LEAD GENERATION CAMPAIGN
Marching the Corps of Cadets to increased membership
The Texas A&M Corps of Cadets is a unique 4-year leadership program within Texas A&M University. Because of its military-style approach, it is often overlooked by high-achieving, non-military focused university applicants. When the Corps launched the March to 3,000 — an initiative to boost membership to 3,000 by 2030 — they asked Steel to get them started.
Our Assignment
Steel was tasked to bring awareness to the program, then increase the number of leads through a targeted direct response and branding media campaign. After a Fall semester dedicated to brand work, the Spring and Summer campaigns were focused on lead generation, with a goal of 1,450 leads.
CLIENT:
RESULTS:
10
%
Leads Generated Above Goal
199
%
Higher Web Traffic Than Previous Year With No Media Running
Here’s how we did it
The initial launch included multiple digital tactics — paid social (Facebook and Instagram), YouTube, location-based video and display, and other entry points on the Corps website. Leads were tracked via pixel from RFI forms and attribution from meetings with recruiters and Spend the Night with the Corps (SNWC) events.
However, not all campaigns go as planned.
During the first few weeks of rigorous monitoring, we determined that the campaign — as planned — would not reach the goal.
Through an open and honest dialogue with our client, we quickly constructed an entirely new plan within days. Google search and search retargeting display performed well, but we could not reallocate all the remaining budget without driving up the cost/lead. The plan featured a new media mix, targeting, keywords and an adjusted flight window for longer, continued media coverage.
Tactics
- Media Plan
- Revised Creative
- Landing Page
- A/B Testing
- Paid Search
- YouTube Ads
- Facebook Ads
- Instagram Ads
- Location Based Display
- Location Based Video
- Retargeting Display
- Retargeting Video
- Tracking Implementation
- Reporting
Results
The closely monitored and optimized campaign performed well — generating 1,592 leads — almost 10% over our goal of 1,450!
The class of 2027 represents a 20% growth in class size of the previous fall, and is the largest class in the last five years. It is considered a bold step forward for Texas A&M’s oldest student organization’s March to 3,000 membership initiative!
