Whether it’s creating awareness at the top of the funnel or closing at the bottom, there are specific tactics to move prospects to “yes.”
Minimizing obstacles to making the sale should be a key component in every marketing campaign, yet it rarely is. This is true in the college admissions space, where cost is a huge obstacle for most prospective students and their parents. The confusing mix of loans, grants, scholarships, work-study and the like can make it difficult to even understand what the bottom-line cost to the family will be.
Universities do what they can to provide a financial aid offer that meets each family’s need, but few of them take the initiative to walk every family through its unique offer, making sure each aid component and the family’s share are crystal clear.
Coastal Carolina University saw this situation as an opportunity to both remove an obstacle for families and stand out from their competitors. For the past three years, they have partnered with Allied Pixel to send Personalized Financial Aid Videos (PFAVs) to more than 10,000 admitted students.
It has been a remarkable success. This year, 52% of admitted students viewed the personalized video they received. Those who viewed their video were 2x more likely to enroll than those who did not view it.
“We have found personalized video to be a huge benefit in communicating the value of Coastal Carolina University,” says Vice President for Enrollment Management Amanda E. Craddock, Ed.D. “Financial aid is complicated. The personalized video does the math and breaks down the information so that it’s easy to digest.”
“Plus, we are the only school in South Carolina using PFAV, and it definitely sets us apart.”
Craddock has seen multiple benefits of PFAV beyond its positive impact on enrollment. Using the built-in dashboard, her team can see all the usage and conversion metrics in real time. They can also see each individual video, so if a parent or student calls to discuss financial aid, everyone is viewing the same material.
This year, Allied Pixel added the option for each video viewer to comment on the viewing experience. Craddock notes that more than 100 comments were received, all positive. She has shared some with the university president and senior leadership, reinforcing their support for the PFAV initiative.
Interested? Schedule a 30-minute walk-through of PFAV.
Meet Calvin Woodruff, Media Manager
Calvin’s mother was a photographer who instilled in him a love of storytelling through pictures and film. To this day, those pursuits bring him the most joy and keep him interested in always learning more. Before joining Allied Pixel in 2021, Calvin gained multiple skill sets from various production roles in commercial, documentary, and feature films, along with TV shows on Netflix, Hulu, and CBS.
His role as Media Manager on the Personalized Video team taps all his skills and challenges him to acquire new ones. Allied Pixel’s continued growth and evolution bring him new and exciting personalized video projects to work on. “I enjoy seeing the creativity from our editors,” he says. “and it’s great to have ongoing opportunities to learn new ways to provide what clients want.”
On his days off, Cal enjoys the perks of living in LA, recently going to Disneyland for the first time and hiking at Griffith Park to visit the Observatory. He also has been planning for his 2026 wedding to his fiance, Ariel, at an antique apple orchard near Boston.
AACRO SEM, here we come!
Will you be attending the AACRO Strategic Enrollment Management Conference in Las Vegas from November 9-12? We’re offering four ways to connect with us there:
- Chat over a cup of coffee or tea on us at LavAzza
- Take a quick demo and get a $25 gift card to see how personalized video can elevate student engagement and drive enrollment
- Book a 1:1 meeting with Tom Mikowski
- Attend our session, “New Trends in Personalized Videos: Revolutionizing Student Engagement with Inquiries, Admits & Fin Aid Offer,” on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 9:00 AM.
Connect with Allied Pixel at the AMA Symposium
We’re headed to the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Ed, to be held November 9-12 in National Harbor, MD. Find us at Booth 411, where video innovation meets personalization. Stop by for a selfie, score a $25 Amazon Gift Card, and experience a live demo showing how personalized video drives students through each step of the enrollment journey.
Welcome new clients!
And that’s a wrap. Have a project you’d like to discuss? Let’s schedule a call.
Best regards,
