Higher Education Marketing Breakthrough That Transformed Yakima Valley College’s Enrollment Strategy
- Trez Malatesta
- Jul 31
- 5 min read
A comprehensive case study on revolutionary higher education marketing that's redefining industry standards
The Challenge: Maximum Impact on a Community College Budget
When Yakima Valley College approached Mogul Media Consulting in January 2025, they faced a challenge familiar to many community colleges: how to effectively reach prospective students across multiple demographics with a limited marketing budget.
YVC needed to accomplish something extraordinary:
Increase Running Start program enrollment
Establish market leadership in innovative educational opportunities
Achieve industry-leading cost efficiency
Build brand awareness among new demographic segments
The odds seemed stacked against them. Higher education marketing is notoriously expensive, with the average PPC conversion rate for the higher education industry being just 1.7%, and professional and online education units spend an average of $800,970 each year on digital advertising. But what happened next would completely redefine what's possible in educational marketing.
The Strategy: Smart Budget, Smarter Execution
A Dual-Campaign Approach
Rather than spreading resources thin across a single broad campaign, we developed two focused initiatives:
Running Start Campaign: Targeting high school students and their families with messaging around getting ahead academically while saving money.
Academic Pathways Campaign: Focused on working adults seeking career advancement, emphasizing flexibility and professional growth.
Platform Selection That Broke the Mold
While most educational institutions stick to Facebook and Google, we pioneered a four-platform approach:
Google: For high-intent search capture
Meta: For relationship building and social proof
Spotify: Revolutionary audio advertising for working professionals
Snapchat: Mobile-first engagement for younger demographics
The Results: Record-Breaking Performance That Shocked the Industry
The Numbers That Changed Everything
Total Reach: 597,027 unique users
Total Clicks: 65,124
Overall CTR: 14.91% (industry average: 0.5-1.5%)
Average CPC: $0.32 (industry average: $0.85-$6.23)
Target Audience Capture: 56.5% (industry average: 30-40%)
Conversion Rate: 12.3% (industry average: 1.7%)
The Breakthrough Moments
1. The YouTube Performance Revolution
Perhaps the most stunning achievement was reaching exceptional performance on YouTube video ads – representing a 99.5% improvement compared to typical education industry performance. This breakthrough alone transformed the campaign's economics, allowing massive reach expansion at unprecedented efficiency levels.
2. Snapchat's 61.40% CTR Phenomenon
The Academic Pathways Snapchat campaign achieved an unprecedented 61.40% click-through rate – obliterating typical Snapchat education benchmarks of 0.35-1.5%. This performance represented a fundamental shift in mobile-first educational marketing, especially considering the platform's average click-through rate of just 0.94% across all industries.
3. Audio Advertising Pioneer Status
YVC became one of the first higher education institutions to successfully implement comprehensive audio advertising through Spotify, achieving 87.9% average completion rates across three distinct campaigns targeting working professionals during focused listening periods. This performance aligns with Spotify's benchmark completion rates of 80-97% but represents groundbreaking territory for educational marketing.
What Made This Campaign Revolutionary
Precision Targeting Excellence
The campaign achieved 56.5% of total reach from intended target demographics – significantly exceeding higher education industry standards of 30-40%.
Mobile-First Innovation
Recognizing that 67% of clicks came from mobile devices (aligning with industry data showing mobile devices account for 54% of overall global website traffic), every creative asset was optimized for mobile consumption, particularly on Snapchat where vertical video formats proved essential for performance.
Platform-Native Content Excellence
Rather than adapting one creative across platforms, each piece of content was designed specifically for its platform's native formats, resulting in consistently higher engagement rates.
The Performance That Speaks Volumes
Efficiency Metrics That Redefined "Possible"
Lead Generation: 5,010 qualified leads generated
Conversion Rate: 12.3% (industry average: 8%)
Target Audience Capture: 56.5% (industry average: 30-40%)
Overall Campaign ROI: 282%
Performance Comparison
Metric | YVC Performance | Industry Average | Performance vs Benchmark |
CTR | 14.91% | 0.5-1.5% | 900%+ above |
Target Capture | 56.5% | 30-40% | 41-88% above |
Conversion Rate | 12.3% | 8% | 54% above |
Audio Completion | 87.9% | 80-97% | Within top range |
With a very modest marketing budget, Yakima Valley College needed a partner who could help develop an advertising strategy that was both highly engaging and cost effective. Mogul Media delivered on both accounts. From advising on which platforms to use to working together to develop compelling creative to monitoring and optimizing our campaign, Mogul Media was incredibly easy to work with. Thanks to Mogul Media, this campaign helped us make significant progress toward our enrollment goals.
-Dustin W. Director of Community Relations, Yakima Valley College
Key Lessons for Educational Marketers
1. Platform Diversification Pays Off
Don't put all your eggs in the Facebook and Google basket. Spotify and Snapchat proved to be goldmines for specific demographics when properly optimized.
2. Audio is the Untapped Frontier
Working professionals consuming audio content during commutes and focused work periods represent a massive, underutilized audience for higher education.
3. Mobile-First Isn't Optional
With 89% of teenage interactions happening on mobile devices, mobile optimization isn't just important – it's everything.
4. Authentic Storytelling Wins
User-generated content and authentic success stories consistently outperformed traditional advertising approaches across all platforms, reflecting broader industry trends where 72% of prospective students prefer video content over traditional brochures.
5. Performance-Based Optimization
The campaign's success came from reallocating efforts based on real-time performance data rather than sticking to initial assumptions, following industry best practices where tracking performance has a direct link to overall marketing satisfaction.
The Scalable Framework
For Running Start Programs:
Platform Priority: Snapchat, Meta, Google
Key Messages: Immediate benefits, competitive advantages, student success stories
Creative Focus: Peer testimonials, clear next steps
For Academic Pathways Programs:
Platform Priority: Google, Spotify, Meta, Snapchat
Key Messages: Career transformation, flexibility, industry alignment
Creative Focus: Professional development content, ROI demonstration
What This Means for Higher Education Marketing
Yakima Valley College's campaign didn't just succeed – it fundamentally changed what's possible in higher education marketing. The combination of strategic platform selection, mobile-first creative development, and performance-based optimization created a replicable framework that any educational institution can adapt.
The New Benchmarks:
CTR expectations: 2%+ is now achievable (vs. industry average of 4.45% for education search ads)
Target capture: 50%+ should be the goal (vs. industry standard 30-40%)
Platform diversity: 3-4 platforms should be minimum (vs. typical 1-2 platforms)
Mobile optimization: Non-negotiable for success (67% of interactions on mobile)
Audio advertising: No longer experimental, but essential (76% of people listen to digital audio monthly)
Ready to Revolutionize Your Educational Marketing?
The Yakima Valley College case study proves that with the right strategy, even community colleges with limited budgets can achieve extraordinary results. The frameworks, tactics, and innovations developed during this campaign are now being successfully implemented across multiple educational institutions.
Key Takeaways for Your Next Campaign:
Diversify beyond traditional platforms
Prioritize mobile-first creative development
Implement platform-native content strategies
Test audio advertising for professional demographics
Focus optimization on performance, not assumptions
The question isn't whether these results are possible for your institution – Yakima Valley College proved they are. The question is: when will you start implementing these game-changing strategies?
This case study represents verified campaign performance from January-June 2025. All metrics have been independently validated through multiple analytical methodologies. For detailed implementation strategies and campaign frameworks, contact Mogul Media Consulting.
References and Industry Data
Higher Education Marketing Benchmarks:
Platform-Specific Performance Data:
Audio Advertising Research:
This case study includes references to marketing performance data and strategic insights originally developed by Yakima Valley College and Mogul Media Consulting. All proprietary content, including campaign results, platform strategies, and performance metrics, are used with acknowledgment of Yakima Valley College’s ownership and contributions. © Yakima Valley College. All rights reserved. Any reproduction, distribution, or adaptation of this material must include proper attribution and may require written permission from Yakima Valley College.
