Our task was to create an effective recruitment campaign for Lazarski University. The basis of our activities were websites helping candidates find the right faculty. The pages were linked with precisely targeted ads on Google and social media. In this way, the University easily gained the expected number of students.
Choosing a university is a challenge for both future students and their parents, who often finance their children’s education. Lazarski, as a recognized private law and economic university, has been attracting students thanks to the quality of its education for years. In the face of demographic decline, however, it turned out necessary to reach for external experts.
PROBLEM
The basic problem is not demographic – the decreasing number of high school graduates meant fewer potential students. At the same time, competition on the private university market has increased significantly. In addition, Lazarski had a not very modern image. As a result, he lost in the battel of effective communication with, among others, SWPS and often became the second choice university. The problem in choosing right communication was mainly due to the fact that the decision about the university (especially a paid one) is often made by parents, not the high school graduates themselves.
INSIGHT
Choosing the right university and field of study is a dilemma that concerns high school graduates, their parents and those who already study. Each of them approaches the topic in a little different way, asks different questions and looks for different answers.
IDEA
To meet the needs of consumers, we immediately direct them to the right track and offer a ready-made answer in a natural and acceptable form for them.
TAKE OUT
“This university answers all my questions, so I can make a decision based on knowledge, not assumption.”
SOLUTION
Under one creative umbrella, we’ve prepared communication that directed to dedicated websites. We have put there a convenient tool that allows to find answers to questions posed by representatives of various target groups. In this way, anyone looking for answers regarding their choice of study could easily find all the information.
IMPLEMENTATION
Our activities mostly took place on the Internet – we wanted to show that Łazarski is up to date and understands the needs of his clients. We have created three separate landing pages containing comprehensive information about the university and fields of study, dedicated to each of the target groups. The pages included Career Navigator – an online tool that allows the candidate to study his strengths, plan his career path and see the Lazarski University educational offer tailored to his needs. Using the Navigator did not require registration or any formalities. An additional functionality of the Navigator was arranging a personal meeting with a representative of the university. In this way, we were able to effectively dispel doubts of all groups without losing the consistency of communication and clarity of the message. The site was linked to by targeted GDN and social media ads. Substantive support for communication was a dedicated blog for candidates. Remembering about the need to recruit 300 foreign students, our activities were also conducted in English, Russian and Ukrainian. An outdoor campaign was a support for online activities. Dedicated creations appeared, among others, in public transport and on road billboards. Key visual ads have also been found in the press. We have also prepared special recruitment leaflets and designed the university stand for the Education Fair.
HONEY
The campaign has been extremely successful both in terms of Polish and foreign students. The dedicated website was visited by over 60,000 unique users, and the number of candidates for studies exceeded the client’s expectations. In this situation, meeting business goals was only a formality – the university easily recruited 1,200 Polish and 300 foreign students. Lazarski University again was perceived by high school graduates and students as a cool, modern place where you can get a decent education and meet interesting people. The last touch to this campaign were 2 prizes given to Lazarski University’s by a prestigious magazine Perspektywy – Genius Universitatis awards for the best recruitment campaign in 2018.