Igniting Ideas
In FY20, Marketing and Communications illuminated UD's transformative education and high-impact research and scholarship. A new TV commercial, fully produced in-house, spotlighted experiential learning.
Major Initiatives
COVID-19
University Marketing and Communications was heavily involved in decision-making and planning related to COVID-19 and the subsequent return to campus. The division spearheaded the creation and dissemination of communications related to the pandemic. Examples of work include the development of the websites about COVID-19, Flyers at Home and The Path Forward; social media monitoring and posting; interacting with news media; development of campus communications; video production; creation of campus signage; creation of back to campus guidelines and more. We also shared over 20 stories of how Flyers on and off campus are responding to the pandemic.
Diversity and Inclusion
We aim to accurately and intentionally cover and represent all forms of diversity in our materials. In FY20, we engaged Lipman Hearne to explore how well our materials reflect the diversity of our campus and obtain suggestions for future work. Based on this audit, we developed best practices and provided resources for the campus community. We also established a Student Marketing Advisory Panel to help gain feedback and insights from diverse voices. In addition, the division directly supported the University's efforts around BlackoutTuesday, diversity and social justice resources, action steps to becoming an anti-racist university, Juneteenth and more.
ETHOS Docuseries
ETHOS combines study abroad and service learning into a life-changing adventure. In this three-part series, we followed Ellen and Michael's experience in La Paz, Bolivia. A multi-channel campaign was used to promote the story via digital ads, social media, the University of Dayton Magazine, earned media (TV and newspaper), and other channels.
View the ETHOS Docuseries
Virtual Graduation Celebration
#Flyer20Grad
While traditional commencement was postponed due to COVID-19, a virtual celebration was held to recognize graduates. During graduation week, we offered a variety of engagement opportunities on social media. The team created 404 custom wallpapers for graduates and compiled more than 70 congratulations videos from faculty and staff. We produced three degree conferral ceremony videos (3,503 views), which appeared on the #Flyer20Grad website (12,590 sessions). Graduation downloads on the site, including social media graphics, Zoom backgrounds and graduation banners, were very popular with families.
Brand Awareness & Reputation Building
National Media Campaign
The “Our Home is a Powerhouse” campaign expanded to Pittsburgh, Nashville and Indianapolis, and continued in Chicago, San Francisco, New York City and Ohio. The campaign generated 50.1 million impressions, a 0.47% click-through-rate and 56.6k acquisitions – outperforming the FY19 campaign. Shifting strategy to better balance awareness and engagement also helped drive increased performance.
Reputation Campaign
Marketing initiatives targeted to high school counselors and university administrators resulted in 7.4 million digital ad impressions, a 0.41% click-through rate and 12.6K acquisitions (engaged leads). Data-driven optimizations helped increase performance vs. last year, even though the campaign was canceled early due to COVID-19.
Social Media
The University’s main social media channels aim to strengthen UD’s overall reputation and build relationships with our audiences. These channels also play a critical role in issues management and crisis communication. In FY 20, we placed 980 posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, as well as responded to countless comments and direct messages. Across all platforms, we gained 18,862 new followers and had 462,659 engagements. UD ranked #1 in engagement compared to competitors on all platforms for FY20.
The Conversation
In 2019-20, 32 articles written by faculty and staff experts appeared on The Conversation. Those pieces received 739,334 views by audiences around the world.
-
26
issues of Campus News Digest kept students, faculty and staff informed.
-
$6.34 million
in perceived advertising value from media outlet news coverage.
-
1,050
mentions of the University of Dayton beyond Ohio markets.
Samples of Prominent News Coverage
CBS Sunday Morning highlights Nativities
CBS Sunday Morning featured UD's vast crèche collection on a segment about Nativities.
Reinventing Town-Gown Relations
Atlantic reporter James Fallows examined UD's role as an anchor institution in the city of Dayton.
The Power of Family Dance Parties
Philosophy professor Aili Bresnahan explains why dance can pandemic-proof your kids.
Advancement Communications
The Parent Philanthropy and Engagement strategy supported a 13% increase in parent giving. The peer-to-peer communication strategy supported a 19% increase in volunteers to the program. Annual giving programs showed a 14% increase in new Front Porch Society members. The development of robust campaign and solicitation materials resulted in over $47 million in new commitments. In addition, the giving day strategy had to be overhauled in just two weeks due to COVID-19. The revised day of caring and sharing raised over $700,000, with more than $100K going to the Student Crisis Fund.
Enrollment Management Marketing
Enrollment Management Marketing and Communications supported enrollment efforts to successfully recruit first-year, transfer, international and UD Sinclair Academy students. By partnering with offices across campus, the team streamlined communications for incoming students this year and introduced Champion Week messaging that welcomed students to the University. In response to the pandemic, the team also led efforts to create a video series answering families’ questions.
Watch "UD Answers Your Questions" Series
University of Dayton Magazine
Storytelling by University of Dayton Magazine eclipsed 1.2 million impressions, reaching on- and off-campus audiences with print and digital content to engage, educate and entertain. The magazine published 450 pieces of submitted content, from class notes to letters to the editor to photos of where our audience reads its UD Magazine. The magazine website, in its first full year since it was redesigned, increased readership 50% with 58,892 story reads; special coverage of Flyer ingenuity during the pandemic accounted for nearly 10% of the story reads. Twitter impressions increased 29%, and 31% more readers visited the magazine’s digital edition.
-
112 videos
created to support recruitment, advancement and reputation-building.
-
1.7 million
video views on YouTube, and 867,000 video views on Facebook.
-
28,000
views of the 360° campus photos created for Google Maps.