Alabama Community College System

PROVING THEIR VALUE

Alabama Community College System embarked on a statewide brand awareness initiative to drive enrollment at the system’s colleges and prove their impact on the economic prosperity of their state. However, convincing first-time students, non-traditional adult learners, and other audiences in Alabama to pursue a two-year education presented a host of challenges. The system needed to first redefine perceptions of the state’s community colleges and the value they offered students.

A MESSAGING STRATEGY THAT HIT HOME

By conducting extensive research on the system’s statewide audiences, we devised a brand messaging strategy that spoke to their needs, values, and beliefs. Our goal was to not only ensure our campaign earned audiences’ attention, but also challenged the community college stigma and inspire a newfound appreciation for the transformative opportunities offered by the system.

ADAPTABLE TO SPECIFIC CAMPUSES

We also created the campaign with local customization in mind, providing templates that individual campuses could easily adapt.

INSPIRING A PARADIGM SHIFT

Our work for the Alabama Community College System saw a click through rate (CTR) that tripled the industry benchmark; it also led to a cost per acquisition (CPA) that was half the industry standard. But beyond those metrics, it also caught national attention. Inside Higher Education, a leading industry publication, recently featured an article on ACCS, lauding the campaign’s emphasis on staying close to home – a message that couldn’t be more relevant in the COVID-19 era given that travel is limited, consumer budgets are tight, and the need to upskill in response to a volatile job market is at an all-time high.