Huble Digital - USB Case Study

HOW CAN WE...

... increase our online presence to boost the profile of our business school?

As the #1 ranked business school in South Africa, and #3 in Africa, the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) wanted to raise brand awareness and strengthen their reputation as a leading business school in Africa.

USB needed to transform their existing academic achievements into a relatable, relevant brand. They struggled to maintain enrollment numbers and to shake off misconceptions about their offering.

We set out to change that! The aim? To attract an increasingly diverse pool of top faculty talent and high quality student applicants.

CREATE AN OUTSTANDING...

...online profile that attracts top faculty and student talent.

Huble Digital designed and implemented USB’s first-ever digital marketing strategy.

We conducted extensive research into the target market and developed four key personas, connected with each academic programme we were to promote.

We then used tailored messaging to build acquisition journeys for each academic programme and persona. To execute the paid campaigns for this strategy, we partnered with global media agency PHD. To hand our reporting, we created dashboards using our partner Databox.

We simultaneously launched a blog, which delivered topical content based on persona interests, on the institution of USB and their academic programmes.

“We needed to reposition USB as a diverse and innovative business school.”

Falling enrollment and a general lack of diversity across all academic programmes indicated that, despite a quality offering and more than a few achievements already in the bag, USB still found themselves battling perceptions that their programmes were irrelevant, outdated and exclusionary.

REDEFINING PERCEPTIONS...

Huble Digital combined a well-researched content strategy and customer acquisition journeys, with analytics tools that could ensure a measurable return on investment.

This included design and development of their website, and copy development. We partnered with a global media agency, PHD Media, to execute the paid campaigns for this strategy. To handle our reporting, we created dashboards with the help of our partner, Databox.

GENERATING...

10,000

leads over 6 months

STATS

202%

increase in new users

63%

increase in number of applications to programmes

182%

increase in user traffic, compared with same period from previous year

Owen Mbundu

Marketing Director

“A serendipitous encounter, sound strategy and amazing results. Now a growing partnership!”

The team that made it happen...

Huble Digital used a multidisciplinary team to systematically solve the USB challenge.

Content and Paid Media experts worked alongside Digital Strategy specialists to turn insights into an executable, digital marketing plan.

Together, they used extensive market research to generate four key personas. These informed the development of thirteen customer acquisition journeys, which led to a content roll out that included blog content and paid media. Analytics and reporting ensured that strategy and roll-out were tied to measurable results.

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