“Talk is cheap, show me the code.” - Linus Torvalds.
Well, Linus, we’re doing just that. Campus XR conducted a virtual panel for clients to openly share their personal experiences with our AR product line and marketing services. We were lucky enough to be joined by three higher education industry professionals, moderated by Keating Sherry, International Partnership Director of Campus XR. Through a remote discussion, he spoke with the three about how Campus XR and augmented reality are helping shape the future of student recruitment and overall campus engagement. We were joined by the following,
- Anna Bradford, Associate Director of International, Millersville University
- Brittany Wright, Graduate Enrollment Management, George Washington University
- Melissa Lightell, Interim Director of Admission and Financial aid, Tulane University
All three added extremely valuable insight as to how AR is shaping the future of higher education marketing. Today we’ll take a closer look at some key points from the conversation.
IMPLEMENTING AUGMENTED REALITY IN A PAPERBACK WORLD
If only Lennon and McCartney had AR business cards. They wouldn’t have spent all that time paperback writing! Our panelists would all agree that there are some significant pros to implementing AR in higher ed recruitment marketing... Let's get into it what all the buzz is about, shall we?
RETENTION IN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
One of the most important factors in recruitment is maintaining engagement. Handing out paper brochures makes it extremely difficult to stand out. By digitally tailoring content with AR, you can add an immersive experience AND have more control over what information prospective students can access. Your material can leverage itself specifically, whether you're trying to advertise a program or an entire university.
The beauty of augmented reality is the ability to create a virtual experience in an existing world. A McKinsey study shows that GENZ is highly interested in finding engaging experiences over acquired things and that 80% aspire to work with cutting-edge technologies. The panelists all concurred that adding AR content to their existing materials added a sense of flare to their advertisements. In the case of Millersville University, this was an interactive mascot that could pop up on your smartphone device.
“I wanted to be able to have that multi-use swag item that is going to expand on what we have as a brochure and be something fun and engaging. I’ve had people scan my suitcase.” - Anna Bradford
“Students can’t always find what they need on our website, and this (AR business card) is our little treasure map to help them navigate and leverage our content.” - Melissa Lightell
“Working for a school of engineering and science, we’re always looking for the next cool thing to attract students… When I came across this option, we were instantly interested because it would provide our prospective students with a unique opportunity to know our programs.” - Brittany Wright
REDUCING CARBON FOOTPRINT AND LIGHTENING THE LOAD (QUITE LITERALLY)
An obvious pro is a reduction in printed goods. With more and more institutions (including some of our panelists) making carbon-neutral pledges, admins are always looking for ways to reduce waste. With an AR business card or sticker, that same information that takes up a whole pamphlet can be compacted within a scaled-down card or sticker. This reduces a significant amount of material waste.
“We were looking for ways to be sustainable and not have to print lots of documents.” -Brittany Wright
Additionally, for the traveling recruiters that have to lug around boxes of heavy brochures to fairs around the country, cards and smaller swag items are a much lighter alternative, making traveling much more sustainable. The other obvious benefit of having digital content is the ability to effortlessly make changes without reprinting a single piece of paper. All within a click, important information can be edited to perfection.
But don’t just take our word for it...
“We knew that going on the road was going to be cumbersome. The idea of having to pack hundreds of flyers and make sure that everything was up to date seemed overly complicated. We always have new start dates and end dates. When we discovered the CAMPUS AR cards, this hit what we wanted.” - Melissa Lightell
“Telling our traveling team that you only need to take a couple of extra boxes of business cards was extremely welcomed.” - Brittany Wright
TRACKING ANALYTICS
Don't just take our client's word for it either; after all, the proof is in the pudding. Beyond the environmental implications, a huge issue with paper advertising is the lack of ways to track engagement. The only analytics on a paper brochure is counting them from the trash by hand.
One of the beauties of the digital age is the ability to track specific user data for all of your marketing advertisements. With these AR business cards and stickers, you can have engaging material for prospective students and simultaneously improve outreach. See the growth for yourself.
“At my first college fair with these, I didn’t find a single one of these stickers on the ground, and that was a success.” - Anna Bradford
“I have a form that’s connected to this sticker to help me track some of that ROI. I’ve had (user) engagement on that form… I’ve been very happy with the results.” - Anna Bradford
Higher education is an industry that needs to focus on staying up to date with all the latest. Luckily, we’re here to help.
Want to know more? Fill out an order form or schedule a consultation with a member of our team today.
We want to thank our panelists again for taking the time to discuss their latest with us. If you missed the party, it’s not too late! We have a link to rewatch the session here.