Initial audit and research revealed that prospective MBA students have many options to choose from across the USA. Almost all of the top-tier universities were competing on pretty much similar program offerings.

We identified that WSU has traditionally never played a passive role but has always been in the forefront to change the tide of pressing issues in society. The WSU legacy spans industry-leading research in health, food, energy, sustainability, social opportunity, and global security. For well over a hundred years, WSU has earned an outstanding reputation for academic excellence, world-changing research, and a diverse, welcoming community of students, faculty and alumni.

It was the right time and a collective responsibility to establish WSU as a thought leader leading change. Thought leadership is a really effective way to build a brand, if we do it the right way. WSU’s rich legacy and core values sparked the campaign theme – “A different kind of learning and a new way of thinking”. We put together a tight marketing strategy to bolster WSU’s awareness, applicants, and enrollment. Using a combination of multichannel campaigns, print advertisements, website landing pages and a targeted student influencer campaign we attracted new prospective recruits to WSU’s portal, leading to steady applicant growth and record numbers of new students and overall enrollment.