Niagara University - The Martin Group

Taking graduate enrollment to a higher degree.

Challenge

In Spring 2021, for the first time in its history, Niagara University needed to create a campaign aimed specifically at graduate students. Facing factors such as a renewed interest in remote learning and the pandemic-era mindsets that led professionals to consider new paths, Niagara had—and needed to react to—opportunities to raise both awareness of and inquiries into enrolling within selected graduate degree programs, which ranged from business administration to education to cybersecurity.

Solution

Building off of an established and longstanding relationship with Niagara University, The Martin Group team began by hosting a strategy session with the University’s leadership, marketing team, and program deans. This yielded a host of insights, including the type of prospective graduate student who would be most sought after in enrollment goals: working professionals with a wealth of experience looking to take their next step. These lifelong learners had unique challenges (family responsibilities, full-time careers, higher standards for ROI, and more), and would be best served by the flexible environment and breadth of programs belied by Niagara University’s intimate size. With reaching these individuals at its core, our team next developed a brand brief and comprehensive paid media plan ahead of creative exploration. Our creative team developed the concept of “To a Higher Degree,” speaking to prospective students for whom experience and eventual advancement are highly valued. The campaign saw us enrich the meaning of a “higher degree” to point to the tangible yet aspirational benefits of choosing Niagara University, and came to life in a robust, full funnel of tactics, including: social media advertising, native advertising, digital streaming and video ads, search engine marketing, custom landing pages, retargeting ads, and more.

Results

Through working with The Martin Group, Niagara University has been able to reach a wide swath of prospective graduate students located across New York State, Northwestern Pennsylvania, and Northern Ohio. Final results from the one-year campaign include 40.5 million ad impressions, over 131,000 website sessions, a wealth of phone calls to admissions offices, and thousands of qualified leads. Our enrollment conversion rate improved from 15% to 18% by the end of the campaign, meaning nearly 1 in 5 leads gained during this timeframe ended up enrolling in the university. This important campaign laid a solid foundation and benchmark for NU to continue to build upon their graduate program marketing and advertising.