Innovative Ideas for School Yield Marketing CampaignsIt's the Most Wonderful Time of the Yield...

You’ve worked hard this year to communicate with prospective parents. Fall admissions events are well underway and your school is doing all it can to get the word out about enrollment. You’re determined to meet your goal of filling classroom seats next fall. Once acceptance letters go out, it’s time to wait and see if students choose your school over the competition. It’s out of your hands…or is it?

Continue to Impress Prospective Parents and Students Even After Acceptance

To move towards a higher yield of enrolled students this year, take full advantage of data acquired (especially during admissions events) to not only communicate with prospective parents and students prior to application, but also to remarket to them after they’ve been accepted. A great yield marketing plan could be the difference between full classrooms and empty seats next fall. Also, it could be your favorite creative project all year.

Yield marketing is an exciting opportunity for engagement because the students and parents you’re reaching out to have already swapped information with you. You’ve sent them an invitation to join your community, and now it’s your job to communicate your understanding of their interests and create buzz over the unique educational experience you can offer.

The key to a successful yield campaign lies in advance preparation. Collect data in advance that helps you connect on a one-on-one level with students and parents.

Using Personalization in a Digital Space

Once you have data collected about prospective student’s interests, you have the foundation to create personalized digital experiences featuring content specific to the interests of each student. Imagine sending your prospects to a landing page displaying specific sports calendars, news about student organizations, creative arts announcements, and info on extracurricular activities, all tailored to an individual’s preferences.

Make A Lasting Impression on Paper

When thinking about a yield campaign, don’t underestimate the power of print — the creative possibilities are endless! One of our favorite print yield projects was for The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts. The campaign hinged on the fact that John Hancock was one of the signers of the school’s charter. We sent a poster that displayed a scan of the original charter and prompted accepted students to, “Add your name to history!” The poster was held together by a custom band with the student’s name on it (courtesy of variable data printing) and a Governor’s Academy branded Sharpie, with a message encouraging them to sign their names at the bottom and share it with others on social media with a campaign hashtag.

This project emphasized the historical significance of The Governor’s Academy. However, the messaging also discussed modern-day programming and activities. Through personalization and interaction, it helped students visualize themselves both as part of the school’s history and it’s current community.

Other Creative Ways to Communicate with Prospects

• Send a variable data postcard or brochure with customized content and images that relate to the student’s interests (it’s easier to do than you might think…ask us how!).
• Tap into that data to create a personalized email for each accepted student that speaks to some of the experiences they may have had when visiting campus at an admissions event.
• Create a social campaign for accepted students with a special hashtag (e.g. #Classof2028Panthers). Urge students to post their acceptances on social media with the hashtag, monitor usage, and respond back from your school’s handle.