Arts University Plymouth - Paid Media
Generating results far exceeding national averages in a competitive sector and on a tight budget.
The story so far…
Arts University Plymouth is a nationally award-winning university in Devon, offering a wide range of creative and art and design focused courses at pre-degree, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. With a limited budget compared to that of local competitor universities, our client needed to raise brand awareness and visibility, but the campaign had to be highly refined to engage potential students with a demonstrated interest in creative arts.
The campaign’s primary objectives were to attract Open Day registrations and course applications, and also to encourage prospectus downloads. A paid media strategy was needed that aligned with significant industry dates throughout the year (e.g., Clearing, UCAS deadlines etc.). We also had specific targets to meet for Open Day registrations, whenever they were held throughout the year.
Why Optix?
We won the contract with the university through a competitive tendering process, and it was our Paid Media team’s previous experience in managing successful campaigns for universities and colleges across the UK that set us apart. Feedback from the tendering process revealed that Arts Uni Plymouth was also impressed by our collaborative and friendly approach.
Our Approach
We first performed some core keyword research analysis to understand which course-related keywords that potential students were using (e.g., ‘creative degrees’, ‘photography degrees’). We then developed a year-long media strategy, using multiple channels (Google, Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn) to reach local prospects at scale. Our plan also included weekly reporting calls, a live campaign dashboard and ongoing account monitoring and optimisation for maximum impact.
Effective audience targeting was crucial to the success of this project. Along with segmenting audiences with interests that matched the university’s courses advertised, we also had to bear in mind the stage of education that they might be at (e.g. pre- or post-degree, although undergraduates represented the biggest priority). In terms of Open Days, we targeted agreed demographics and age groups, while not advertising to anyone under 18 (which is prohibited).
THE OPTIX SOLUTION
Along with driving course applications throughout the year, we also needed to ensure that activity was dialled up at the right time to meet Open Day registration goals. We achieved this by upweighting the budget to coincide with these events and deadlines throughout the year.
While this targeted activity was underway, we ensured that the wider marketing and awareness-driving continued so that a constant funnel could be maintained.
OPTIX RESULTS
A total of 140k clicks through to the campaign landing page
We were especially pleased with the results this campaign generated, given the highly competitive nature of the higher education sector. We exceeded averages on Google for the education industry on all counts.
Due to the success of our 2023/24 campaign, we’re now managing Arts University Plymouth’s 2024 Clearing campaign and will also be managing their 2024/25 paid media activity, including year-round Open Day activity.
Google data: 602 Open Day bookings/registrations
5,359 total conversions
A 5.73% conversion rate
The client’s view…
“Optix has been great to work with. Our account manager Sophie listens to our requirements and responds quickly and efficiently. We're really pleased with our ad performance since working with the team. Sophie is proactive, and provides us with weekly updates on our ad activity.”
- Cat James, Brand & Digital Marketing Manager, Arts University Plymouth
The Optix view…
“Hearing positive feedback each week from the client has been really encouraging and knowing that they trust our expertise and are happy to go with our recommendations is a bonus! I was able to put my experience in managing education campaigns to good use and, as a result, we have secured multiple new campaigns. The challenge was promoting niche courses to a highly refined audience in a competitive industry, and ensuring we are reaching the right people at the right time which, according to our clients at the university and our data, we have managed to do!”
- Sophie Hancox, Senior Digital Marketing Manager - Paid Lead
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