College of The Albemarle

Declining Enrollment & Lack of Awareness

Instead of being recognized as a pillar of the Albemarle region, College of Albemarle was suffering with a lack of awareness and appreciation evident in a five-year steady enrollment decline.

Reclaiming their Value

The brand message not only needed to convey that COA was the right choice. The message needed to inspire people to take action in the first place, to realize that an education – and the possibilities that result – are within reach.

In each of the first two years, we were able to produce 5% year-over-year enrollment increases, with a 19% increase in full-time adult learners.

Year 2 Campaign Creative

Year 5 Campaign Creative

Finding their Spark

Our visual mark – produced by seven intersecting circles symbolizing the seven counties of COA’s services area – symbolizes that story, evoking the spark of potential that every COA student has inside, and demonstrating the beauty and reverberating power of what is unleashed when COA faculty and staff – mentors and champions – help identify and tap into that spark.

Speaking to Multiple Audiences

We outlined nuance strategies given COA’s particular strengths and opportunities – messaging strategies like “Promoting Possibilities Before Programs,” targeting strategies like “Serving Those Who Serve Us” (the military), and media strategies like “Filling the Footprint” with brand awareness advertising that reinforce the reach of the COA brand message across its service area.

A Full-Funnel Tour De Force

We then executed a full-funnel enrollment marketing plan that involved a variety of digital and traditional tactics including a website redesign, the creation of a jobs-focused lead generation microsite to “promote the possibilities,” top-of-the-funnel outreach advertising, organic and inbound content strategy, middle-of-the-funnel automated lead nurturing tactics, and extensive bottom-of-the-funnel enrollment consulting with the colleges’ newly formed enrollment marketing committee.