Goal
The University of New Hampshire approached us with the following objectives: increase engagement from the alumni in the 42-62 age range, capture critical information that the University can use to improve their relationships with alumni, and position the organization as the enabler of the recipient’s career to increase institution loyalty. The team at Pacesetter implemented a single-phase, multi-channel campaign that highlighted all of the university’s needs.
Solution
The campaign elements included two variable emails and one variable oversized postcard with personalized URLs. To begin the campaign we wanted to determine how the UNH alumni associated themselves with the University. Through asset inventory, the following segments were created: area of study, graduation year or reunion year.
Using this information, we set up the campaign in the following order: first email, postcard, second email. All three pieces were versioned with copy and creative based on the segment the individual fell into. The oversized postcard was specifically sent to anyone who did not respond to the first email so we didn’t solicit them again. The second email was only sent to those who did not respond to the first email or postcard follow up.
Reasons For Success
The data this strategy yielded was clean and thorough including: each alumnis major, employment, reunion year, extracurricular activities and more! Additionally, UNH had great images for each major, athletics and activities. Having this data allowed them to create relevant and personalized communications.
Results
- UNH received an 8.5% response rate
- 70.5% survey completion rate
- Average email open rate of 22.6%
- Minimal unsubscribe rate
