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Case Study
Universal Technical Institute
Universal Technical Institute, a technical education leader, saw enrollment slipping. The answer wasn’t outreach — it had to be smarter. They joined with IMM to shape a hyperlocal, campus-first pilot program to reach students right in their own backyard.
Universal Technical Institute had national recognition and reach. But with declining post-secondary enrollments impacting all skilled trades, outreach wasn’t enough. They needed to go hyperlocal to win at the campus level.
IMM engineered a pilot program to drive high-intent inquiries within 50 miles of three campuses. Using program-specific strategies and geolocalized behavioral data, we targeted students most likely to inquire, enroll, and start.
We launched an omnichannel ecosystem across search, video, social, display, direct mail, and hyperlocal landing pages targeted by program, by campus to place Universal Technical Institute everywhere future students were.
Across all three pilot campuses, inquiry-to-enroll rates blew away benchmarks set by Universal Technical Institute’s historic outreach—with 2x faster enrollment.
The pilot outperformed Universal Technical Institute's national campaigns, boosting engagement by 160% — proving that hyperlocal focus by campus or program intent doesn't just ignite action, it drives growth from click to campus.
inquiries within 50 milesworkable lead ratehigher inquiry-to-enroll rateoverall conversion rate
Behavioral insights shaped it all — from messaging that landed to experiences that clicked. We built creative that didn’t just speak to future students but made every interaction personal and relevant.
The Gen Do, We Need You platform gave each campus a distinct voice while keeping the brand unified — becoming a rallying cry for the next gen of doers, tailored by where students live and the in-demand careers they were chasing.
Universal Technical Institute’s shift to a campus-first focus demanded UX to match. We moved away from one-size-fits-all tactics, designing campus and program specific experiences that reflected the reality of each local market.
To make it sticky, we built over 24 landing pages tailored by program, by campus to guide students from curiosity to enrollment. Dynamic content, immersive storytelling, and progressive lead capture worked to convert from the first click.
The mission? Own the market. Reaching students meant nothing if media wasn't built to move them. We went beyond the usual suspects — shifting from broad targeting to behavior + intent-based signals to find students already leaning in.
Search and social sparked intent, display and video fueled it, direct mail and out-of-home made it impossible to ignore — proving that intent-driven media closes the gap between curiosity and campus faster than anyone expected.
