Many students and their families make decisions about colleges based on the published tuition price without knowing that scholarship and financial aid packages often make the cost of attendance much more attainable.

This was causing students to look beyond private, liberal arts Roanoke College in their search for higher education. To reverse this trend and help more students consider Roanoke, the College enlisted the help of Wallace360 to make a major announcement – a 28% reduction in its tuition for the following school year.

Changing the narrative

We knew that the price reset was not just a simple change in tuition. It was an opportunity to change the narrative for the College, attract new applicants and strengthen the institution’s position. It was a chance to make alumni proud, bolster faculty morale, inspire current students, and to further differentiate the College in the process. Maximizing this all-eyes-on-Roanoke moment while minimizing confusion and concern over the shift and its impact was critical.

Before anything else, Wallace360 sought to understand Roanoke at its core and how everyone from students to alumni would respond to the tuition reset. The team dug deep and organized meetings with a diverse task force and interviews with faculty, staff and leadership from across campus which yielded insights on how purpose was at the heart and soul of the College and how the reset could help make this core differentiator accessible to more students.

A new brand promise

In September 2021, Wallace360 announced the price reset with a multi-channel integrated marketing campaign that showed prospective students that despite being a small school, Roanoke College was “Big on Purpose,” and with the price reset, helped them see that it as an attainable option. Among students and the wider College community we rallied support and engagement in the pursuit of purpose.

Through an integrated mix of traditional advertising, admissions collateral, communication with the broader Roanoke College community and a year-long digital marketing campaign, Wallace360 helped establish Roanoke College as a place for students to unlock their potential, realize their purpose and launch meaningful careers.

YOY applications on the rise

In the first thirty days alone, the campaign received an enormously positive response and garnered 2.3 million impressions and drove a total of 79,000 visitors to the website, a 64% YOY increase. Since then, the campaign has generated a strong YOY increase in applications.