Background

Two years into RHB’s engagement with Auburn University, the admissions team approached us with a desire to ensure that the entire prospective student journey–from registering for a campus visit to applying for admission and enrolling–coherently reflected RHB’s findings from our Circles of Influence research, the recommendations from our audit of their current marketing messages (Coherence Inventory) and the creative solutions we had developed on their behalf.

As a result, RHB and the Auburn team focused on enhancing two seminal moments in the prospective student journey: the campus visit and admitted student experiences, both of which would require creative solutions in print and in the form of portals in Slate.

Challenge

Our research with current Auburn students–and our own first-hand experience of a tour during a photoshoot–revealed an experience in which the campus felt smaller and more intimate than one might expect from a school of Auburn’s size. This was a result of the warm and welcoming tour guides, the distinctive story that each guide shared (Auburn doesn’t employ a script but instead empowers each student to share their personal Auburn story) and the friendly, approachable campus community. The tour made the campus feel manageable and welcoming. The campus visit website did the opposite.

Auburn’s existing campus visit website was difficult to navigate and necessitated multiple clicks to register for a campus tour. The site also required students to leave the page in order to schedule an academic tour with the College of their choice. To complicate matters, tours were routinely full and many prospective students were frustrated when they couldn’t find available spots (a problem compounded by the site’s clunky interface).

The printed campus visit brochure was similarly complex. The piece was filled with procedural information and lacked the warmth, hospitality and intimacy that defines the Auburn campus tour experience.

RHB set out to create a coherent multi-channel and multi-modal experience for students that looked, read and felt like the on-campus visit experience: equal parts easy to navigate and warm and welcoming.

Concurrently, we worked on ensuring that the journey students took once they applied to Auburn would carry forward similar thematic and emotional threads we identified in our research. In short, we ensured that every touchpoint a prospective student had with Auburn during their visit scheduling and application process was coherent with the experience they would enjoy as students on campus.

Solution

RHB built a streamlined campus visit portal that allows students to easily see which campus tours are available, register for tours and even create their own visit experience–all in one place. In addition, RHB added functionality that drastically reduces the number of clicks required to schedule an academic tour with their desired College. Finally, the campus visit portal includes a digital itinerary of the day’s events–and the functionality to send the itinerary to parents and students via SMS.

RHB overhauled the campus visit brochure to match the tone and tenor of the portal, transferring the procedural information the printed piece once held online, updating the design with photography from our time on campus and writing copy that evokes the drama and anticipation of touring a place one might just fall in love with. The photography (mostly shot from the point of view of a touring student) and copy reflect the intimacy of the campus tour and the authenticity of the bespoke tour guide stories students experience.

We took a similar approach with the applicant student experience portal and accompanying admitted student packet. RHB rewrote and redesigned the admitted student packet to capture the “goosebump moments” all members of the Auburn Family can look forward to sharing.

In addition, RHB created an applicant student experience portal that ensures students know where they stand throughout the application process and what steps they need to take next. We achieved this in part by including a progress tracker that shows students what they’ve completed and what they still need to do, streamlining information regarding checklist items and fees, and creating intentional messaging for waitlisted students.

The design of the portal and the admitted student packet complement one another, utilizing imagery of the oaks at Toomer’s Corner and playing into Auburn’s strong campus traditions–the portal even features a scrollable copy of The Auburn Creed, a document near and dear to every Tiger, and a splash announcement based on “War Eagle,” the universal Auburn greeting.

Results

The campus visit and applicant student experience portal make it easier than ever before for students to register for events and apply to Auburn–and for Auburn to track their progress and engagement in Slate. The redesigned campus visit brochure and admitted student packet reflect their accompanying portals in look, feel and tone. The result: every experience prospective students have with Auburn during their campus visit registration and application process now reflects the warmth and rich tradition of the Auburn Family.

“Thanks to our partnership with RHB, Auburn University has engaging portals that showcase the Auburn experience. RHB’s research methodologies, Circles of Influence, and a Coherence Inventory, provided invaluable insights, ensuring the portals are not just functional but also address procedural challenges. They guide students through confusing processes while threading in messaging of what it means to be part of The Auburn Family. Both our visit and applicant experience portals not only captivate prospective students but also make the journey both informative and inspiring. Our portals are high-touch and highly personalized, ensuring every interaction invites students to become part of the Auburn Family.”

—Dr. Joffery Gaymon, Vice President for Enrollment at Auburn