Success During Adversity:
Generating Student Leads Through A Virtual Roadshow
The Acumen challenge Launch a virtual recruitment roadshow for a European country promotion body during Covid-19.
Background Acumen has been managing the Google Ads and
Acumen took responsibility for transitioning the
country’s promotion body since 2012. Following
challenge was to develop a pipeline of student
digital marketing campaigns for this European
the onset of Covid-19, the client had to move their promotional roadshows online. With participation from around 20 universities at each roadshow,
physical roadshow into a virtual roadshow. Our
leads on par with those generated from a typical roadshow, during the pandemic.
Virtual roadshow campaign overview
Channels Google
Campaign duration 4-6 weeks
Results snapshot
6,000+ enquiries with an 18-20% virtual attendance rate.
Our strategy At Acumen, we specialise in bringing innovation
We implemented processes to capture student
use of online platforms to promote the virtual
a follow-up email campaign for students to
to the higher education market. To optimise the
data from a website enquiry form, ahead of
roadshow, our digital marketing team pursued an
confirm their interest in attending the online
engagement strategy to increase lead quality and
event. The layered-registration process finished
maximise attendance. Our engagement strategy
with a confirmation email, outlining details of
followed a three-step plan: 1.
filter out bot traffic and deliver quality student
Market research: To deliver an effective online lead generation campaign for the client
and participating universities, we started by conducting target audience research. This
included establishing the right set of keywords,
cities and colleges to target. We then delivered our test audience recommendations to the client. 2.
the virtual roadshow. This process helped to
Preparing for launch: Once our localised
marketing strategy was approved, we worked
enquiries. 3.
Google campaign optimisation: Once the
Google Ads campaign was live, we continually scrutinised and reviewed zeroed keywords for optimal performance. To effectively manage for maximum return on client investment,
additional campaign refinements included sharpening the advert target audience, location, time and display options.
out a detailed operational plan for a virtual
With a continuous improvement process in place
A double-layered registration process was
team ensured key opportunities to yield higher
roadshow with 20 universities participating. introduced to generate quality enquiries from interested students.
throughout the campaign, our digital marketing
quality leads and improve conversion were quickly explored and utilised.
Outcome Our rapid-start Google Ads campaign generated 6,000+ enquiries for universities participating in
the virtual event within 3-4 weeks. 18-20% of these
enquiries converted into attendance at the virtual roadshow, an impressive result for our client.
“The campaigns came together well and the double registration process helped validate
genuine registrations. We had 717 students on the day, so it was really busy for everyone and a definite success. Thanks a lot to the entire team for all your efforts!”
ACUMEN is committed to helping globally-ambitious university and education partners enter, explore and expand in South Asia, South East Asia, and beyond. We offer a dedicated range of services to drive recruitment, student enrolment, develop strategic partnerships, and research collaboration. As a result, we act as an extension of your brand, by connecting you with the world’s best students, utilising strategic international education opportunities, understanding your ideal market through research and insights, and help mitigate any risks along the way. We operate in over 20 countries, with more than 250 industry practitioners with deep local knowledge and global expertise. We help navigate a competitive education landscape from end to end, while always prioritising your success.