Mount Holyoke College
Integrated Marketing
As a strong liberal arts college for women, Mount Holyoke College was engaged in a strategic planning process to solidify its position in the eyes of current constituencies and potential audiences. The College had developed its recruitment, advancement, and public relations outreach activities using five core messages and wanted to test them for their appeal and their credibility in the prospective student market.
In 2002, Maguire Associates was hired to test this messaging system through market research. The project was a coordinated effort by the communications and enrollment management teams, whose recommendations would be important contributions to the top level of strategic planning.
The study solicited feedback from high-ability students at all stages of the "admissions funnel." In addition to testing the core messages, the College used this opportunity to learn more about the appeal of new program ideas under serious consideration, various features of college life, overall impressions of Mount Holyoke and its top competitors, and key marketing materials.
The Maguire Associates team presented results as they unfolded to the project team and provided highlights of the findings to the President and senior staff.
The results of the study were used by Mount Holyoke to:
- Revise and fine-tune "Describing Mount Holyoke College," an internal document used across the institution and with all volunteers as a framework for communicating the College’s strengths and its unique competitive position;
- Inform "The Plan for Mount Holyoke 2010," a document designed to drive the strategic planning process for institutional development over the next six years;
- Reaffirm the College’s mission and develop language that would interpret the mission for prospective students;
- Refine the core messaging system and marketing materials, including the Web site, for the recruitment of high-ability women.
Because Mount Holyoke is – and has been – committed to a deliberate strategic planning process, informed by market intelligence and led by highly competent staff, the number of applications has grown by 35% over the past five years. Further, the College raised $257 million in a capital and endowment campaign – 29% over goal – in the same time period. Maguire Associates has continued to work with the College, testing a variety of marketing messages and new recruitment materials in order to keep Mount Holyoke’s finger on the pulse of some of the nation’s most sought-after students.
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