PODCAST: Text Campaign for Incoming Freshmen

For the first episode of 2011 the Mobile Marketing Mavens reviewed an SMS text message campaign submitted by the University of Louisville in Kentucky designed to establish a communication channel with incoming freshmen. In this campaign offered to 2,600 students, an opt-in list of 500 was built. The students agreed to receive information about campus events, orientations, activities, contests and more.

Find out what the Mobile Marketing Mavens thought of this campaign. Was it effective? Did they use the right level of creativity?

CASE STUDY
University of Louisville
University uses text messaging to communicate with incoming freshman

School Overview
THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE is a state-supported research university located in Kentucky’s largest metropolitan area. With a student body that exceeds 22,000, UofL is comprised of 11 colleges and schools that boast more than 30 nationally recognized academic programs.

Problem
Every year, University of Louisville struggled to effectively communicate with thousands of prospective students and approximately 2,600 incoming students. UofL freshman were met with a flurry of information while they hastily assimilated to campus culture.

“It was an ongoing challenge to effectively update students with information about campus events, orientation activities, contests and special programs,” said Elizabeth Fitzgerald, coordinator of communications for UofL’s office of admissions. “PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS TYPICALLY AREN’T ACCUSTOMED TO CHECKING THEIR E-MAIL REGULARLY. We needed a solution that would allow us to QUICKLY AND EASILY contact all of our incoming students.”

Solution
Beginning in June 2010, UOFL USED CALL-EM-ALL TO SEND TEXT MESSAGE BLASTS TO APPROXIMATELY 500 INCOMING FRESHMAN who had opted in to receive information on campus events, contests and more.

One text message blast offered incoming freshman a week of free campus parking if they responded with a text citing the three things that they were most looking forward to during the upcoming school year. The flood of responses was astounding.

“We always challenge ourselves to find fun and creative ways to communicate with our students,” said Fitzgerald. “STUDENTS LOVE TO TEXT AND WE FOUND THAT IT’S THE EASIEST AND FASTEST WAY TO GET A RESPONSE.”

More Benefits of Text Message Blasts

Each text message blast takes just minutes to set up – allowing UofL to issue messages on the fly. “The Call-Em-All platform is easy-to-use and incredibly user-friendly,” said Fitzgerald. “WE CAN SET UP TEXT MESSAGE BLASTS IN UNDER TWO MINUTES!”

Furthermore, Call-Em-All enables UofL to EASILY TRACK how many students receive and open each text message. This allows the admissions office to know which students they may need to contact using additional outreach strategies.

In the future, UofL plans to use Call-Em-All text to reach out to prospective students with information on campus visits, application deadlines, and more.

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