Case Study

University of Wisconsin-Superior

Non-Profit | Content Development | Research | Recruitment

The Client

The University of Wisconsin-Superior is a small, public institution that is part of the larger University of Wisconsin System, which serves over 160,000 students. UW-Superior, located in the Twin Ports region of Duluth, MN/Superior, WI is the smallest campus in the UW System, representing one of the most diverse student bodies with numerous non-traditional and international students per capita. UW-Superior offers over 60 majors and minors, both in-person and online.

The Charge

The enrollment management division at UW-Superior wanted to engage parents and guardians in the student recruitment process to help boost Fall 2024 enrollment and reduce melt. Due to the vast experience of the SMP team members in enrollment management and recruiting, UW-Superior reached out to SMP to build a parent communication plan for newly admitted students as well as an editorial calendar that will be part of the parent portal.

The Deliverables

Shull Media Partners leveraged its enrollment management and higher education background as well as conducting additional research to write copy for 25 parent messages that will be part of a newly launched parent portal. This will serve both newly admitted students and their families who are beginning their college search as well as positively reducing the melt of students who have already committed to the university by continuing to engage families throughout the students’ senior year. Messages ranged immediate calls to action, to informational or differentiating topics that were tailored to the unique understanding of the student body at UW-Superior.

The Results

Due to the in-depth research and knowledge of UW-Superior and the higher education landscape, these messages were mapped out in an editorial calendar and were able to be quickly uploaded to the parent portal to begin to have an impact immediately on parent engagement. UW-Superior was able to immediately fill this gap in parent outreach and engagement due to these efforts. Because of the quality of work and response time, UW-Superior’s marketing department reached out to partner on a second project to write copy for academic promotional pieces.