University of Maryland
Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Background:
The University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business is a highly ranked business school that grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in all areas of business, in on-campus and online formats. Furman Roth was selected to manage the marketing for the business school as well as a creative overhaul that would appeal to the high caliber of candidate that the Admissions team was looking to at- tract. In an already crowded market that was seeing an influx of new entrants, it was crucial that the positioning, creative executions, and media tactics cut through the clutter and help the school stand out among its peers and competitor institutions.
The Objectives:
▶ Awareness
▶ Branding
▶ Engagement
▶ Event Registrations
▶ Recruitment
The Outcomes:
30M+
Impressions
:60+
Web Session Duration
132K+
Clicks
3.2K+
Leads
100K+
Website Sessions
86%
Increase in Conversion Rate
Positioning & Creative Strategy:
Working with key stakeholders, Furman Roth embarked on an in-depth discovery process to understand the brand identity of the Smith School of Business and understand the demography and psychography of the ideal candidate. We came to understand that the University of Maryland Smith School of Business is not just for those who want the creden- tials of a business degree and some textbook knowledge. Instead, it’s a destination for the aspirational. Those with the desire and determination to make an impact on their careers and the world.
Our positioning and creative executions had to convey that Smith prepares students to meet challenges, solve problems, and obtain a profound understanding of how to operate successfully in the modern economy. Further, our creative had to align with the larger Uni- versity of Maryland brand, while differentiating the Smith School of Business.
Our positioning and creative strategy was built on a series of pillars that define the Mary- land Smith brand identity.
Marketing Strategy:
Furman Roth’s media team got to work in developing an in-depth, multi-layered media ma- trix to achieve the multiple goals of branding, awareness, engagement, and recruitment for more than 15 different MBA and MS programs.
Using umbrella campaigns for Branding, MBA, and MS programs allowed for broad reach media to showcase the breadth of offerings of the school, as well as the prestige that a degree from Smith carries. Additionally, each program had its own dedicated media mix to target and engage the right audience segments for recruitment. This multi-layered approach helped to achieve multiple touchpoints with prospects and deliver sequential messaging to maintain engagement and drive action.
Furman Roth’s digital strategists conducted continuous optimization of all campaigns, main- taining open lines of communication with the marketing and admissions teams to ensure that we were not only driving solid volume for each program, but that the candidates were of high caliber, while maximizing ROAS. Keeping an optimization playbook, the team was able to pinpoint adjustments that moved the needle.
Furman Roth also advised the Smith web team on landing page and user experience improvements, resulting in an 86% increase in conversion rate!
Media Channels:
▶ Audio
▶ Search Engine Marketing
▶ Digital Display
▶ Geofencing
▶ Meta
▶ Google Discovery
▶ YouTube
