocations
21
Mad Men on the Importance of Data

22. 22
Emails Increase Engagement
31%
20%
Visitors from an internal
email who complete a goal
Site-wide average of
visitors who complete a
goal
*Pulled from last 6 months of internal data.
• Goal completion rate is significantly higher if the user
comes from an internal email:
vs.

23. • Maximize peak
interest periods
• Cluster like events
• Schedule multiple
events per program
each semester
• No more ad hoc
events
• Critical for external
marketing
23
Systemized Event Scheduling

24. 24
Events Increase Action
38%
31%
Submit an
application
Enroll as a
student
Prospectives that Attend
*Pulled from Fall 2014 attendance results.
17%
11%
Prospectives that Don’t Attendvs.

25. 25
Foot in the Door

26. External, Omnichannel
Marketing for
Recruitment Events

27. • Time to put marketing dollars behind our event promotion
• Cast a wider net via omnichannel marketing
• With events scheduled semesters out, they can be promoted
via paid media channels
• Added bonus: always have an immediate action for
prospective students:
– “RSVP for an event” has more urgency than “learn
more”
27
External Promotion

28. 28
Omnichannel Marketing

29. 29
Search Ads
• SEO efforts alone are not enough
• Dedicate a budget to search ads
– Allocate some of that budget towards promoting
events
• Google AdWords is fairly easy to learn
• Test strength and performance of copy and CTAs

30. 30
Search Ads

31. • Distributed on metro to a
captive commuter audience,
looking to advance career
• DC ranked #2 in most
educated US city
• Includes vanity URL to track
clicks, goals, and ROI
31
Print Ads
*”2015 Most & Least Educated Cities,” WalletHub.

32. 32
Original
Content
• Created and
promoted
web content
surrounding
sample
classes

33. 33
Original
Content
• 500% more
views than
average
article

34. 34
Paid External Eblasts
• Recruitment events placed in
paid eblasts via vendors and
niche publications
• If the placement is national:
webinars only
• Mobile-responsive template
–85% of emails are read on
mobile

35. 35
Social Media: Posts
• Both organic and
sponsored posts
• Primarily Facebook:
–cost-efficient
–specific targeting
–easy testing
–advanced
products

36. 36
Social Media: Visuals
• Custom visuals for
recruitment events

37. 37
Social Media: Referrals
65%
125%
• There has been a dramatic increase in referrals from
social media pages to our website:
114%
*YoY results via Google Analytics.

38. 38
Direct Mail
• Despite shift to digital, still continue a few top-
performing placements

39. Key Takeaways

40. • Tailored mix of media relevant to the customer journey
• Create awareness & drive engagement, guiding prospective
students through the lifecycle
• Curated content can serve as a recruitment tool, not just a
conversion tool
• Advance planning allows you to maximize your placements
• Internal & external marketing work in tandem
40
Key Takeaways

41. Special thanks to the Strategy & Marketing team for providing
the data and creative in this presentation.
For further information, contact:
Leila Sidawy
Senior Marketing Manager
Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies
leila.sidawy@georgetown.edu