University of Western States
Meet the Partner
Based in Portland, Oregon, University of Western States (UWS) is an accredited nonprofit institution known for its health sciences graduate programs. Specializing in chiropractic, naturopathic medicine, functional medicine, nutrition, sports medicine, performance psychology, and clinical mental health counseling, UWS leads with an evidence-informed approach to holistic care. Their blend of research, academic excellence, and practitioner-patient teamwork shapes the future of healthcare. UWS offers both on-campus and online doctoral and master’s programs, providing diverse learning opportunities for aspiring professionals.
Problem
UWS approached Intuitive Digital in 2016 looking to overhaul their existing accounts and elevate their campaign performance while seeking regular performance updates. They wanted to better showcase their exceptional healthcare programs, ultimately attracting a more fitting pool of applicants. Our mission was to craft engaging campaigns that would resonate deeply with prospective students, compelling them to explore and fill out an enrollment application!
How We Did It
Strategy
We developed our strategy by conducting in-depth audience research and data analysis. Our approach involved creating campaigns tailored to each program offered by the University of Western States, ensuring that they resonated with the target audience.
Our audience research insights, provided by GWI, helped us gain a clear understanding of the UWS target audience, including their demographics, interests, and priorities. The data showed us that we needed to create campaigns that prioritize inclusivity, feature diverse representations, and emphasize socially responsible content, particularly through engaging video formats.
Execute
With a robust data-driven approach in our back pocket, we were ready to solve the identified business opportunity. We developed and launched campaigns across Google Search, Display, Facebook, and Instagram, highlighting the diversity of UWS’s programs. We created unique messaging and visuals for each program, ensuring maximum engagement with potential students. Additionally, we focused on developing focused landing pages that streamlined the user experience, resulting in significantly improved conversion rates.
Accelerate
To maintain and improve the success of our campaign, we continuously optimized our strategies to avoid redundancy. We regularly tested keywords and themes, evaluated competitor strategies, and improved campaign performance through advanced conversion tracking. Our creative assets were A/B tested to ensure sustained conversion growth, which allowed us to get more qualified applications. Regular improvements to ad copy, audience analysis, and landing page optimization helped increase engagement and, ultimately, enrollment numbers at University of Western States.
Paid Media By the numbers
Our strategic focus on paid search campaigns yielded remarkable outcomes. Across key programs, we surpassed conversion goals by significant margins.
The CMHC program witnessed a remarkable surge of 215.3% in conversions, exceeding the set 25% year-over-year goal. Similarly, the DC program achieved an impressive 112.7% increase in conversions, reflecting substantial growth in enrollment interest. Additionally, the HNFM program experienced an 80.7% rise in conversions, surpassing the annual target. The NMD program took the spotlight with an astounding 1,389.3% increase in conversions, far surpassing the ambitious 100% year-over-year goal. Overall, our strategic approach resulted in an outstanding 519.5% increase in conversions across all primary programs, signaling remarkable growth and heightened enrollment interest.
5/5
Programs Exceeded Conversion Goals
519.5%
Increase in Conversions YoY
80%
Decrease in Cost per Conversion
Paid Social By the Numbers…
The UWS paid social campaigns produced outstanding results, marked by a significant surge in applications across all programs. Our strategic initiatives led to an exceptional 1327.7% increase in applications, showcasing the effectiveness of our tailored approach. Notably, the lead generation strategies contributed to a substantial rise in overall leads, culminating in a total of 679 leads. This heightened lead volume translated into a remarkable total of 732 applications, significantly exceeding our anticipated counts. These results underscore the success of our targeted strategies, driving substantial growth and attracting a high volume of quality applicants for UWS.
1328%
Increase in Program Applications
732
Applications from Paid Social
9.1%
Increases in Conversion Rate
The End Result
Over 8 years of partnering with the University of Western States, we were able to facilitate a substantial digital transformation. Our strategic approach and optimized paid media campaigns significantly elevated program visibility and engagement, leading to a steady increase in applications. These efforts targeted the partner’s initial concerns, consistently boosting conversion rates year after year.
