In April 2020, the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis and subsequent travel, event and social restrictions led to major disruptions across the globe.
With tens of thousands of young Australian adults and other non-school leavers facing job losses, reduced employment and business closures, Southern Cross University’s mid-year intake (Session 2) offered an immediate option for students looking to future-proof their career.
The campaign theme, ‘It’s time to reset,’ acknowledged this uncertainty and presented study as a way for people to take back control of their lives:
The world as you know it might have stopped, but your education doesn’t have to.
With decades of delivering flexible study
For the jobs Australia needs
And outstanding student support,
Reset your future and take back control.
Study at Southern Cross University.
Stephen Matchett, Editor of the Campus Morning Mail, praised the message as “a recruitment campaign that keeps it real. The new campaign acknowledges this terrible time of fire and pestilence but presents study as a way for people to take control.”
In Social Garden’s breakout campaign as Southern Cross University’s lead partner agency, high growth student acquisition through lead generation successfully empowered non-school leavers to take back control of their future through study.
In the first campaign run by Social Garden since winning the tender, the overall objective was to place Southern Cross University at the forefront of consideration for non-school leavers contemplating studying from July 2020 and position the university as a safe and dependable choice.
The multi-channel campaign led with brand marketing backed by specific courses. Adopting this type of performance-driven approach to student acquisition and the student experience aligned with the digital innovation journey Southern Cross University was on.
“This type of performance-driven marketing will transform our digital efforts and complement the in-house capability we have built over the last two years,” said Dean Gould, Southern Cross University CMO.
The campaign responded to the global turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic by empowering those affected to take back control through their education.
To this end, Social Garden brought together the ‘It’s time to reset’ positioning with the unique benefits of Southern Cross University. High graduate salaries, 5-star student support and a range of supported pathways with guaranteed entry to university reinforced the value of studying in the current climate.
This strong brand message proved to resonate with Southern Cross University’s audience, where:
Almost 70% of students are female and social media is similarly weighted
Over 70% of students are non-school leavers
Almost 75% of school leavers who enrol come from local catchment areas
More than 80% of applications to study are direct
A carefully constructed social nurture campaign also dynamically engaged leads with targeted messaging. The campaign was adapted and fine-tuned to maximise performance through:
Ultimately the campaign was managed in a phased approach, with the first half focused on driving registrations for virtual information sessions, an entirely new concept for Southern Cross University. The second half of the campaign centred on one-on-one consultations with expert student advisers.
Outcome
The student acquisition campaign far exceeded expectations achieving a 42.86% year-on-year growth in applications, more than double the original campaign target.
