IU Indy: Gamifying Recruitment

Situation

Much of our recruitment work with individual schools within a university is focused on more effective recruitment efforts to increase the enrollment of incoming students. The advantage of working with an individual school is the opportunity to be more focused thanks to the specific nature of programs and the smaller scope and size.

Solution

We worked with a school at a large university for which the most popular and populous program by far was a Criminal Justice program. We brainstormed ideas of things we could send admitted students that they would stand out, and which they would actually keep because they are useful or fun. In the spirit of the popular Criminal Justice program, we landed on the idea of sending students a card game version of the popular game Clue™. The card game version was perfect in that it is relatively inexpensive to send. At a time when students were being admitted to and recruited by a lot of colleges simultaneously, we knew that this would stand out and that students would enjoy it.

Of course we went a lot further then just sending them a game! We planted a number of easter eggs within the set. We obviously did things like invite them through the experience to be part of a raffle. However in the accompanying letter that we sent them, we changed the font color for certain letters to spell out a website URL. If students noticed and followed the link, there was an announcement of a small scholarship waiting for them.

We also published a beautiful playing card with the school logo on one side and a symbol of the city on the other, tying the program to the city and its opportunities for students, a major theme of our recruitment efforts. We “hid” the card inside the final solution envelope.

Success

Of course, we asked students about what we had sent them! We received very strong feedback that this offering stood out beyond the mailings that students were getting from other colleges. Many shared it with their family and friends. Students felt like this package was unique and tailored to them specifically. They actually said it made them more interested in enrolling!  To One student said she had decided to enroll already, but receiving this package in the mail confirmed it, essentially giving this recruitment tool yet another role in anti-melt. The few students we asked about it who didn’t get one wanted one immediately, proving the uniqueness and effectiveness of the mailing. The campaign was so successful that it fueled variations for follow up versions involving staff and faculty throughout the school in multiple invitations and events to the students to come visit the campus.