The Case
When the University of Dayton surveyed its alumni to gauge how they'd like to get school news and events, the communications department found it was time to develop interactive online strategies for
reaching its 80,000 alums. Forty-two percent of its alumni said they wanted to get updates via email or the UD Web site and 64% said they were interested in attending an online presentation or event.
Younger alums, in particular, were very clear on the subject. "Their attitude was if you don't communicate with me electronically, don't bother," says Tim Bete, UD's e-marketing manager who heads up the
university's alumni communications.
While the survey provided more than ample justification for launching an interactive Web site and customized email newsletters last year, the university's six-year $150 million fundraising campaign was
the real driver. To achieve its fundraising goal by 2002, UD is looking to increase alumni giving by 30%, in part by tapping into alumni pride online and creating a Web presence custom-fit for each
alumnus.
While there was strong alumni enthusiasm and demand for a personalized Web site and e-newsletter, the financial resources to fund the online initiative were less obvious. There would be no increase in
the communications budget to pay the $125,000 tab for the Web site, nor additional PR staffers to maintain the site once it went up in October.
Building a Web
This meant that other departments needed to literally buy into the online potential of an alumni Web site. It also required that Bete become more salesman than corporate communicator to raise the
necessary funds. He headed up efforts to sell other schools in the university on the multi-departmental appeal of a UD alumni Web site. The sales hook? A Web site and custom e-newsletters capable of
targeting alumni with information based on useful profiles like graduation year, major, geographic location and gift-giving interests. So when the school of engineering has news, itcould be pushed
exclusively to engineering alums.
He also looked at ways to stay within his department's staffing parameters by using existing but untapped PR resources to keep online content fresh. For instance, the customized e-newsletters have
become a vehicle for unused story ideas pitched to the media. And even when UD events are picked up by the press, alumni are often given an electronic heads-up before reading about their alma mater in the
paper. "The Web site has challenged the PR department to look at what's already here and promote the news more creatively," says Bete.
The Results
This approach has proven to be a compelling way to reach alumni. So far:
- UD is saving $18,000 per year in data entry, printing and postage costs by having alumni update their addresses online.
- Since October the number of alumni online registrations shot up to 8,750 from 3,000.
- The e-newsletters boast a 29.7% click-through rate with an unsubscribe rate of less than .3% per issue.
- The site has generated 34 gifts totaling $11,000.
Online Pilot
Part of what allowed UD to keep its Web site development costs low is agreeing to become an online guinea pig. It worked with LiquidMatrix, a software firm that is trying to create an online niche in
the higher education market. UD was the first to test-drive its Active Campus software program, which allowed the university to crank out customized alumni news based on key identifiers collected in the
database. So far, a total of 29,300 bimonthly newsletters have been customized for more than 7,300 alumni.
Along the way, technological wrinkles had to be ironed out, as when UD's server crashed shortly after sending out an e-newsletter. But the benefits have far outweighed the risks of helping a startup
firm create customized alumni software, says Bete, because there were opportunities to test and study alumni behavior.
For instance, UD's online survey found that its alumni are extremely mobile, often changing jobs, and that when they visit UD's Web site, they are usually at work. The survey also found that UD alumni
tend to respond well to word-of-mouth campaigns - most alums find out about the e-newsletter through classmates. Now there are features that promote "telling a friend" and search functions that allow
alumni to find their classmates.
Because targeted content is ultimately what will keep alumni coming back to a site, PR played a central role in developing the software, says Kevin Guyton, LiquidMatrix's founder and executive VP.
"There's a false perception that customized Web sites must have a [technologically savvy] Webmaster, but there's a zero learning curve involved in learning the software. The PR team is usually the eyes
and ears of a university, so they know best what personalization platform will be most effective for alumni Web sites."
(Tim Bete, 937/229-4960; Kevin Guyton, 716/675-1400, ext. 253, http://www.liquidmatrix.com)
Alumni News on Command
Here's a sample of how UD customizes online alumni news. Reader Profile (Joe Johnson): A current subscriber who is an Ohio resident, graduate of the school of education, donor
to the Campus Ministry and graduated in a reunion year.
May 11, 2000 -- UD news headlines specially targeted for Joe Johnson:
- International Catholic Leader: At Harvard, the country's first free-standing research institute devoted exclusively to Roman Catholic intellectual life was launched.
- School System Unconstitutional: The Ohio Supreme Court declared today that Ohio's system of funding schools is unconstitutional.
- Reunion 2000 Hits the World Wide Web: Alumni who graduated in 1940, 1945, 1960, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1984-86 and 1990 are invited back to campus for Reunion Weekend 2000 during
the weekend of June 16-18.
Source: http://www.udayton.edu
University of Dayton Communications Department
HQ: Dayton, Ohio
Mascot: The Flyers
Budget (1999): $900,000
PR Staff: 14
Tim Bete's alumni info: Catholic University (1984);
major in psychology