Marketing on a Shoestring: A Case Study Elizabeth A. Evans UNC-Chapel Hill ITS Teaching and Learning January 2008

its.unc.edu 2 What We Wanted Increased use of our computer- based training service (CBT)

its.unc.edu 3 Why We Wanted It  Cost of license  Decreased face-to-face training  Learning style flexibility  Supplement face-to-face training Modular Point of need Review

its.unc.edu 4 And You? What would you like more people to use or do or attend? Why?

its.unc.edu 5 Caveats  This isn’t rocket science.  We do what we can with what we have; we’re not perfect.

its.unc.edu 6 Long Ago (in technology terms)  Previous CBT service About 500 users Mostly technical courses (OS, programming, etc) Self-contained authentication Publicity was primarily announcements to technical staff lists Began by 1997 (might have been earlier)

its.unc.edu 7 The New Service  Replaced technical courses with productivity ones (~500)  Used single sign-on server (campus login/password) for authentication  Changed vendors User interface change Users have to “subscribe”  Go Live Date: June 2005 (pilot: May 2005)

its.unc.edu 8 Modifications to the Service: August 2006  Decreased number of license seats  Added many technical courses (~2200)  In collaboration with HR, added soft skills courses (~40)

its.unc.edu Results First

its.unc.edu 10 Some Data New Subscribers by Month

its.unc.edu 11 Some Data Total Subscribers Growth

its.unc.edu 12 Some Data Number of Logins by Month/Year

its.unc.edu 13 Some Data  By Aug 2006: 755 courses completed by 341 people  By Jul 2007: 1790 courses completed by 686 people  By Jan 2008: 2138 courses completed by 811 people  By Aug 2006: 2373 courses attended by 893 people  By Jul 2007: 5828 courses attended by 1849 people  By Jan 2008: 6782 courses attended by 2090 people

its.unc.edu The Marketing

its.unc.edu 15 Marketing Elements: Articles  Original announcement: faculty/staff newspaper, ITS publications, campus lists (electronic)  Ongoing: New courses, milestones, contest  Milestones: Number of subscribers, new courses  Reminders: General, annual development plans  Others: Departmental newsletters

its.unc.edu 16 Marketing Elements: Brochures  Black and white  Can be photocopied in-house  Copies to anyone who will make them available  Information fairs  Events

its.unc.edu 17 Marketing Elements: Lists  New courses  Offer brochures  Tie content to specific list (eg. technical courses to technical lists, soft skills courses to University Managers Association list, etc)

its.unc.edu 18 Marketing Elements: Mass Mail  Reminder to staff/students in January  Reminder to faculty in fall/spring  Development plan reminder to staff April/May (with Human Resources)  Formerly: reminders to never-logged-in subscribers

its.unc.edu 19 Marketing Elements: Summer 2006 Contest  Two $50 gift certificates to Student Stores (contributed by vendor)  One entry for a new subscription  One entry for completing a course  The more courses completed, the more entries  Open to faculty, staff, and students

its.unc.edu 20 Marketing Elements: Info Fairs  Employee appreciation event  SPH student info fair  International student info fair

its.unc.edu 21 Marketing Elements: Human Resources  HR Training Guide  Employee Learning Connection  HR certificate programs  HR Training & Development Web site

its.unc.edu 22 Marketing Elements: Web Sites  Link from UNC Faculty/Staff Web site  Links from ITS Web sites  help.unc.edu searches  Others we don’t know about or control

its.unc.edu 23 Marketing Elements: Presentations  Carolina Technology Consultant updates  Mentioned in presentations about other things

its.unc.edu 24 Marketing Elements: Incoming Students  Info at student orientation sessions (brochures)

its.unc.edu 25 Marketing Elements: Milestone Markers  Numbers of subscribers (5,000 coming up very soon!)  Collaboration with HR for soft skills  Adding technical course catalogs  Additional soft skills courses (coming up soon)

its.unc.edu 26 Marketing Elements: Hidden Publicity  Newsletters, Web sites, messages that are created by others in response to what we do

its.unc.edu 27 A Quick Summary  Frequent  Multiple formats  Repeat the same message  Look for opportunities for new messages  still works for staff

its.unc.edu 28 In Other Words  Once is not enough.  Three times is not the charm  A Web site is not sufficient publicity.  An announcement of a new service is not sufficient publicity.  Point of need matters.

its.unc.edu 29 My User Wish List  More student use  More faculty use—or at least awareness  Fewer “no logins”  Hit the license ceiling :-)

its.unc.edu 30 My Marketing Wish List  Facebook advertisements $  Facebook fan site  Nicer brochure $$  Sandwich boards $  Info table on quad  Other ideas?

its.unc.edu 31 Finally Questions? Comments?