An innovative student recruitment campaign for University of the Sunshine Coast drew national attention and attracted three times as many leads as expected, with strong enrolment outcomes in 2024.
The University’s Best Field Trip In the World campaign was developed as a response to waning enrolment demand, offering prospective students a taste of the campus location, industry partnerships, commitment to sustainability and strong student experience in a wildly irresistible package. The campaign has been shortlisted for the Best University Recruitment Initiative and Best University Marketing Campaign in the 2024 Future Campus Awards.
Director of Marketing Justin Laing said the concept was to develop “a lead generation campaign with experiential marketing at its core.” The team offered a four night all expenses paid experience for five year 11 or 12 students and a parent on a trip including a game day experience with the NRL Dolphins, a VIP visit ot Australia Zoo’s Wildlife Hospital a trip to Noosa’s main beach to study erosion, and virtual game design.
Built off a modest budget, the campaign set out to achieve 1,000 new leads, 10,000 website visitors and media coverage – and delivered in spades. The team recorded more than 3,400 unique leads from year 11 and 12 students across Queensland, 60 media hits across Australia and 17,000 new websites. Most importantly, the campaign also delivered 51 new enrolments, with 2,500 more leads to nurture through 2024.
These are outstanding results from a modest investment. The campaign was thoughtfully executed and effectively measured and will be a valuable benchmark for tertiary student recruitment campaigns.
