New Alumni Marketing Campaigns

Engaging Alumni: Cedarville University’s 5.15 Challenge

24-Hour Donation Drive Raises 2x Original Goal

At midnight on May 15, 2014, Cedarville University launched a 24-hour donation drive designed to raise $51,500 in a single day. The campaign was kept secret prior to launch. On May 15, alumni and friends were contacted via email, promoted and organic Facebook posts, and a university-run call center. A simple campaign website contained a mobile-friendly donation form, as well as photos and text for quick social sharing. Within 24 hours, Cedarville had raised $129,212.03.

A month earlier, MSM designed and executed a 30-day AlumniReconnect campaign to capture attention of Cedarville University alumni on Facebook, encouraging them to connect to the alumni association Facebook page and provide updated email addresses. In exchange for liking the Facebook page and updating their contact information, alumni and friends were entered to win university-branded gear.

The Alumni Reconnect campaign laid the groundwork for the success of the 5.15 Challenge, boosting the university’s data set by 11%. With positive social engagement from 12,879 Cedarville alumni and friends during the reconnect, the audience was fresh and ready to receive the 5.15 Challenge.

MSM email reporting shows that 63% of contactable alumni were reached during the day-long 5.15 Challenge, resulting in 686 donors giving a total of $129,212.03 to Cedarville — double the university’s intended goal.

In addition to building a receptive audience through the Alumni Reconnect, MSM was responsible for planning and writing all 5.15 Challenge Facebook posts, carefully managing the Facebook advertising budget, and writing, building, and sending three mobile optimized emails over the course of the 24-hour campaign.

Alumni marketing social leaderboard - MSU and NCAA Tournament

Engaging Alumni Now: Michigan State University’s NCAA Tournament Bids

March Madness Alumni Marketing Campaign
Amplifies the MSU Spartans’ Drive to the Final Four

Now through April 8, the Michigan State University men’s and women’s basketball teams will be competing in the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, aiming for a trip to the Final Four. The MSU Alumni Association is activating their alumni base with a social leaderboard, which is designed to bring attention to the teams and inspire alumni to follow their alma mater’s tournament progress.

Alumni Marketing Campaign- MSU Basketball Social Campaign During NCAA Tournament

Alumni and friends predict the score for each game, and points are awarded based on accuracy. The user who accrues the most points will rise to the top of the leaderboard and win an MSU basketball autographed by the men’s and women’s coaches. 

During the course of this three-week alumni engagement drive, smaller daily prizes also will be awarded randomly to those who enter predictions, encouraging entries even from those who know they won’t earn enough points to win the grand prize. Through the use of organic Facebook posts, tweets, and reminder emails, alumni are encouraged to enter a prediction for each game to increase their chance of winning a prize. The emails and post-entry app screens soft sell a university giving campaign. 

Maryland Alumni Marketing Program - Days of Giving Facebook

Engaging Alumni Now: University of Maryland

#LoveTheTurtle Alumni Marketing Campaign Launches

Now through February 14, 2014, University of Maryland is engaging alumni with our #LoveTheTurtle five-day giveaway social marketing program. With more than 250,000 living alumni, Maryland’s primary goal is to activate engagement among lost and lapsed graduates while collecting updated contact data.

During the course of this week-long alumni engagement drive, University of Maryland branded prizes will be given away daily to randomly selected alumni who enter to win via our Facebook app. Through the use of organic Facebook posts and daily reminder emails, alumni are encouraged to enter once a day to increase their chance of winning a prize. The daily emails are sent to all entrants, announcing the day’s prize and softly introducing the benefits of alumni association membership.

With our progressive profiling feature activated, each time a graduate enters the giveaway, he or she will be prompted to answer a different question – for example: class year, mobile phone number, favorite professor. This allows us to to capture unique data each time the same person enters without increasing the length of the entry form, resulting in more daily entries.

At the end of the five-day campaign, we will email all engaged participants, making a direct appeal for membership in the alumni association.

2/17 Update: Campaign Results

We reached over 102,370 UMD alumni during Maryland’s five-day #LoveTheTurtle social marketing campaign. Here are a few initial key results from the alumni marketing campaign:

Total UMD alumni reached: 102,370
Total UMD alumni engaged: 2,378
Five-day email nurture average open rate: 61%
UMD alumni participants who clicked to become a member: 27%

Learn more: alumni membership and fundraising campaigns

 

 

 

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Activate Alumni by MSM
438 Main Street, Suite 201
Rochester, Michigan 48307

Email: jmoser@getMSM.com
Phone: 888.714.7814

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MSM – The Alumni Marketing Experts

MSM offers technology driven social media, marketing, website development and business analytics built specifically for higher education. As early adopters of all new technologies, we enjoy finding alumni marketing applications for emerging social and mobile platforms.

We know how to adapt to the rapidly changing social landscape — and how to lead our clients through successful transitions into new opportunities as they become available.

For more information about MSM’s full suite of technology driven marketing solutions, visit our agency website at http://getMSM.com