Introducing Thinking Cap Agency™

If I had a nickel for every time I heard admissions and recruitment marketers utter things like, “We tried that once and it didn’t work,” I’d be one wealthy lady! While it’s no surprise to any college recruiter that the prospective students they are trying to reach have changed dramatically from the ones who came before, most higher education marketers have not shifted the way they tell their brand story to better engage and convert these students. That’s where Thinking Cap Agency comes in.

thinking cap agency

Adapting to Gen Z Student Prospects

Most colleges and universities haven’t thought about how they should integrate their existing communication channels with their Gen Z prospects. As digital natives, Gen Z prospective students have a different optimal student journey experience than previous years.

According to the 2019 Refuel Agency Gen Z Study

“Gen Z teens are coming of age and our world will soon be reshaped in their image. Our economy, our culture and even our media will be forever transformed. It is important for marketers and advertisers to keep up with the trends by understanding the mindset and preferences of this coveted audience.” 

Many institutions try to save time and money by re-purposing their tried-and-true brochures and long-form videos. The trouble is that they don’t know how to leverage these techniques for a video-obsessed generation. Sure, there might be some marketers who attempted to dabble with building a YouTube channel; flooding it with long interviews with faculty members or uncomfortably canned quad chats with ‘students’ all decked out in school gear. And if a prospective student did engage, chances are slim that there was any outreach strategy in place. Perhaps there are some who were brave enough to explore an Instagram or Twitter presence, maybe even crafting “cool” hashtags to convince Gen Zers to brand influencers by sharing pictures campus or promoting an open house. 

But even if it took off (it didn’t), and it catches on (it won’t), there is minimal chance that it will go viral, let alone drive enrollment. Besides, even if it had – there’s no way to track, monitor, or optimize a campaign like that on your own. In the end, when all this experimentation doesn’t work, it’s not surprising that marketers abandon these approaches. After all, they “tried that and it didn’t work!” 

Thinking Cap Agency Uses Omni-Channel Integration

thinking cap agency

I know what you’re thinking, “You’ve told me everything we’re doing wrong. You’ve told me why it’s failing. So now what?” 

Successful enrollment marketing professionals know it isn’t about any one tool or tactic. It’s about using an omni-channel integration. By combining what has worked in the past with emerging and disruptive approaches, you can be responsive to the ever-evolving students you are trying to bring to campus. It takes a partnership with creative and experienced thinkers to help your institution meet or exceed your enrollment goals. 

That’s where Thinking Cap Agency comes in. With more than 20 years of experience as the higher education marketing sister company of Refuel Agency, we challenge old assumptions and use methods that work. Our team of experts strategically leverages technology and storytelling with analytics and data. The result? An integrated, long-term, highly successful road map to bring our higher education client’s measurable results. Acting as an extension of your in-house marketing and recruitment team, Thinking Cap Agency uses proprietary data to influence enrollment outcomes. We build cost-effective and highly measurable strategies by embracing out of the box thinking. 

It’s time to stop collecting nickels for every, “It didn’t work”. Start getting measurable results with Thinking Cap Agency as your enrollment and recruiting partner. 

Photo Credit: Elliot Reyna on Unsplash

Christina OToole

Christina is a data-driven, full stack marketer with over 20 years success leading marketing in higher education, tech and publishing industries. She lead enrollment marketing programs for the both the University of California, Santa Barbara and UC San Diego continuing education divisions. Christina has developed hundreds of marketing campaigns and built all facets of programs including lifecycle journeys, creative direction and lead generation.