Increasing US Student Enrolment at UBC - UBC Admissions Office

UBC INTERNATIONAL STUDENT INITIATIVE

2015 marketing pitchcomm 462 team 1

april 12 2014

current UBC1#

Diverse &

Accessible

Excellent Academics

Leader in

Sustainability

Offering students a learning experience that will allow them to face the

world’s complex problems head on.

U N I V E R S I T Y O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A

U N I V E R S I T Y O F B I L L I O N S O F C H I N E S E .

U N I V E R S I T Y O F B E A U T I F U L C A R S .

I S O N E O F T H E T O P C A N A D I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S K N O W N F O R I T S S I Z E , T O U G H N E S S , B E A U T Y, D I V E R S I T Y, A N D C O M P E T I T I V E N E S S .

Ranked among world’s Top 40, an “Ivy League”

alternative.

Vancouver, one of world’s

most livable city… UBC = Utopia

But more specifically

What is UBC to the American students

that are considering college?

THE AMERICAN teenagers

2#

The reality & glimpse into their everyday lives.

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2.2 Competition Briefing

CANADIAN COMPETITORS • Primary competitors are U of T, and McGill • Limited competition in western Canada !

AMERICAN COMPETITORS • UBC is competitive on price • But lacks “Ivy League” fame • US competitors bring different social norms

Understand the reasons that American students came to or didn’t come to UBC and why?1.

Understand the decision process of American students coming to Canada for university.2.

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They wanted a NEW EXPERIENCE than what would be of fered back home but without being hal fway across the wor ld f rom home.

A huge se l l ing point is THE HIGH WORLD RANKING .

Interest ingly, SCHOLARSHIPS, FUTURE JOB OPPORTUNITIES , nor MULTICULTURALISM d id not impact the decis ion.

Though PARENTS did not p lay a large ro le in decis ion-making, many students had FAMILY TIES IN CANADA and even a DUAL-CITIZENSHIP .

Almost ALL STUDENTS VISITED UBC CAMPUS pr ior to accept ing the of fer , yet conducted most of the univers i ty research onl ine .

3#business OPPORTUNITY

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3.1 Business Opportunity

There is financial reward in attracting international students to UBC. !

Those in WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND CALIFORNIA are a promising consumer segment due to their close PROXIMITY to the Canadian border and specifically Vancouver.

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3.2 Yield Rate Data

Every year, ONLY 25% of offers to US students from Washington, Oregon, and California are accepted. !

2013 W CA OR WA Total

Applications 358 61 203 622

Admitted 261 46 142 449

Registered 65 11 34 109

Yield Rate (reg/admt) 25% 24% 24% 24%

*Assume # applications & # admitted applicants remain constant

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3.3 Strategy

We therefore wish to increase the number of US students from the three states by increasing this PERCENTAGE OF ACCEPTED OFFERS. !This means our messages will be directed at those STUDENTS WHO HAVE ALREADY CONSIDERED AND APPLIED TO UBC. !This percentage of accepting an offer is called THE “YIELD RATE,” and is easily measurable and directly related to our strategy.

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3.4 Measurable Objective

To INCREASE THE YIELD RATE from high school students from Washington, Oregon, and California FROM 24% TO 33% by the Winter Semester of 2015.

2013 W CA OR WA Total GoalRate of Change

Applications 358 61 203 622 622 -

Admitted 261 46 142 449 449 -

Registered 65 11 34 109 149 + 37%

Yield Rate (reg/admt) 25% 24% 24% 24% 33% + 37%

*Assume # applications & # admitted applicants remain constant + 9%

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3.5 Positioning Statement

TO [students from Washington, Oregon, and California who have received offers from UBC Vancouver and are planning to attend a post-secondary institution immediately following high school],

[UBC] IS THE [post-secondary institution] THAT [provides a unique, new, and desirable student experience] !

BECAUSE OF [UBC’s cultural differences compared to its US competitors, its beautiful campus and surroundings, diverse culture, and state of the art facilities].

Initiate Experience Retain

Start a Story with 3 Parts

…of a side of UBC that is HARD TO CONVEY on other mediums.

…of UBC as one of world’s TOP UNIVERSITIES and hugging one of world’s most beautiful places, the

WEST COAST. !…of FULLY IMMERSING ONESELF into UBC.

It’s a Story…

UBC is a BRAND. BRANDS are PERSONAL IDENTIFIERS.

!In order to snatch the younger minds, UBC must have a STRONG CONNECTION POINT, making the prospective students WANT & NEED to IDENTIFY AND BE A PART OF UBC BRAND.

The fundamentals of the Story stemmed from:

“new experience”what they care

something different from what they would get in the US, but still being “kinda” close to home

“student life”what they care

it’s not all about the job opportunities after graduation these kids are focused in living the present

“Start Your Story Here”

Day 1: FRIDAY • Arrivals • Hang out and look around • Meet new friends at dinner

UBC Breakout ITINERARY - DAY 1

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout VISUAL LOOK & FEEL - SWAG

UBC Breakout ITINERARY - DAY 2

Day 2: SATURDAY • Breakfast • UBC Campus Scavenger Hunt

Find the UBC stadium.

Log roll the entire

length of the field.

As a team write a message. It must include one thing that scares you about UBC & one thing that is awesome about UBC. Take a photo of the message. Put the message into a bottle, and throw it into the ocean at Wreck Beach.

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout

Day 2: SATURDAY cont’d • Tour around Vancouver • Have dinner with new friends • Back to UBC to reflect on the day

ITINERARY - DAY 2

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout DAY 2 TOUR MAP

UBC Breakout ITINERARY - DAY 3

Day 3: SUNDAY • “Words of Wisdom” • Departure

“The Support”

UBC Breakout

All channels factor into the success of UBC Breakout

UBC Breakout COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout PROCESS FLOW

Prospective students apply to UBC

Prospective students register to UBC Breakout

Acceptance letters are received

Details of arrival is provided - or not

Informational email about UBC Breakout + link to website & registration

Confirmation email “…Pending on your offer

of admission…”

Confirmation email “Please confirm your atten- dance & fill out the details”

Direct call - Where are the details? - Waitlist offering calls

UBC BreakoutStudents

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout VISUAL LOOK & FEEL - WEBSITE

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout SOCIAL MEDIA

Students are to work closely with the communication department of UBC across all communicative mediums.

fl 5i• INFORMATION • QUESTION

PORTAL • REGISTRATION • CONTENT

SHARING

• LIFESTYLE CONTENT

• HASHTAG USE

• EIP • INTERVIEWS • NATURE • PROMOTIONAL

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout CORE POWER WORDS

Verbal Blocks

Prestigious

Diverse

Ambitious

Enriching

Open-Minded

Community

Experiential

Adventurous

Independence

Fresh

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout

Benefits to Students1. STATUS 2. NETWORK 3. RISK-FREE Opportunity to

Evaluate UBC-fit 4. FIRST-HAND Perspective of

UBC 5. FUN & Financial-Free

UBC Breakout

Benefits to UBC1. Making the INTANGIBLE,

TANGIBLE 2. CONTROLLED Environment 3. Getting rid of the

UNCERTAINTY VARIABLE

UBC Breakout

feasibility CONSIDERATIONS

4#

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout BUDGET

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout HUMAN RESOURCE PLAN

To make UBC Breakout successful, we recommend a full UBC Breakout team to be established.

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE

KEY MILESTONE START DATE

Human Resource Recruitment May 2014

Strategy Development June 2014

Digital and Communicative Development June 2014

Content and Logistical Planning September 2014

UBC Breakout Registration October 2014

UBC Breakout Registration Ends March 2015

Post Event Marketing May 2015

We recommend that RECRUITMENT & STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT start as soon as possible.

UBC Breakout

Initiate

Experience

Retain

Impressions, reach, and engagement on social media

Rate of which students register for UBC Breakout

Increasing yield rate from 24% to 33% as stated in objective

Return on Investment

Attendee satisfaction survey

UBC Breakout METRICS OF SUCCESS

UBC BreakoutUBC Breakout FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Barriers & Solutions1. NOT INCLUSIVE. 2. DELAYED INDICATION OF

STUDENT RETENTION.

UBC INTERNATIONAL STUDENT INITIATIVE

2015 marketing pitchcomm 462 team 1

april 12 2014