The marketing plan summarizes Rutgers Online's objectives to increase awareness of its online programs and drive qualified leads. It outlines the campaign components, including a competitive analysis, branding, media strategy focused on SEM, display and LinkedIn, and messaging emphasizing the MLIS program. Analytics will track goals from the interim MLIS landing page to improve attribution of marketing investments. Next steps include approving materials and recommendations for the initial media plan launch in September.

1. 0
Marketing Plan
September, 2012

2. 1
Marketing Plan Components
What we’ll be covering today
1. Campaign Objectives
2. Campaign Organizing Principles
3. Competitive Analysis
4. Rutgers Online Branding
5. Rutgers Online Marketing Plan
6. Analytics Requirements
7. Next Steps

3. 2
Campaign Objectives
Establish foundation for success
Increase awareness of Rutgers Online
• Baseline awareness
• Perceptions
• Vs. competition
Drive qualified leads
• MLIS Program Launch 9/15
• New programs as added
• Test creative/messaging/media
• Leverage analytics
Improve touch point conversions
• Marketing
• Web experience
• RFI-enrollment
PR/Social
(Earned)
Ad/DR
(Paid)
Web
RFI –
Enroll

4. 3
Marketing Approach
Executive Overview

5. 4
Campaign Organizing Principles
Optimize steps in student journey to enrollment
DR Advertising
Web
RFI
Apply
Awareness
Action
Desire
Interest
Pearson / SALT
Rutgers
Pearson / ITK
Rutgers + Pearson / ITK
Focus of Today’s
Conversation

6. 5
Campaign Organizing Principles
Near-term focus on program-specific tactics
2012-2013 Launch
• Program-specific
launch
• Master of Library and
Information Science
2013-2014 Expand
• Program-specific
expansion
• Master of Library and
Information Science
• Master of ?
• Master of ?
• Master of ?
2014 – 2015 Evolve
• Explore “online
portfolio” approach
• Requires robust portfolio
of 10+ programs

7. 6
Campaign Organizing Principles
Tie media levels to key enrollment periods
Spike 90-120
days before
app due date
Launch at
test levels
Return to
maintenance
levels
Spike 90-120
days before
app due date Return to
maintenance
levels
MLIS
?
?
Sep Oct Nov Dec Feb Mar JunMayJan Apr JulAug Aug Sep
CampaignCadenceProgramOnboarding

8. 7
Campaign Organizing Principles
Leverage data to optimize results
Benchmark
•Industry
Standards
•Past Campaign
Results
•Analytics
Capabilities
Execute
•Target
•Media
•Message
•Creative
•Offer
Analyze
•Test Cells
•Impressions
•Site Visits
•RFIs
•Apps
•Enrolls
Optimize
•Update models
•Expand successful
efforts
•Identify new
experiments

9. 8
Competitive Analysis

10. 9
Competitive Analysis
Methodology
Competitors Benchmarked
Factors Analyzed
• Creative: Key messages, campaign themes
• Media: Media mix, timing, key markets
• Web: UX, content, calls to action, flow to application
Note: Competitive creative examples can be found in the appendix

11. 10
Competitive Analysis
Summary of findings
Campaign Themes
• Most master’s programs focus on program-specific themes
• Few true “campaign-able ideas” that extend over time
Campaign Messaging
• Good amount of degree-specific promotion
• A lot of one-off, generic messages
• Many focus on simply selling the category – online
• Value messaging prevalent
• Better job, achievement, excellence
Campaign Design
• Little that is truly distinctive or own-able
• Most have multiple visual design solutions
• Mostly color blocks or stock type imagery
Campaign Calls to Action
• Most drive to request for more information

12. 11
Competitive Analysis
Summary of findings
Campaign Media Strategy
• Search and banner ads are main means of advertising
• Most focus heavily on search
• Syracuse and University of Illinois – Urbana focus exclusively on search for their online
universities
• TV and outdoor not used by any competitors over the last year and half
• Seasonal spikes are in September, October and March, April and May
• Highest spend in April and October
• Drexel and Penn State have the highest spend overall in advertising online
degree programs.
• Drexel has a diverse mix across multiple media to increase reach – only
university to use some paper and magazine advertising

13. 12
Rutgers Online Branding

14. 13
Rutgers Online Branding
Identity and visual language
Online
Identity
• Recommend launching with
Rutgers Online
• Delivers clear “online” proposition
• Allows for evolution to “online
campus” or other construct
overtime as portfolio expands
• Aligns with all-up identity standards
Visual Language
• Recommend working within
existing visual identity
standards
• Current system provides clear
recognition and brand equity
• System is flexible enough to allow
for creative experimentation

15. 1414
Rutgers Online Branding
All-up online positioning
Pursue
What’s
Next
Leading
Research
University
World-
Renowned
Faculty
Collaboration,
and Innovation
Master Focused
Global Reach
All-up positioning informs tone, manner, and style of our
communications as well as competitive differentiation

16. 15
Rutgers Online Marketing Plan
• Key Planning Considerations
• Target Audience
• Target Geographies
• Media Strategy
• Messaging Strategy
• Creative Strategy
• Web Strategy
• Analytics Strategy

17. 16
Key Planning Considerations
Brand Power
- High regional
awareness
- Limited national
awareness
- No online awareness
- Rebranding in
process
Web Presence
- No central online
portal
- Online offering not
clearly delineated on
program pages
- No strong call to
action
Program Offering
- Limited portfolio
- Launching with MLIS
- Program onboarding
schedule unclear
- Programs are for
very targeted
audiences
Competition
- Broader portfolios
- More mature
marketing programs
- Stronger web
presence
- Varying awareness

18. 17
Target Audience
Primary = Library Professionals (400,000 in US)
Residing in New
Jersey
in Primary
Competitive
Markets
MSAs with high
concentration of
LSI Pros
States with Top
Rated Programs
Total US
Universe of LSI
Pros
Information sources include 2005-2012 Rutgers cohort study and American Library Association statistics
Who are they? Where are they?
Age: 21-39 (40%)
Gender: 75-80% Female
Education: College Degree
Occupation: Library services

19. 18
Target Geographies
Reaching New Jersey and Surrounding Region
Primary
• New Jersey
– 94% of all
students are
residents
– North NJ has
highest percent
of students
• Pennsylvania
• New York

20. 19
Media Strategy
Media mix and weight
38%
SEM
3%
Direct
Mail
8
%
Display
15%
Linkedin
36%
PPL

21. 2020
Messaging Strategy
The MLIS difference
Powering the
Power of
Information
Industry
recognized
faculty
Nexus of
people,
information,
technology
Path to
cutting edge
career
Program
ranks 6th in
US
ALA
Accredited
Digital focus

22. 21
• Immediately create an
interim Landing Page for
the MLIS Program for RFI
• The LP will reinforce the
reasons to choose Rutgers
and provide the
prospective student the
information they consider
the most important to
making their decision to
apply
• If RFI form cannot be
completed for the launch
9/15, the LP will direct the
student to learn more by
calling a 1-800-# (hosted
by ITK)
Creative Strategy
SEM

23. 22
Analytics Strategy
Improve attributable marketing investment
Google Analytics
Add another instance of GA for online only pages
• Allows AdWords Account to be linked to relevant pages
• Allows us to set Goal Conversions to:
• RFI thank you page(s)
• Application thank you page(s)
Google AdWords
Create AdWords account for Rutgers Online
• Linked to GA account for optimization
Enrollment Reporting
• Receive monthly pipeline reports (from ITK, Rutgers and Pearson)
• Deliver reports on “top of funnel” quarterly
_gaq.push(
['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXX-1'],
['_trackPageview'],
['b._setAccount', 'UA-XXXXX-2'],
['b._trackPageview']
);

24. 23
Next Steps

25. 24
Next Steps
• Plan approval
• Finalizing RFI form / process / hosting
• MLIS Landing Page approval
• Media plan recommendations 9/7

26. 25
Appendix

27. 26
Drexel University
Online Campaign & Messaging

28. 27
Drexel University
Online Landing Page & MLIS Page

29. 28
University of Illinois – Urbana
Online Landing Page & Master’s Landing Page

30. 29
Penn State
Online Landing Page & MIS Page

31. 30
Penn State
Online Campaign & Messaging

32. 31
Syracuse University
Online Landing Page & MLIS Page

33. 32
Syracuse University
Online Campaign & Messaging
*Unable to find text ads for Syracuse

34. 33
University of North Carolina
Online Landing Page & MSLS Page

35. 34
University of North Carolina
Online Campaign & Messaging