Marketing Report 2016

Purpose The purpose of this report is to show trend information for recruitment and marketing programs at all University of Mount Olive locations. Where possible, comparisons over time are shown. Marketing and recruitment activities differ for traditional and nontraditional programs, so some comparisons are not appropriate. This is not an enrollment report.

Introduction The following data is gathered from inquiry calls/visits, contact forms, applications, and SSRS reports. Recruitment activities, purchased media, website traffic, and other promotional and marketing efforts help drive students to our website and other points of contact. Information is used to track what kinds of advertising prompts action for various audiences.

Nontrad Recruitment Activities: May 2016 Nontrad admissions representatives function differently from traditional admissions reps because their target populations are mostly local. Community relations, material drop off, recruiting visits, presentations and tables or booths at fairs are the bread and butter of nontrad recruiting, in addition to many email blasts and phone messages. In May 2016, nontrad reps completed 263 recruitment activities, which included 170 new visits or efforts.

Hobson’s Nontrad Marketing Program Since March 2014, UMO and the Hobson’s team have worked well together to generate adult student leads. In May 2016, the nontrad programs received 188 new leads vs. 132 received in May 2015.

Traditional Recruitment Activities: May 2016 Traditional admissions representatives spent much of their time in May visiting high school award days/nights to make contact with their applicant pool. During this time high schools are wrapping up exams and getting ready for graduation. Admissions reps were also recruiting for the June and July admitted student days. Currently, there are 60 students registered for June 17 and 20 registered for July 15.

Cappex Inquiry Summary: May 2016 The Cappex company sends messages on behalf of UMO to traditional prospects. The target areas include eastern NC states, and students with interest in bio/physical sciences, business admin and music, art and graphic design interests. It takes many messages to get an inquiry. Cappex Inquiry Summary: Cappex Inquiry Campaign MAY 16 Messages sent Inquiries Recd MAY 16 Core States 38,969 126 Bio/Phys Sciences 5,875 33 Bus Admin 5,841 Mus/Art/Gradesn 4,226 Totals 54,911 225

Curriculum Interest of 1st Time Nontrad Contacts and Applicants: May 2016 The graph below shows how nontrad 1st time contacts and applications, for the month of May, mirror each other in some programs. In many cases, the first time we have contact with an interested adult prospect is via an online application. There were 511 unique 1st time contacts in May 2016, and there were 415 applications.

Curriculum Interest of 1st Time Contacts & Applicants--Traditional Prospects: May 2016 The graph below demonstrates the similarities of curriculum interest and applications for May 2016, excluding over 700 undecided. There were 154 traditional applications received in May 2016; there were over 890 1st time contacts.

Source Info for Trad 1st time Contacts and Apps: May 2016 Traditional students found their info about UMO in many ways. The relationship of the source of their info and the application sent is shown in the graph below.

Source Info for Evening College 1st Time Contacts and Apps: May 2015 Evening College 1st time contacts and applicants found info about UMO via Hobson’s nontrad program as well as other sources. They used various ways to communicate with UMO, including online apps and emails. 107 applications were received in May 2016.

Source Info for Jacksonville Jacksonville 1st time contacts and applicants found their info via Hobson’s Nontrad as well as other modes of communication. They communicated with UMO via the online app, email and transcripts sent. There were 40 applications received.

Source Info for New Bern 1st time contacts and applicants to the New Bern location mirrored each other, with word of mouth being a strong conduit for contacts and applications. There were 32 applications received in May 2016.

Source Info for Online Programs Online programs received a boost from the advertising presented via Hobson’s Nontrad (24 1st time contacts), word of mouth (30 1st time contacts and 12 applications, and 32 other contacts with 13 apps.

Source Info for RTP In May 2016, RTP received 44 applications. Hobson’s Nontrad generated 22 1st time contacts, while radio, tv, online ads, and various other sources also caused interest in UMO.

Source Info for SJ The SJ location, now coordinated with evening college, received 14 applications in May 2016. Word of mouth and other sources helped to generate interest.

Source Info for Washington The Washington location received 29 applications, which came about as a result of radio and tv ads, word of mouth and other sources.

Source Info for Wilmington The Wilmington location received 18 applications, which were generated by online apps, contact forms, walk ins and phone calls. This location had the most variety in the ways contacts and applicants reached UMO.

800 UMO Phone Calls In May, UMO personnel fielded 263 phone calls, with about 80% going to the switchboard before being forwarded on to their destination.

Web Analytics We saw slight increases in the visits and average time spent on www.umo.edu in May 2016. The average visit was over 2 minutes and the average page view was about 2 per visit. Over 20 % of the visits were first timers. Google and other search engines generated over 58,000 hits in May 2016.

Conclusions During the Month of May, inquiries and applications to all programs continued to increase compared to previous months. First time contacts to UMO, both traditional and nontraditional, got their info about the University from marketing programs such as Hobsons and Cappex, as well as radio (we used a lot of radio this year) and other modes of communication. The online application continues to be the most popular way for nontrads to let us know about their interest in UMO, while traditional students mention various ways, with word of mouth and web searches being quite frequent.

Thanks Thanks to Jennifer Merritt, Georgette Prichard, Ken Davis and UMO admissions representatives for their help in compiling the information for this report.