Power Couple Research and Career Education Gustavo Chamorro Tony Teng Alana Villemez LAOCRC Orange County Director Dean of Advanced Technology and Director of Communications Applied Science Interact Communications Saddleback College Introductions Power Couples We Know Setting the Tone Marketing Project Objectives

Short and long term strategies that leverage other regional initiatives

Create Public Awareness Attract Interest Determining audience Direct to OC colleges Informational mindset Tell our story Setting the stage Catch their attention Counselors Want to know more… Creative information CE Point of Contact Light a fire Get them enrolled Get them completed Get them employed

AT Regional Collaboration

OC Talent Ed

OC College OC College Regional contact/ Marketing Application enrollment OC Future BUILT Site CCCCO Marketing and Re-Branding Campaign

General focus Sector focus Recognition Closing the deal

GC A Brand Built on Identity • The “best self” of the Orange County Career Education programs

• The perception of the Orange County Career Education programs in the minds of the public

• It is the link between how the Orange County Career Education programs are perceived now… and how you want them to be perceived in the future BRAND: WHAT IT IS WHY A BRAND?

A strong brand creates, maintains, or extends:

• A strong sense of purpose, of identity and of expectation with the public • An emotional “bank account” • A leadership position in the battle for students and funding

Branded Career Education programs are significantly more likely to be the programs of choice and are more resistant to competition. CAUSE BRAND CAUSE • Based on real or once-real attributes • Based on sustained aspirations of faculty/staff & EFFECT • Based on fulfilled expectations of students

EFFECT • Coherent perception • Consistent perception • Strongly held perception • LEARNED perception • Rational and emotional BRAND: WHAT IT IS NOT

• It is NOT a new “theme” or tagline

• It is NOT disposable

• It is NOT shifting

• It is NOT “The Emperor’s New Clothes” PART TWO: PROCESS • Uncover a brand for Orange County Career Education that differentiates it from competitors

• Position Orange County Career Education as a leader in California

• Uncover a brand that unifies all of your colleges under a single umbrella

• It must represent what Orange County Career Education is to all audiences: students, lifelong learners, parents, the community, and business, as well as graduates, faculty and staff

RESEARCH GOALS BRAND PROCESS ATTRIBUTE DISCOVERY: PHASE 1 QUALITATIVE

5 Attribute Discovery Focus Groups - Location 1 VIPs – Coastline Community College 1 Current Students – Santiago Canyon College 1 High School Students – San Clemente High School 1 High School Counselors – Orange County Department of Education 1 Business and Industry Leaders – Rancho Santiago District Office

Online Faculty/Staff Survey All Colleges ATTRIBUTE TESTING: PHASE 2 QUANTITATIVE

Attribute Test 500 Community Members Via Phone Survey Distributed Over Orange County Community Colleges’ Areas BRAND TESTING: PHASE 3 QUALITATITVE

4 Brand Testing Focus Groups - Location 1 Current Students – Fullerton College 1 High School Students – Beckman High School 1 VIPs – North Orange County Continuing Education 1 Business and Industry Leaders – Saddleback College DEVELOP ATTRIBUTES

• Themes and Ideas Discovered in Focus Groups • Program Diversity and Quality • Collaboration • Options and Opportunities • People and Resources • Future Success • Create a brand statement & campaign INTEGRATE slogan that “rings true”

FINDINGS: • Create a statement that targets both beliefs PHASE 4 (logical) and wants (emotional) CREATIVE • Create a statement that will work with your diverse audiences TESTED STATEMENTS

Orange County Career Education Brand Test Part 1 Ranking Chosen Brand Concepts By Overall Audience (Mean Rating = 4.246) Mean Rating 1-6 scale Overall Rank Statement (>3.500 = positive) 1st Unlimited Opportunities 5.007 2nd Own Your Tomorrow Today 4.922 3rd Craft Your Path 4.793 4th Find Your Power 4.747 5th Focused Education 4.516 6th Futures Now 4.154 7th Better Together 4.110 8th Find Your Fire 4.008 9th Select. Start. 3.896 10th Orange County Strong 3.804 11th OC Connected 3.669 12th Work It 3.325 HIGHEST RATED: • Unlimited Opportunities • TEST Own Your Tomorrow Today • STATEMENTS Craft Your Path • Find Your Power • Focused Education ORANGE COUNTY CAREER EDUCATION BRAND OC CAREER EDUCATION BRAND

• The research led us to a brand concept that stands on a organic identity about Orange County Career Education, as perceived by your communities

• The research showcased your colleges’ claim to the future of the region’s workforce and economy.

• The result is a brand concept that represents both how Orange County Career Education is perceived by internal and external stakeholders, and how it wants to be perceived, into the future. THE AUDIENCES

• Potential Students –Pathway to the Careers of Tier 1 Today and Tomorrow PERSONAL • Families – Career Education that Builds a Foundation for your Family’s Future

Tier 2 • Communities – Focused on Critical Needs of the SOCIETAL Economy and Workforce • Business and Industry – Comprehensive, Relevant and Responsive to Local Needs

Tier 3 • Leadership – An Engine for Economic Growth GOVERNMENTAL • Regional – A Resource for Socioeconomic Progress OC CAREER EDUCATION BRAND

Top Attribute “Areas”

• Real Skills – Work, Focused, Industry-Driven, Strong, Guided Careers, Future Focused

• Agency – Find, “Your”, Craft, Own, Choose, Empowerment

• Welcoming/Accepting – Connected, Better Together, Community Vibe

• Urgency – Fast, Focused, Start Now, Tomorrow. Today., Select. Start.

”Future” serves as the inspirational/aspirational half of Orange County Career Education’s story, and a direct reminder of the role that Career Education will play in the region’s evolving economy.

Meanwhile, “BUILT” conveys the hands-on aspect of Career Education and grounds your programs in the real world, which distinguishes Career Education from traditional education and transfer pathways. Why It Works

It’s pithy, punchy, memorable, versatile, and directly inspired by concepts and messaging important to Orange County Career Education stakeholders.

As an all-purpose wordmark, “Future BUILT” conveys both cutting-edge technology and learning by doing, holding appeal and relevance for all possible target audiences, from prospects, to business leaders, to internal stakeholders, and beyond.

SAMPLE ADS SAMPLE ADS Building a Regional Career Education Identity to Boost Awareness and Drive Enrollments

In addition to the creation of the award-winning Future BUILT regional career education brand and website, over 400 pieces of digital and print collateral have been developed to drive awareness and boost enrollment. Centralized coordination of these efforts has improved effectiveness by creating consistency and accountability, eliminating competition between colleges, and alleviating the burden of related responsibilities and workload.

55+ Million 1,381,502 Impressions Video views (traditional + digital)

402,450 15,530 FutureBUILT.org FutureBUILT.org website visits “apply” clicks Building Career Education...Online

By financially supporting the development of college-specific career education websites, the regional Strong Workforce Program has directly improved the ability of participating colleges to recruit and convert prospective students.

Cypress College CTE Enrollments +3.57 % from 17-18 to 18-19 Academic Year Building the Infrastructure for Continued Success

Regional Strong Workforce Program marketing funds supported academic and regional workforce development projects like these and many more! • Regional Future BUILT Career Education Brand • Regional FutureBUILT.org Website and News Center • Orange County Center of Excellence & Research Analyst • ProgramFinder Regional Career Education Program Mapping Tool • PursuitWise Virtual Career Counseling Services • OC Career Café Student Success Tools United over • 700 K-12 and Talent Ed Student Journey to Employment community • Advanced Manufacturing Month college • Orange County’s 1st Community College Career Expo counselors • Free LinkedIn Learning and Portfolium Access annually. • Orange County Community Colleges Career Education Campaigns and Websites • K-12 Counselor Symposium • Orange County Economic Outlook Partnership with Orange County Business Council • Research (Media Preferences; Intake Reviews; Secret Shopper; Economic Impact Report; Business Community Attitudes Survey) • COVID-19 Resources Brand Impact • Brand to Identity to Logo • Served as a regional “rally point” • The basis brand for all career education in Orange County • United faculty, staff, regional directors, PIOs, Deans, and students!

Determining audience Informational mindset Create Public Awareness Setting the stage Want to know more…

Tell our story Catch their attention Attract Interest Creative information Light a fire

Counselors CE Point of Contact Direct to OC colleges Get them enrolled Get them completed Get them employed Making Data Informed Decisions Brand + Media = Awareness

• Can segment responses by demographic data • Region-wide data will inform our regional approach to media buying & communications • Each college will have its own log-in to access its own data • Will help also with retention and communication to current students Colleges Student Responses 2018 Media Prefs Coastline College 206 Cypress College 1,122 Fullerton College 652 Golden West College 198 College Responses Irvine Valley College 498 North Orange CE 422 Orange Coast College 554 Saddleback College 1,010 More than 200 questions Across all Orange County Santa Ana College 712 colleges, 6,063 community college students participated in Santiago Canyon College 624 the survey 2019 Media Prefs Colleges Student Responses Coastline College 158 Cypress College 321 Fullerton College 476 College Responses Golden West College 6 Irvine Valley College 876 Saddleback College 834 Santa Ana College 136 2018 Custom Questions

How often did your high school guidance counselor talk to you about Career Education and/or attending college? Reaching High School Counselors

• Built awareness with career education counselors • K-12 Counselor Symposium 2019 Custom Questions

How often did your high school guidance counselor (or staff) talk to you about attending community college? 2019 Custom Question

How often did your high school guidance counselor (or staff) talk to you about a Career Education? 2019 Custom Questions

How did you learn about your community college? 2019 Custom Questions

Who most influenced the decision to attend your community college? Influencer Campaigns

• PeachJar Flyers • Program Finder WHERE DOES IT GO FROM HERE? Moving Through the Funnel Enrollment Pipeline Intake Process Review Research. A.K.A Secret Shopper Research

• Orange County Career Education hired Interact Communications to discover how the first impressions of a prospective student vary between their 10 respective colleges and 7 non-credit facilities.

• To accomplish this, Interact Communications conducted intake process reviews of each facility, with an Interact researcher posing as a prospective student attempting to acquire information through various entry points. 10 Orange County Community Colleges Coastline College Cypress College Fullerton College Golden West College Irvine Valley College Institutions North Orange Continuing Education Reviewed Orange Coast College Saddleback College Santa Ana College Santiago Canyon College Institutions Reviewed

7 Non-Credit Institutions – Location (Campus/Building)

Coastline College – Adult Education Office (Westminster Campus Le-Jao Center)

Golden West College – Student Services Center (Admissions & Records)

Irvine Valley College – Community Education (Office of Extended Education)

Orange Coast College – Adult Education Office (Classroom & Labs)

Saddleback College – Adult Education (San Juan Capistrano or Mission Viejo)

Santa Ana College – Centennial Education Center

Santiago Canyon College – Orange Education Center (Administration Office) First Impressions First Impressions

• Campus Parking was …difficult. • Student Services was available to help provide information and direct students • College Websites are difficult to navigate and did not include translation • Campus collateral is primarily in English and did not offer translation Potential Student Experiences

• Easy to reach the college by phone • Phone Reps were friendly and outgoing J • Some colleges re-routed to voicemail during business hours. • College reps were able to give helpful information to the caller. • Voicemails reached were English-only. Limited translation available. • Printed Materials were not available to mail to prospective student Recommendations

• Customer Service, Customer Service, Customer Service • Don’t lose student inquiries. • Make contacting the college easily accessible on the web and anywhere else • Create a plan for reaching students who are non-English speaking or limited English speaking. Campaign and College Updates • Spanish and Vietnamese Collateral • Colleges focused on providing translation services • Phone Tree and Phone Number system and inquiries Colleges took data and were able to make specific recommendations for changes Secret Shopper Marketing can get you in the door, but conversion can be a different Changes story.

The enrollment pipeline is longer than what we thought…and there are hidden barriers to conversion Data Goals Center of Excellence

• Provides Regional Workforce Research • Used to promote Internal Marketing Efforts • Showing the impact of career ed marketing Building the Future of OC Career Education, Together

After several years of falling community college enrollments across the region, the Orange County Regional Strong Workforce Program stepped in with a multi-tiered marketing effort that in a span of three years has not only stopped the decline but helped increase Career Technical Education FTEs across the region.

CTE Enrollment is UP! Annual Percentage Change (CTE)

Credit CTE Enrollment Trends 20.00% (Fall 2017–Fall 2019) 15.00% CTE Enrollment +4.34% -4.16% 10.00% CTE FTE CTE enrollment Non-CTE enrollment decrease 5.00% CTE Enrollment increase Moving Average Percentage 0.00% Noncredit CTE Enrollment Trends CTE FTE (Fall 2017–Fall 2019) Moving Average Change Change -5.00%

-10.00% +13.05% -2.74% CTE enrollment Non-CTE enrollment decrease -15.00% The average is calculated using 2 points increase 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 Academic Year Start of SWP Marketing Source: CCCCO Data Mart, March 26, 2020. Orange County Center of Excellence, May 22, 2020 Building the Future of OC Career Education, Together

Annual CTE Enrollment Numbers Annual CTE FTE Numbers Change Change 144000 144000 142000 142000 140000 140000 Total CTE 138000 Enrollment 138000 Total CTE FTE Numbers Numbers 136000 136000 Enrollment FTE 134000 Moving Average 134000 Moving Average

CTE Enrollment Numbers CTE Enrollment 132000 132000 CTE Enrollment Numbers CTE Enrollment 130000 130000

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 Academic Year Academic Year

Start of SWP Marketing Start of SWP Marketing Continued Evaluation The Buck doesn’t New Research: Orange County COVID-19 stop here… Business Survey A Cycle of Research

Setting the Tone

Using Data to Inform Decision Making

Moving Through the Funnel

Data Goals

Continued Evaluation Data and Research will reveal problems and solutions.

A researched and strategic Key approach WILL work. Takeaways Research gives colleges and the region a foundation to make decisions and propel a campaign forward.

Research will drive the collaboration of many to achieve a unified goal. Questions?