Leah Cumming Sarah Hurley

Janet Hung Xixi Ling

Table of Contents Executive Summary………………………..….....1Situation Analysis………………………………...2-6

Competitors………………………….......2Market Analysis……………………........3Key Findings……………………………..4Internal Analysis………………………....5SWOT……………………………………..6

Target Audience………..……………………..…7-10Study Abroad Service Agencies………..7Chinese Students………………………..8Audience Profiles……………….............9Profiles and Personas……………........10

Objectives………………………...…………..…..11Inbound Campaigns……………..……....…....12-16

Methodology and Strategy……………..12Blog, SEO, and Contents……………....13Landing Pages………………….…....14-15E-mail………………………………….....16

Social Media…………………………………….....17PR…………………………………...................18-20

International College Fair……………..18Seminars & Workshops in China……..19Study Abroad US CAmpus Tour……...20

International Internship Program……...............21-23

1

1Executive Summary

Emerson College is a higher learning institution that specializes in fostering the growth of creative young professionals. At Emerson, we are dedicated to bringing innovation to communication and the arts and preparing the next generation of young professionals to excel in their industries. Emerson College has a huge appreciation for global diversity and offers an environment that welcomes diverse perspectives and progressive ideas. Creating such an environment makes Emerson College a place where students can expand their own perspectives and gain understanding.

A diverse environment gives our students exposure to viewpoints/ways of thinking that allow them to expand their own perspectives and ultimately will provide them with a more holistic education thus enabling them to excel and contribute with opendedness in their industries while also bringing progressive thinking to their careers. As our world becomes increasingly globalized and interconnected we recognize the significance of the collaboration of various ideas to fuel progression & innovation.

Key Benefits: broaden diversity, broaden global network, foster the growth of globally and mobile students

2Situation Analysis

Boston University

● Prominent business program

● Central Boston Location

● 19% international student enrollment

Syracuse University

● Reputable communications school

● Located in Northeast● 11% international

student enrollment

● Urban location in New York City

● Well-known film school

● International locations● 15% international

student enrollment

● Reputable film & business programs

● 13% international student enrollment

● Reputable film program● Located in hub for

entertainment arts

University of Southern California

University of California Los AngelesNew York University

3Situation Analysis

R E G I O N A L

N A T I O N A L

SIZEThere are about 975,000

international students in that make up 4.8% of the overall

higher education student population in the U.S.

PROJECTED GROWTHLast academic school year

2014/2015 saw the highest rate of growth of the international student population in the U.S in 35 years

with a 10% increase in the number of international students

FIELD OF STUDY44% of international students are

pursuing degrees in fields related to Science, Technology, Engineering

& Math (STEM) while 46% of international students are in

non-STEM fields with about 10% in fields specified as “other/undecided”

-

SIZEMassachusetts has the 4th largest international student population of any state with

about 55,450

PROJECTED GROWTHThe 2014/2015 Academic school year saw about an 8.2% increase

in the international student population in Massachusetts.

FIELD OF STUDY73.4% of international students in Boston are

enrolled in non-STEM related degree programs vs. 26.6%

in STEM

4Situation Analysis

Foreign students are concentrated in metropolitan areas

Most of the international student population in the U.S.

comes from China● 85% of international college students in U.S. attend

colleges & universities in metropolitan areas (2014/2015)

● Boston has the 3rd largest international student population of any U.S. metropolitan area

● Around 304,040 or about 31.2% of the international students in the US are from China.

● Chinese students in Massachusetts account for the greatest percentage of the state’s international student population at about 32.4%

Massachusetts has the 4th largest international student population of all the United States

● Massachusetts has an international student population of about 55,450

● 73.4% of international students in Boston are enrolled in non-STEM related degree programs vs. 26.6% in STEM

● Chinese students in Massachusetts account for the greatest percentage of the state’s international student population at about 32.4%

The majority of international students in Boston are studying non-STEM* related fields

* science, technology, engineering, mathematics

5Situation Analysis

● Emerson College offers degree programs in highly focused areas of study such as Visual & Media arts, Marketing Communications, Theatre Arts, & Communications Disorders

● Emerson offers a variety of courses within each area of study allowing to tailor their academic experience to their desired field

○ Courses offered within the Marketing Communications program give students the opportunity to explore a variety of major concentrations such as Public Relations, Market Research & Analysis, Branding, Advertising, Business, Entrepreneurship and Creative Strategy.

○ Visual Media Arts program also offers a variety of major concentrations, such as Film and Video Productions, Animation, Comedy Art, TV Production, Writing for Film and Television, Post-Productions.

Academic Culture Key Benefits ● Specialized courses mean smaller class sizes giving

students a more personalized learning experience & opportunity to foster a learning relationship with professors with real life experience

● Emerson College is a creative-centric environment full of driven, young professionals strongly dedicated to their field. Being immersed in such an environment gives students the opportunity to collaborate, and learn from their peers while gaining valuable experience.

● Emerson has a hands-on “learn by doing” approach with a curriculum designed to train students for their future professions with work relevant to real-life application.

● Emerson campus is a hub for a variety of extracurricular activities that allow students to gain experience & knowledge outside the classroom.

6Situation Analysis

STRENGTHS● Highly focused areas of study● Opportunity for experience outside of classroom● Extensive network of professional

connections/resources● Collaborative environment● Liberal arts education● Smaller-sized classes allow for open

communication among students and professors● Located in urban Boston

WEAKNESSES● Low awareness among the international community● The term “college” confuses Chinese students as it

implicitly indicates an inferior educational institute unlike the term “university”

● Smaller campus space● Limited resources compared to larger universities● Lack of immersive international student organizations

OPPORTUNITIES● Differentiation and specialization of the existing

majors to compete with schools with similar programs

● Multiple teams and locations in different countries to deal with local international students

● Develops stronger network among international community and connect them with alumnus

● Positions Emerson as a career building school that prepares students for the real world

● co-op/internship program/network

THREATS● Low recognition● Comparable universities might be regarded as

superior based on mass rankings (specialized programs at Emerson makes it more difficult to find precise rankings)

● Seemingly narrow array of majors ● Smaller global network

7Target Audience

● Emerson College will work to gain recognition among chinese students.

● Emerson College will specifically seek to target prospective students interested in pursuing undergraduate degrees in business & management or the Creative Arts (film, production, sound design, cinematography, etc.)

● Students applying to colleges and universities in the US do so through an agent who handles all of the application affairs for them. Students tell their agents which schools they would like to apply to, and the agent does so on their behalf. It is also up to these agents to guide students decision by suggesting American schools based off a student’s interest or desired field of study/future career path.

● In order to garner an awareness and interest among chinese students, Emerson College must properly position itself in a way that clearly communicates the way Emerson can play a huge role in launching them towards a successful future.

Agencies*

U.SStudy

Abroad Service

CollegePrep

Seminars

Global Summer

Camp

College Fairs

8Target Audience

● The number of Chinese students studying abroad is growing rapidly, and Emerson College needs to target this huge market. In 2015 Fall, Emerson College already enrolled 100 Chinese freshman students. However, this is not enough.

● Right now, the most popular majors for Chinese students attending Emerson College are Film and Marketing Communications.

● In order to attract more Film and Marketing Communication students, Emerson will increase an awareness and build up the reputations in China.

● In the 2014/15 academic year, 304,040 students from China were studying in the United States (up 10.8% from the previous year).

● About 61% of Chinese international students are pursuing a degree unrelated to STEM versus about 39% in a STEM field of study.

9Target Audience

I recently graduated high school from The Shanghai International School in my home country, China. I have always pursued film and have a passion for visual storytelling. I have had the privilege of shooting all around Asia and want to extend my love for film at Emerson College. I think not only would Boston be a new and exciting city to live in, the College itself makes me feel part of a warm and welcoming community within a big city. I love the various courses that are offered for film students. If I am accepted to Emerson, I would love to merge my love of Asia and film by studying abroad at the new Beijing campus.

Last May I finished high school at the American School in Hong Kong. I have always loved marketing and business. I was the president of my school’s branding club. This past year I have been interning for Y&R in Singapore. Now, my plan is to continue learning all I can at Emerson College. I am very interested in all of the different classes at Emerson. I love how diverse the marketing program is and how it gives you a balance of business and creative strategy. If I get the chance to attend Emerson next Fall, I will take full advantage of all the wonderful things it has to offer.

10Profiles and Personas

Film StudentJabari Canada age 22, graduated in 2016, cinematography major and recent Emmy nominee spent his time at Emerson working on sets every weekend. “I could not feel more grateful to have met some of the most educated and talented people this early on. I am constantly inspired by my peers.” He will now be starting work with National Geographic and their film crew.

Marketing StudentXixi Ling age 21, started her freshman year at Emerson College as a Marketing Communications major and art history minor. She came from Beijing, China and says, “I could not feel more at home than I do at Emerson. She was welcomed right into the community and has adapted to the college. She was a part of the American Marketing Association and took advantage of Emerson’s study abroad programs. “I loved how business oriented the marketing program is here. It is very specific and there are so many great courses that have helped prepare me for life. My favorite class was, Entertainment Marketing that I took alongside my internship at the LA campus. I am so happy to be building my global network.”

11Objectives

● Increasing international population○ International students (Chinese):

■ To gain awareness & credibility among international students■ Ranking/ History/ Authority of the University

● Expanding global reach and awareness (increasing globally mobile students) ○ Study abroad agents:

■ To build up relationships with them in order to bring in more international(Chinese) students

● Expanding network○ Connect alumni○ “Fluid campus”/internship program--sending students from states to study/co-op abroad in China

& vice versa (growth of program potentially to result in Emerson owned campus in China)

12Inbound

Study Abroad Agents

Chinese Students pursuing a U.S.

degree

Prospective Emerson Students

Chinese Students Accepted to

Emerson

Emerson Students

A T T R A C T C O N N E C T E N G A G E D E L I G H T

-Email-Landing page

-SEO (Baidu search) -SEO (Youku search)-Social Media (WeChat

Profile Page)

-Landing Page (Chinese Student Association)

-Social Media (WeChat Group)

-Email (“welcome” from penpal)

-Landing Page (Internship search portal/career

network)

13Inbound

Blog (Emerson College International Student Blog)Emerson College International Student Blog will be managed by Emerson College. In the blog, there will be information about student life in Boston tailored for international students and videos about Emerson College embedded.Examples: Emerson Student Stories (current and graduated students), Events in Boston, Social Life in Boston, Food in Boston, Transportation in Boston, etc.Purpose: To provide international students with an abundance of information about studying abroad/in Boston and what Emerson can offer.

SEOKeywords will be used in our online platforms. When searching for videos and information about Emerson College, it is important that prospective international students are presented with the most informative and relevant content. Youku is a popular video hosting service in China, which is like the Chinese version of YouTube. And Baidu is a popular search engine in China, which is like the Chinese version of Google.

● Youku: Keywords: “Emerson College Tour”, “Emerson Campus Life”, “Surroundings of Emerson College”, “A Day of An Emersonian” ● Baidu: Keywords: “Studying in the US, “Communication School on the East Coast”, “Top Film School in the US”, “Communication School

Ranking”, “Communication School in Urban Area”, etc.Purpose: To optimize online platforms to gain traffic from prospective international Emerson Students.

ContentCreate informative videos to give a virtual tour of Emerson campus life to be shared across various platforms (tours of dorms, campus facilities, events in Boston, Social Life in Boston, Food in Boston, Transportation in Boston, etc.) A landing page that will act as a sort of “interactive digital brochure” will be created specifically for agents. Content will be organized into sections allowing agents to explore a wealth of Emerson content & information--such as “student stories”, Emerson tour videos, Emerson rankings, detailed information about student facilities/extracurriculars--to give them a general idea of the experience & opportunities Emerson College can provide their clientsPurpose: To attract international students and to make them interested in Boston and the college life at Emerson.

14Inbound

Accepted students enter email address & receive letter from Emerson “pen pal” to offer help & info to incoming Chinese students to help them adjust to life at emerson & in the U.S.

Call to action on homepage Accepted students are encouraged to scan QR code to access the official Emerson College WeChat group message

15Inbound

● Emerson College Chinese Student Association website is designed to help incoming Chinese students and current Chinese students to adjust to their new lives in America.

● The website offers services such as New Students Guidebook, New Students Information Session, Pen Pal Sign Up page, Boston city resources, Airport Pickup, New Student Registration on Wechat, and Email sign up.

● In addition, the website will update College News, share Emerson student culture. At the same time, Emerson College CSSA will upload campus video tour, dorm tour to help students visualize the life in Boston.

● Emerson CSSA also wants to help current Emerson Chinese students by creating apartment rental information, roommates searching information, and furnitures sale posts. This website will be very helpful for both incoming students and current students, and bring convenience for International students.

16Inbound

New Oriental Education

JJL Overseas Education Consulting

Sphinx International Art Education

Meiyi Education

Use Hubspot to launch Email campaign to study abroad service agencies in China

17Social Media

Wechat is an instant messaging social media service developed by Tencent, China. In order to target the Chinese market, Emerson College needs to create an wechat account to directly connect with prospective and incoming students.

We will set up an Emerson College Group Account, then we will email all accepted Chinese students to join the Wechat group by asking them to scan the QR code. After that, we will create weekly topics, and tips for new students in order to let them be prepared for their new lives in Boston.

At the same time, we will also create an Emerson College Wechat Profile page (blog) which will be accessible to prospective Chinese students as well. On the official Wechat profile for Emerson College, Chinese students can find information related to about to read the useful article, such as New Student guidebook, Emerson College 2016 group meeting info, and keep promoting Emerson Cultural.

Each article can be shared on the Wechat Moments, and other people can like or comments on the article. This will be very helpful to promote Emerson College.

18PR

Multiple international college fairs are held in China each year. The purpose of these events is for overseas schools to expand their presence in the world's potentially largest recruitment market---China. Over 600 overseas schools from about 40 countries and regions participate in the expo, and it attracts around 60,000 visitors across China.

● New Oriental Education

● China Education Expo (CEE)

Apart from information booths where visitors will be able to collect relevant information from representatives of the participating institutions, and study abroad presentations will be staged where students can find out more about study opportunities and scholarship programs. Examples of students’ work will also be on display as well. On the other hand, students can get information about the countries and cities of the attending schools to understand how it is to start a new life there.

This is an efficient way to attract students in a huge market such as China. We can send representatives to attend college fairs to promote the school. Through the information booths and presentations, Emerson College can increase awareness.

19PR

Sphinx International Art Education (SFK) is one of the largest innovative art education institution in China, which specializes in international art education, art portfolio training and oversea art study planning.

Each year, SFK invites professors from art schools around the world to do workshops or seminars for the students who are interested in art or planning on studying abroad.

During the professor's’ time in China, they will be able to present and share implementation of art and to introduce SFK students and faculty to recent developments of the schools they represent.

This is a great chance for Emerson College to collaborate with institutions such as SFK to educate students with art knowledge and most importantly, to attract their attentions to become prospective students.

20PR

Study abroad service agencies in China, such as New Oriental Education, offer study abroad campus tours for Chinese students to experience and explore education in the US.

Agencies hire a Chinese guide and an English-Speaking guide to lead the tour. The tour will be around ten days. During the tour, students will be taking classes in local US colleges or language institutions to improve their speaking, writing, reading, and listening skills in English.

Besides the education aspect of increasing English skills, the tour is mainly targeting the students who are planning on studying abroad. Agencies partner with local US universities and colleges and show participants around campus.

Currently, the agencies seem to only arrange campus tours for the prestigious schools, such as Harvard and MIT. However, Emerson College can reach out to the agencies and partner with them in order to have the opportunities to show the students around our campus and to raise their interests.

21PR

Emerson Beijing program- Communication University of China

This internship program will be a perfect opportunity for Emerson students to explore Chinese culture through taking classes in China. Same as LA Program, Emerson students will take 12 credits of classes, and 4 credits for internships. This will be very helpful to students who want to try different lifestyle and want to work in somewhere else other than America.

The program will be located at Communication University of China, which is a well known university that focuses on radio, television, film, network and new media communication study in China. The school has more than 15,000 full-time students, and is devoted to the cultivation of high-level talent. Emerson students will live in CUC’s International Exchange Center, a Western-style residential facility housing international students. They will take courses in English and complete a class in Mandarin.

For the internship program, students will have opportunities to work in the top companies in China from Marketing Agency to Film companies. Emerson will reach out to Emerson Alumni in China in order to provide perfect opportunities for Emerson students.

22PR

Emerson Alumni will refer or offer current students internship opportunities during the program. The opportunities might include Volkswagen, Weber Shandwick, IQubator Fashion, Sony China, Paramount China, and Disney. This will create a perfect brand image for Emerson College by word of mouth, and Emerson College’s reputation will increase from our Emerson Interns.

23Inbound

This landing page is designed to target current Emerson students who are interested in study abroad in Beijing, China. This landing page will be directly sent to all Emerson students’ Email account. Once students clicked the landing page, Emerson can check the traffic on the website, that will test how many students are interested in the Emerson Beijing program.

Once students sign up on the Email list, Emerson will send more information about the program and directly target these students.

The website can also direct the users to Emerson China’s Social Media account, this will be very helpful for students to have a better understanding on the program as a whole.