¿ì»îapp

The year 2021 has beenÌýtremendousÌýin so many ways—full of winsÌýas well as theÌýoccasionalÌýspeed bump. We are happy to share some highlights from the year.Ìý

Over the course ofÌý2021, our collective teams have launched 84 websites, created the University’sÌýÌý²¹²Ô»åÌý, supported theÌý, helped toÌýusher in aÌýÌýand moved into the next phase of the University’s reputation work.ÌýTogether, we have builtÌýnarrativesÌýand stories,Ìýwebsites andÌýlanding pages,ÌýdesignsÌýand creative,Ìývideos, social media campaigns,Ìýand moreÌýto strategically position our university in new markets and with new audiences.ÌýÌý

As weÌýcloseÌýoutÌýthe year,Ìýwe areÌýproudÌýto announce the launch of six new websites over the past month,Ìýincluding:Ìý

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With these launches,ÌýonlyÌý57Ìýsites remain in the queue (33Ìýof which are inline sites of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs)Ìýas a part of our web overhaul work.ÌýMarComm, in partnership with campus stakeholders, has launched 149Ìýwebsites andÌý11,210Ìýpages since Drupal’s introduction in September 2018.  Ìý

As this majorÌýCMSÌýchange is our top focus for the overhaul, we still haveÌýaboutÌý1,700 pagesÌýremainingÌýto be migrated by spring.ÌýToÌýremain efficient and nimble, we are focusing onÌýcopyeditingÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýcontent finalization effortsÌýin-house, while contracting migration andÌýQAÌýto two agency partners in theÌýnewÌýyear.Ìý

The change in our website infrastructure is just the beginning of the foundational changesÌýwe haveÌýmade this year.ÌýMarCommÌýhas filledÌý13 benefitted vacancies and introduced key positions to our organization, including but not limited to a content strategy manager, marketing manager, and communications manager.ÌýAdditionally, we are partnering withÌýITÌýtoÌýidentifyÌýan email marketing and event management platform forÌýtheÌýUniversity as well asÌýcreatingÌýa sustainable support structure for our website and digital marketing ecosystem as we near the completion of the webÌýoverhaulÌýproject.ÌýÌý

OurÌýreputationÌýstrategy work, the first phase of which began last year with research,Ìýis a multi-year initiative that will remain with us for many seasons to come.ÌýI want to take a moment to reflect onÌýallÌýthe wins it has yielded just this year. Through theÌýefforts of severalÌýworking groups, we haveÌýdraftedÌýand tested fiveÌýmarket differentiators—Unique Value Propositions—further honed our personality traits, started the development of a visual identity system andÌýrenovation of our logo, and launched ¿ì»îapp’s largest brand campaign in recent history.ÌýThis work has enabled us to form partnerships, collaborations, and connections—both internally and externally—in waysÌýthat we have not had the ability to capitalize on historically.ÌýÌý

WhileÌýtheÌýstrategic messaging andÌývisual identity workÌýwill reach completion in theÌýnextÌýyearÌýwith rollout to follow,Ìýwe have a couple of months of data on theÌýinitialÌýrollout of theÌýFor the DifferenceÌýcampaign. IÌýcan share preliminarily thatÌýdisplayÌýretargeting is currently our strongest performing medium focused on prospective students, driving 100ÌýpercentÌýof visits scheduled from the campaign inÌýthe month of October. TikTokÌýalso provedÌýto be a strong performerÌýforÌýbrand awareness, with an averageÌýclick-through rate (CTR)Ìýof 1.2% which exceeds our agency’s benchmark of 0.91%.ÌýÌý

Snapchat and over-the-top (OTT) ad sets wrapped up in November. Snapchat resulted in 17.7 million impressions for the brand and 155k swipe-ups. While metrics specific to the OTT (streaming television)Ìýare notÌýavailable, we have seen a substantial increase in web traffic to our targeted landing pages from a few of our targeted markets versus the same time last year—23Ìýpercent increase in Houston, 30 percent increase from Los Angeles, and a 26 percentÌýincrease here in Denver. There isÌýmuch left in the campaignÌýasÌýweÌýinfuse and elevateÌýthe 4D Experience and Kennedy Mountain CampusÌýand optimizeÌýassets for the coming spring launches.Ìý

Our social media efforts grew in leaps and bounds this year, starting with the establishment of concrete, easy-to-followÌýsocial media guidelinesÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýculminating in our first share of the Sand Creek Massacre onÌý¿ì»îapp’sÌýbrand channels this year.ÌýTheÌýsocial media guidelines have served as a guidepost for many efforts across campus, as new social media accounts wereÌýestablished, current accounts were maintained, and new employees were onboarded to support the overall engagement effort. This set of guidelines will also be used to benchmark our forthcoming texting guidelines, coming out sometime in 2022.ÌýÌý

, enjoyed another tremendous season with a whopping 6,800 new downloads in 2021 (not including November or December). If you have not listened lately, check out some of the recent episodes regardingÌýart trafficking and the important topic of veteran suicide. Until we find a new writer to take on the next season, the podcast will be on hiatus,Ìý²¹²Ô»åÌýI am confident RadioEd willÌýreturn and continue to beÌýanÌýinfluentialÌýtool for ¿ì»îapp in 2022 and beyond.Ìý

The team successfully managed several issues in 2021, one of which was the major transitionÌýof the University’s insurance providerÌýto Cigna, which took place in tandem withÌýthis year’sÌýopen enrollment window. Despite the speed with which this communications campaign moved, internal stakeholders were kept informed, allowingÌýemployeesÌýto make the best decisions for themselves and their families.ÌýThe team rolled outÌýa series of new emergency websitesÌýand crisis communication templates in 2021, making ¿ì»îappÌýeven more preparedÌýto support stakeholders should the need arise.Ìý

Regarding newsroom and media coverage, from the coverage ofÌý¿ì»îapp’s groundbreaking research, to theÌýhumanitarian storiesÌýat home and abroad, our writers and media relations team have had their hands full. Pairing ¿ì»îapp experts with journalists, our media relations team helped garnerÌý,Ìý, and evenÌýÌýcoverage, sharing ¿ì»îapp’s brand with a broad audience. Our writers createdÌýmanyÌýmust-read pieces—from campusÌýevents, such asÌýinauguration, to news from around the world, such asÌýthe extraction of a ¿ì»îapp student and his family from Afghanistan.ÌýThe relationshipsÌýthatÌýMarComm’sÌýwriters have established with colleagues across campus have enabled them to tell immensely powerfulÌýstories.Ìý

Meanwhile, theÌýÌýproduced three print and four digital issues, the latterÌýfilled withÌýonline exclusives.ÌýFor the fall edition, the magazineÌýadded pages and produced an insert toÌýoffer comprehensive coverage of the chancellor’s inauguration and the debut of the new James C. Kennedy MountainÌýCampus.ÌýOver the course of the year,ÌýleadÌýstories featured a professor and alumna working onÌý, ¿ì»îapp’s cross-disciplinary efforts to serveÌý, and a romp through ¿ì»îapp’sÌý. We showcased videosÌýÌýof the Denver Advantage buildings and photo essays on everythingÌýfromÌýconcerts at Lamont toÌý. Our design and editorial teams collaborated to present packages thatÌýengagedÌýall our audiences, from faculty, staff, and parents to alumni and students.ÌýÌý

This year has been full ofÌýadventures, andÌýwe areÌýlooking forward to continuing the journey withÌýeveryoneÌýin the new year. From our team to you, we wish you aÌýhappyÌýholiday season.ÌýÌý