Oakton Community College Case Study
Engaging Diverse Audiences Through Digital Strategy
Solutions
The Challenge.
Located in a competitive Illinois environment, Oakton Community College needed to generate brand awareness, inquiries, and applications among both prospective traditional and non-traditional (adult learner and working professional) students. The College serves more than 435,000 residents, with diverse target audiences in terms of demographics and educational goals. Digital campaigns needed to be agile and strategic throughout Oakton’s primary enrollment periods to engage each audience and drive engagement.
Oakton selected Carnegie through a competitive RFP process with more than 20 respondents, with agency reputation, higher education experience, live dashboard capabilities, forward-thinking outlook and approach, and comprehensive in house marketing capabilities factoring heavily in the selection.
The Strategy.
Following in-depth onboarding of Oakton’s goals, enrollment data, and campaign priorities, we finalized media plans and launched digital campaigns in summer 2020.
Strategies included Display Outreach and Retargeting, PPC (branded and non-branded keywords, including community college, associate degree, and adult learning/continuing education keywords) , Pandora, LinkedIn Lead Generation and InMail, Gmail, Snapchat, and Facebook/Instagram Static Ads, Stories, and Lead Generation. We also consulted with Oakton on Google Analytics to deepen its understanding of visitor traffic and behavior. Throughout the year, we continuously optimized campaigns toward Oakton’s primary goals. We’ve also provided consultation on high-level industry challenges and changes throughout the year.
The Results.
In the first year of implementation, digital campaigns drove impressive results, including more than 8,000 impressions and 59,000 clicks. More than 1,445 total leads were generated through Facebook, LinkedIn, or landing pages designed and hosted by Carnegie. We tracked more than 1,788 application-related clicks on the College’s admission landing page. As Oakton continues its mission of expanding equity and achieves its enrollment objectives, we’re proud to serve as a trusted advisor and ongoing partner in its growth.
8,000
Impressions
59,000
Clicks across channels
1,445
Inquiries generated
"Carnegie isn't just a vendor but a real partner for our institution. Our team makes a huge impact —we know we have experts looking out for us and educating us along the way. From the simplest of questions to deeper dives and consultation, our Carnegie team is responsive, patient, and an expert voice for any challenge we present." Andrea Lehmacher, Ed.D.
Director of Marketing
Oakton Community College
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