Igniting Ideas
In FY21, Marketing and Communications illuminated UD's transformative education, commitment to diversity and student success, high-impact research and scholarship, and role as an anchor institution.
Major Initiatives
COVID-19
University Marketing and Communications was heavily involved in decision-making, planning and communication for COVID-19 protocols and information. Examples of work include the development of websites (e.g., case dashboard, COVID-19 info, vaccine info, Building Immunity in the Community); return to campus trainings; campus signage; social media monitoring and posting; vaccination materials and over 150 messages to the campus community. We also produced several videos that illustrated COVID protocols and highlighted the importance of the UD community during the pandemic.
Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity, equity and inclusion are foundational Catholic, Marianist values. As such, we aim to accurately and thoughtfully represent all forms of diversity in our materials. In FY21, we implemented DE&I best practices, amplified various voices and highlighted UD's commitment to inclusion. These campaigns had a total reach of more than 948,000 with over 57,000 engagements on social media.
Explore UD's Committment to Diversity and InclusionStudent Stories
In today’s environment, it’s more important than ever to highlight why UD is distinctive. Through the "Taking Flight" campaign, we produced powerful student stories that featured UD's commitment to affordability and accessibility; excellence in research and innovation; commitment to real-world learning experiences; caring faculty; and Catholic, Marianist identity. These stories were promoted in digital ads targeted to alumni, prospective students and the general public; in the UD Magazine; and on social media.
View More Student Stories
UD Magazine
The University of Dayton Magazine helped build UD's reputation by publishing 218 print and digital stories and sharing 605 class and memorial notes for 1.9 million impressions. Feature stories highlighted religion, ecology, community, scholarship and diversity. The magazine published two print issues for a readership of 151,000. Our digital audience read 230,000 magazine pages and 90,000 web stories. Last year’s top story was a preview of the renovated Arcade, which received nearly 4,000 reads.
Areas of Focus
Brand Awareness
During FY21, we created and launched four major digital campaigns (NBA Draft, anchor institution, University timeline and NSF research rankings) to enhance and advance UD’s reputation. The campaigns garnered 8 million impressions, 97.8K clicks and 3K conversions. The 2.34% click-through rate far outperformed the benchmark (0.54%). Ads featuring student stories drew the highest click-through rate, and the student stories landing page had the highest acquisition rate. Ads featuring research, points of pride, and diversity efforts also performed well.
Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement
We supported philanthropic, participation and engagement efforts to successfully raise funds and recruit new volunteers from alumni, parents, friends, students, faculty and staff. Our inaugural digital ad campaign, which was executed in-house, garnered 1 million impressions, 8.4K clicks and nearly 600 conversions. The team supported the historic results of this year’s One Day, One Dayton: 6,024 donors from all 50 states raised more than $2.8 million. We also helped welcome more than 1,800 new Front Porch Society members and steward all donors during our first Donor Appreciation Week.
Undergraduate Recruitment
We supported enrollment efforts to successfully recruit first-year, transfer, international and UD Sinclair Academy students. A robust, in-house digital marketing campaign garnered 19.2 million digital ad impressions, 121.3K clicks and 6.8K conversions. The 0.69% click-through rate was more than double the benchmark. In response to the pandemic, the team developed materials that demonstrate UD’s commitment to community at all times, and the team also expanded outreach for nontraditional prospective students through personalized communications.
Social Media
Our 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 FY21, we posted 1,051 times on social media, as well as responded to countless comments and direct messages. Across all platforms, we gained 9,489 new followers and had 528,911 engagements. Among competitors, UD's engagement rate ranks in the top three on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and ranks first on Instagram.
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$9.64 million
in perceived advertising value from media outlet news coverage.
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3,168
mentions of the University of Dayton beyond Ohio markets.
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1.7 million
views of videos posted on UD's official YouTube and Facebook channels.
The Conversation
In 2020-21, faculty and staff experts contributed 21 articles to The Conversation. Those pieces attracted more than 2.7 million reads by audiences around the world.
Samples of Prominent News Coverage
Western Drought Brings Another Woe:
Biology professor Chelse Prather explained why droughts coincide with plagues of voracious grasshoppers.
Read Full StoryPandemic Job Searches
Jason Eckert, executive director of Career Services, provided tips for finding a job during a pandemic.
Read Full StoryBuilding Community During a Pandemic
Catholic News Service highlighted how UD's Marianist Student Communities foster faith and relationships.
Read Full Story