Member Associations
See how our range of tools - from interactive email marketing, event management through to mobile and video - help member associations improve member communications.
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The Client
UCAS is the central organisation that processes applications for full-time undergraduate courses at UK universities and colleges. UCAS Media is a wholly owned subsidiary of UCAS which provides communication channels to commercial and non-commercial organisations wanting to reach prospective and actual university applicants.
The Pain
Traditionally, UCAS media communicated their client’s messages through direct marketing. This channel remains a valuable communication stream for them but to both support its success and offer their market other communication options, they had begun to take advantage of email marketing. (Some industry research had shown that DM campaign conversions increase by up to 40% combined with email.)
An email system was incorporated but it was neither user friendly nor provided UCAS with an understanding of their recipients’ reactions to particular marketing campaigns. The system also lacked the functionality to segment and personalise messages without great difficulty.
A new cost effective solution was required that could provide a platform for collecting and analysing data, and was guaranteed to reach the majority of their young audience.
The Solution
With email marketing becoming a fast expanding channel, UCAS Media made the decision to implement Concep’s Campaigner email marketing system.
Initial consultation between UCAS Media and Concep resulted in a number of key requirements being identified and incorporated into a roll out plan. Such requirements included:
- easy to use customised templates,
- readily available reporting and data management,
- a number of self-managed accounts, and
- a secure portal for increased usability.
The Results
The implementation process ran smoothly and the system rolled out within a few weeks with multiple users finding it easy to create inspiring campaigns quickly. Concep Campaigner enables UCAS to send out multiple email campaigns to a vast number of prospective and actual applicants. Costs have been dramatically lowered, due to decreased print requirements. Using Campaigner, they are able to offer their clients a channel for communicating directly to students, providing them with new offers as soon as they become available, taking advantage of fast turnaround for campaigns.
The information collected from Campaigner enables UCAS to understand what recipients preferences and make decisions as to how and when is best to approach their market.
UCAS Media have achieved excellent view rates of 49% over multiple email sub accounts and up to and beyond 70% in some campaign instances They are able to understand seasonal patterns for better planning of campaigns and compare differences between their different target audiences.
UCAS Media have engaged both prospective and university applicants and encouraged their participation to help understand the student world better. The data collected will be valuable for UCAS Media going forward as they aim to encourage further involvement, response and interaction from their market. Concep continue to develop Campaigner in line with UCAS Media needs to ensure they are meeting all future requirements as the channel expands.