Challenge: Break through the academic mail clutter to connect with students accepted to Gonzaga, who may or may not have accepted their place.

The “Yield” phase—the period between a student being accepted and them actually enrolling—is the most competitive part of the higher education lifecycle. The admissions office asked faculty to write notes to the accepted students, and provided standard white note cards in envelopes. In a sea of admissions mail, those went unopened or felt generic.

Strategy: I proposed that faculty write their notes on a postcard. Without the barrier of an envelope, the student and family would instantly see colorful images displaying the Gonzaga engineering experience, plus the handwritten, personal message from a future instructor.

• Visual Storytelling: Action photography of current students engaged in hands-on coursework let future students imagine themselves in their place.
• Brand Messaging: The “Where You Belong” theme emphasized community, one reason students polled said they liked the institution – a smaller liberal-arts university.
• Audience Engagement: Each card backside asked, “What are you excited to learn about?” followed by specialty areas associated with the student’s stated major. Undeclared students received a more generic card listing all of the degree programs. These
• Executive Coaching: Receiving a current list of specialty areas within each degree program required in-depth discussion and negotiation with academic leadership to identify the keywords that would specifically connect with students.

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