Higher Education Case Study
B2C Brand Positioning/ Audience Segmentation
The Brand Challenge
How do you increase awareness, improve perception, and drive consideration in a highly competitive higher education landscape? A university was investing in marketing to reach prospective families but lacked clarity on what truly resonated.
While messaging highlighted affordability, academics, and campus experience, it was unclear which attributes actually influenced decision-making or how the university compared to competitors in the minds of parents and students.
Without this clarity, marketing efforts risked being spread across too many messages, limiting impact and slowing enrollment growth. So how does a university focus its positioning and move families from awareness to consideration faster?
The Approach
PortMA was brought in to uncover what drives college selection and where the university could win. We worked closely with internal stakeholders to understand current marketing efforts, priority audiences, and competitive dynamics. From there, we designed a structured research approach to:
- Identify key decision drivers among prospective families
- Measure brand awareness and perception
- Benchmark against competing institutions
- Pinpoint gaps between what families value and what they associate with the university
The goal was to provide clear, actionable direction on how to refine messaging and prioritize the right audiences.
The Research Strategy
The research focused on uncovering decision drivers, evaluating brand position, and identifying growth opportunities across key audience segments.
- Market Survey. We conducted approximately 400 interviews with parents of high school students across key geographic markets. Respondents were qualified as primary decision-makers for college-bound students and segmented by factors such as geography, income, and education; stage in the college decision process; and family composition and generational cohort. This segmentation enabled a detailed understanding of how priorities and perceptions vary across different audiences.
What Did We Learn?
- While cost remains important, its influence is evolving. Job placement outcomes emerged as an equally, if not more, powerful driver of consideration. Accelerated degree programs also increased significantly in importance, signaling a growing focus on efficiency and return on investment. Priorities also varied by decision stage. Early-stage families prioritized affordability, while mid- and late-stage families placed greater emphasis on outcomes such as job placement.
Brand Awareness and Competitive Assessment. We measured aided and unaided awareness, evaluated consideration sets, and assessed how the university performed against key attributes relative to competitors.
What Did We Learn?
- “Remote Learning” emerged as the clear leader, receiving 22 percent preference compared to 15 percent for the next closest option. More importantly, it drove the highest “Very Likely to Enroll” rate at 41 percent, significantly outperforming alternatives like “Live Classroom” and “Remote Classroom.”
- Qualitative Insight Analysis. Open-ended responses were analyzed to understand the emotional and functional meaning behind each name.
What Did We Learn?
Marketing efforts successfully increased brand awareness, particularly in high-opportunity regions. Messaging around job placement significantly improved both perception and likelihood to consider the university as a best fit.
However, gaps remained between what families prioritize, such as outcomes and efficiency, and what they currently associate with the university. This revealed clear opportunities for stronger and more focused positioning.
How the Results Were Used
The insights provided the university with a clear roadmap for refining its marketing strategy and accelerating enrollment performance.
- Messaging shifted to emphasize job placement outcomes, supported by affordability and accelerated programs
- Campaigns were aligned to specific audience segments and stages in the decision process
- High-performing regions were prioritized for deeper investment
As a result, the university achieved increased brand awareness across key markets, higher consideration as a best fit institution, and improved overall perception driven by more relevant messaging.
By aligning what families value most with how the university communicates, the marketing strategy became more focused, more efficient, and more effective at driving enrollment outcomes.