Capitalize on Cheap Media. During the peak of the virus, media prices were at a huge discount as many advertisers paused their PPC efforts. By moving quickly to adjust our messaging and strategies to work during the pandemic, we were able to keep PPC campaigns online and working, generating several weeks of major efficiency that other advertisers missed.

Rapid, Relevant Content Generation. It took a major cross-department push to quickly generate relevant messaging to address Coronavirus, online education and other factual points, while still having an effective marketing message that captured the right tone and met compliance needs. With a lot of moving parts, operations, admissions, compliance and the OM media team had to work together fast to align messaging on the website, landing pages, and creative.

Strong Analytics in Real-Time. Education lead generation requires strong deep-funnel analytics integration to be really successful. We were able to tie media performance to CRM/Admissions outcomes successfully, and quickly, even through the outbreak. It was also important to react fast to market trends with users staying at home – for example, as social media usage soared, impressions grew and CTR fell, but that didn’t mean the ads weren’t working. Being context-aware through the pandemic allowed us to interpret data correctly.

Rethink and Reforecast. Under uncertain conditions, we needed to rethink our media strategy, while our client had to rethink business fundamentals. For example, the entire geotargeting strategy was rewritten. The entire program and degree marketing priorities set was shifted to favor more practical trending programs. Anything that relied on an in-person event such as a campus tour had to change to a virtual replacement, and some standards on content production values had to be relaxed. Overall, the ability to be fluid on everything from goals and budgets, to creative and analytics has been key to our success.