UPenn Executive Program for Social Innovation Design, Pipeline Management

Project Overview:

To ramp up marketing efforts for the Executive Program for Social Innovation Design and encourage prospective students to apply and complete their application.

Key Takeaways:

1. Talked and messaged students about the program and developed an FAQ list based on common questions.

2. Refined understanding of the types of students who are interested in this inter-disciplinary program based on context gathered from calls with prospective students

3. Built an outreach system to easily connect with students and communicate program information to them.

Process:

Overview of Operations

The early admissions deadline for the Executive Program for Social Innovation Design was July 1st, 2019 and so all social media marketing efforts began in May 2019, where the program was advertised via Facebook and Instagram ads. My job at this stage consisted of helping to automate emails to any prospective students who downloaded our Viewbook via the XSD website or started their application. I was also responsible for selecting an applications management system to be used for the duration of the admissions process. I chose Evalato because it has a pay-as-you payment plan, which was ideal for a new program where we were still unsure about the volume of applications we would receive.

As the early application deadline approached, I was tasked with messaging students who had started their application and surveying them about their interest and level of engagement in the program. I also got on calls with prospective students daily to chat about the program and answered any questions we received via email as well. The questions from prospective students helped us develop a robust FAQ section for the XSD website. I also created typologies of the individuals interested in the program, based on my calls. I am hoping that this will inform future marketing efforts. After the early application deadline, I was talked with sending out admissions decisions and encouraging the remainder of our applicant pool to apply by the August 1st deadline.