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The age of personalised video: Driving enrolment at Villanova School of Business
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
9
(1),
60-69
(2024)
Abstract
In today's highly competitive college application landscape and heavily connected world, standing out has never been more important for higher education institutions. Coupled with Gen Z's appetite for personalised social media content — particularly videos — colleges and universities across the country are facing unique challenges on a scale unheard of just a decade ago. This paper analyses how, in order to address this problem, the Villanova School of Business (VSB) introduced personalised video content into its recruitment process for early action accepted candidates as well as prospective graduate students. This innovation tool has set VSB apart and provided a creative way to share its personal approach to higher education. The paper discusses the success of this tactic over the last few years, which has affirmed key aspects of VSB's understanding of prospective undergraduate and graduate student audiences. Video continues to be an essential and effective tool for engaging Gen Z and millennial audiences. Students and parents notice and appreciate personalised content. The paper describes how students want to feel a connection with the schools they select. Universities should use personalised video to differentiate themselves from their peers and build or strengthen relationships with individuals they want in their community. Showing prospective students that their institutions are investing in them as individuals can make all the difference in encouraging them to see themselves at a specific institution and persuading them that there is a home for them in higher education.
Keywords: college admissions; college recruitment; college applications; personalised video content; creative marketing
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Cathy J. Toner is the Assistant Dean for Talent & Staff Development, Community & External Outreach at the Villanova School of Business (VSB) at Villanova University. She is responsible for identifying, engaging and developing talent among VSB staff and leads the VSB Staff Advisory Council. She also leads the school's community and external outreach efforts, including programming for high-school girls and underrepresented minorities to educate them about the benefits of business education and a career in business. The VSB Communication and Marketing team reports to Cathy and they have responsibility for all communications and marketing for VSB including senior leadership communications, media relations, advertising, sponsorships, social media, the VSB website, marketing of entrepreneurial programmes and rankings communications. Cathy is also an adjunct faculty member in the School of Business, teaching corporate responsibility and regulation, employment law, business law, business fundamentals, and business writing for economists. Before joining Villanova, Cathy worked at the Vanguard Group in various senior roles in retirement consulting, marketing and communications; at Cigna in legal and corporate communications; and at CoreStates Financial Corp in human resources and communications. She holds a Juris Doctor and a Master of journalism from Temple University and has an undergraduate degree in communications from the University of Scranton. Cathy recently completed her Master of Science in church management from Villanova University.
Monica Allen is the Director of Marketing and Communication at the Villanova School of Business (VSB) at Villanova University. She has responsibility for the marketing of entrepreneurial programmes for undergraduate, graduate and executive students, including digital advertising strategies to drive awareness and lead generation. Monica also oversees the VSB website and supports key sponsorships. Before joining Villanova, Monica worked in promotion and brand marketing at General Mills in the US and in Canada. In the US, she designed shopper marketing solutions with key retailers in the northeast and mid-atlantic regions. In Canada, she developed national promotions for the Big G cereal portfolio including the Cheerios brand and worked on brand marketing for Yoplait yogurt. She holds a bachelor's degree in marketing from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.
