https://youtu.be/u5i1EPuygd8

Transcript of video

“They say your college years are the best years of your life. We all have different backgrounds…a different story. For some of us “best years of your life” might seem intimidating, scary, or difficult… especially during those first few weeks. Doesn’t everyone deserve the opportunity to feel confident, excited, happy to start their journey? Let our sponsors help you with Inprocessing to the school, show you all the resources your school offers, restaurants that serve your favorite food for fraction of the price, where to take a nap during those gaps in between classes, introduce you to clubs and friends, show you opportunities for jobs, sports, or just some places related to your hobbies.

 

Campus connection was made to be an easy way to assist colleges by providing them with a program that gives transfer students, international students, and incoming freshmen personal attention by giving them the option to choose who they want to lead them in the right direction. The Campus connection website is here to lend a helping hand so that they can start their academic journey on the right foot. Through the website, after you verify your .edu account, and select what language you prefer to read, you can select any one of the experienced and trusted campus connection sponsors that fit your specific preferences, to guide you along your journey. After you choose the sponsor and the dates, they will meet you on the first day and show you around not just the campus, but to answer any questions that you might have.

 

Campus Connection tried reaching out to the big sibs program at Baruch, an organization that provides a similar service, but even after a couple of months of waiting, we have yet to get a response. The international student center admitted to being understaffed to cater to the needs of individual students, and thus international students are given generalized packages so that they may figure things out on their own. After interviewing representatives from Baruch College, the fact of the matter is that there are too many students to provide personal attention for their specific needs. We understand that colleges have to provide orientations in large groups, on certain days, with everyone getting the same information. And that’s okay, but students also need a more personalized experience. Colleges do attempt to have organizations or clubs to help mitigate this problem, but the different college to college resources may not be enough to reach out to new incoming students, and may not be easy to get in contact with. 

 

We ran ads on Snapchat and Facebook to gauge our community. Between the two platforms, we reached close to 30,000 impressions and got back 36 clicks and 97 swipe ups, not bad for our first ad, but going forward we want to reach out to specific demographics using ads that are more targeted toward international students, transfer students, and freshmen to see who finds the most value. Next time, we’ll remember to add a call to action email bar to help Campus connection see how many people subscribed to know more about it. So what do you think? Our one on one sponsors helps students feel confident about their new environment, for however long they need, in whatever language they prefer. Choose the sponsor that’s right for you, and feel excited to start the best years of your life.”

 

 

 

The overall goal of the MVP was to gauge what demographics found the most value in my product Campus Connection Service, and receive any feedback toward improving my venture. But before I sent out my ads on snapchat and facebook, I knew I wanted to make the changes that were suggested by my classmates. I changed my landing page to fit a cleaner, simpler feel for the audience. I fixed the sponsor typo, I reduced the images from four to one, I gave the landing page a simpler background, I eliminated the “about us” tab and fit it onto the landing page, I added the word experience to our tagline, and finally, I changed my service name from ScoopU to the Campus Connection. I felt that the new name change gave the business a new identity, one that is more geared toward taking a serious stance toward helping non traditional students.

I am glad that I did keep some extra tabs on the landing page, (I was suggested to make it fit all on one page” because it helped determine Campus Connections interest through its bounce rate by seeing if users were interested enough they would click on other pages to learn more about the site. As for my metrics for my ads, I used very similar categories to determine if Campus Connection sparked the interest I thought would entice certain demographics. The age range I selected for both platforms was 17-24 years old, Interests in “college, university, volunteer/service, freshman (both did not have a category for transfer students), international students, and high school students”. I confined both geographical areas to mainly the United States, and targeted toward both genders. My Snapchat goal was for Swipe-ups (S/U) and for facebook was traffic.   

 

My Predictions:

My hypothesis from snapchat were pretty general theories that i would receive heavy amounts of traffic and a smaller percentage of clicks primarily from late teens i.e 18 or 19 years olds, that were females and international students. I thought that my Campus Connection service would be saturated in main metropolitan areas due to the fact that commuter schools are usually associated with more options, resources, and fast paced living which would require the need for sponsors to ease some of the stresses that could resolve that high level of saturation that come with city colleges.

 

What I got wrong:

I was surprised by some of the results I received from both platforms. First off, Males were the predominant gender interested in the promotion. Secondly, my prediction of high traffic coming from populated cities was incorrect. Most of my traffic came from Georgia and Texas. What this means is that perhaps more research on my part needs to be done to ascertain why these geographic areas demand this service more than metropolitan areas. Perhaps I need to test hypotheses surrounded around certain Universities with larger spread out campuses and emphasises on specialization around college sport teams or unique majors.

  

What I got right:  

My predictions on Campus Connections age range being geared toward a younger demographic and focused on high schoolers that were incoming freshman, was spot on. 

 

What I would have done differently:

Although I feel pretty secure about CC value for high school students entering college for the first time, I didn’t get much information from incoming students and transfer students. The transfer students demographic was neglected mostly because the category “transfer student” was not a category on either platform. However, for the category section, I could have added “Collegiates” and more family orientated sectors such as “moms”, “dads”, “moms of students”, “dads of students”, “Parents”, and related categories. This was actually an idea brought to me during a conversation I had with a snapchat representative from their California headquarters. For more information on the advice I had from talking to her, click here. I also would have made separate ads, one targeted to international students and for transfer students. For international students, I would have increased my geographic reach to further than just the U.S, especially considering that I restricted both snapchat and facebook to just the U.S, and I received small indications of interest in India and Ireland. 

 

Conclusion:

Overall I still think that Campus Connection still holds a lot of value for its customers, but I would need to definitely need to segment and realize my value proposition to better analyze results from the metrics I get from different platforms. I will admit that although i found this particular assignment one of the most intimidating so far, I believe that in all of my academic career, I have found it the most rewarding. The ability to gauge a venture or idea by using ad manager platforms, is something that is accessible to everyone and yet not many people I know who are business majors know about it. As an associate starting a new position in Ad Sales and marketing in July, I would have felt at a huge disadvantage if I did not know about the advantages provided by these platforms. I want to learn more about these marketing capabilities to see how constructive they have been for former small businesses that have become well known successes today.

Snapchat Ad Experience and Metrics

I ran the ad attached below on ad.snapchat.com 

I used Canva.com and used one of their preset snapchat templates to modify my original ad to fit the parameters that best suit a snapchat vertical ad. I ran the ad for 5 days starting on April 20th, ending on April 25th, with a total budget of $30 thus allowing $6 a day of promotion. Snap chat provides three categories of results 1) Paid impressions 2) Swipe Ups and 3) amount spent. For the purposes of this project, I am omitting the amount spent as I feel its not relevant for the purpose of this project

Overall, I found a lot of enjoyment using the snapchat ad manager platform, and was really surprised to see how user friendly it was to someone trying this platform out for the first time, the level of intricacy it gives the user to promote content as well as the excellent feedback results it provides the user.  

Snapchat Ad Manager

Paid impressions

Total paid impressions 21,520

 

Age 13-17

Males: 13,841 paid impressions (64.3%)

Females: 7,679 paid impressions (35.7%)

 

Top interests

1. Sports fans 21,211 99%
2. High Schoolers 20,930 97%
3. Basketball fans 18,410 86%

 

Fails: 

<1% for parents and family focused, 

14% for collegiates, 

 

Top devices 

IOS 14,484 paid impressions 67.3%

Android 7,046 paid impressions 32.7%

 

Top locations 

1. Texas 3,183 15%
2. Georgia 1,825 8%
3. Florida 1,783 8%
4. New York 1,120 5%

Swipe ups

Total Swipe ups 97

 

Age 13-17

Males: 60 S/U (61.9%)

Females: 37 S/U (38.1%)

 

Top interests

1. High Schoolers 94, 97%
2. Sports Fan 94, 97%
3. American Football Fans 83, 86%

 

Fails: 

1% for parents and family focused, 

13% for collegiates, 

 

Top devices 

IOS 72 S/U 74.2%

Android 25 S/U 25.8%

Top locations 

1. Georgia 9, 9%
2. North Carolina 9, 9%
3. Florida 8, 8%

10) New York 5, 5%

Lowest

Kansas, Maryland, Connecticut

 

Top Metros

1. New York 2,245 10%
2. Atlanta 2,099 10%
3. Houston 1,652 8%

 

Lowest

Colorado, Arkansas, Washington

 

Top Metros

1. Austin 17, 18%
2. Washington 11 11%
3. Charlotte 11 11%

Facebook Ad Experience and Metrics

I think that the Facebook Ad manager requires a few more steps and verification process. Due to some recent problems with my facebook account, I was restricted from promoting any ads. So luckily, I had the help of my fellow Classmate Jaqueline to promote my ad through her facebook ad manager account. I ran the ad for five days from April 20-April 25, for a total budget of 30$. I promoted the ad with the goal of “website clicks”.

 

Facebook ad Manager

Paid impressions

Total reach 7,168

Total link clicks 36

Post Engagement: 39

Post Reaction: 3

 

Age 13-17

Males: (64.3%)

Females: (35.7%)

 

Age 18-24

1. Males: (64.3%)
2. Females: (35.7%)

 

Interest: 

University, Volunteering, International Student, College, Student, Student Exchange program, Freshman or international studies and education level: College grad 

 

Placements:

1. Mobile app news feed 2278
2. Marketplace mobile 1588
3. Instagram stories 1392

 

Locations:

1. Texas: 800
2. California:508
3. Florida: 370

14) New York 198

 

Lowest: Vermont, Washington DC, Wyoming

Website Analytics: Wix.com offered alot of great and easy to comprehend metrics. It allows the user to read the metrics information in multiple different ways, such as maps, line graphs or bar graphs. Its reports are very detailed and provide columns of data. Below, I breakdown a simple report summary of the metrics provided by Wix.com.

 

Total Site Sessions: 32

Unique Visitors: 30 Average Session duration: 01M 10S

 

Top referring sites: 

1. Facebook.com 10
2. Direct 9
3. Snapchat.com 9
4. N/A 2
5. Nage.wix.com 2

 

Page visits:

Home page: 29 total (19 mobile 10 desktop)

About us: 4

Become a sponsor: 1

Sponsors: 1

 

Locations: Page views

Countries: 

United States:41

Ireland: 3

India: 3

Top 3: NY, NJ, CA

Lowest 3: AL, AR, NC

 

Bounce Rate: 84%

Explanation

From gathering research concerning only my market demographic, I found four major petals that categorize ScoopU’s main competitors. College institutions and College Clubs would be the main competition, taking a large market share established by funded institutions, faculty, and other students at the college.  For Media and Apps, I bring the competition down to the individual incoming student level, by recognizing all of the different services that allow individuals to navigate new environments on their own. These apps provide two things 1) quick, and easily accessible information for territory and food, and 2) network connection capabilities that allow like-minded individuals to chat and congregate.  Let me know in the comments below if you think I have missed an area of competition where the incoming or international student might find additional resources.

The Facts

On 3/8/2021 1:00-1:34PM, I spoke over the phone to Komila Mirakhmedo, representative for the International Student Service Center. At the time of the interview, Komila was in transit to another location. Before the interview, I had emailed her with the questions that I would be asking, along with the reasoning behind the interview. The interview was conducted over the phone. During the interview, I asked the same question that I wrote in the email sent to her the day before. I also gave her some context to my Idea ScoopU including what what its purpose would be and how it would function as a business. She commented that she really liked the idea and thought it was a “good idea”. You will find that I have added some information in parenthesis, to add some context for the reader. Below are the five questions that I asked her, along with her responses:

1. What is the purpose/objective of the international student service center?

The objective of the ISSC is surrounding proper immigration documentation and processing. The goal is for the student to not get kicked out (of the school/country), and help them as they go through the document process.

2. What is the protocol/process when an incoming student gets admitted into Baruch?

Once the student is verified, we give them a package (to fill out). (The packet includes) health insurance (documentation), and undergrad admission (information/documentation). (This package shows the student) how to get an ID card, but nothing about the external environment (anything not involved internally within the school)

3. What resources are international students given when by the international students center?

We don’t have the resources or staff for that (to give one to one guidance for international students beside the documentation and admission process). (some information on) housing but no resources on how to find an apartment. We point them in the direction of other resources that could help them out around the school like the welcome center gives info about the housing. The writing centers are mostly international students (both the employees and the students that go there for help). Conversational partners, and an organization called “Culture around the world” are another service (but it is) a paid service. International student organization (club).

4. What are some of the biggest challenges the international student center faces?

There are so many students that it is hard to keep that connection when they are far away (both students that are abroad when trying to receive admission because of the time differences, but also after we process them because we have to help new incoming students). Another one is helping them feel like they belong here (“here”: to make them feel comfortable in the school, in a new city, and/or in the country. We can’t focus on them as an individual person because there is not enough staff.

5. What are some of the biggest challenges that international students face?

The challenges of being away from home. Harder to get blended in. (the student could be off to a bad start if) they missed the orientation. Like i said we usually direct them to direct them toward ISO (international student org).

The Reflection

Although I was hoping that I could have gotten more in depth responses to the questions asked, I empathize with Komila for having to multitask on a busy schedule, and so I am grateful for her allotment of time to conduct this interview. In regard to the responses, a lot of the data that I collected did reinforce the main purpose behind a service like ScoopU. Incoming students are given the proper documentation but sent in other directions to accumulate necessary resources, such as the ISO or the writing center. And no assistance exists outside the parameters of the academic institution. The new information presented to me during the interview was the few other clubs and organizations that are available, which I will have to take into account going forward. But over, the consensus I got from the interview in regard to the ISSC was that the priority is documentation and not individual. 

The Next Steps 

After the interview I feel equally as confident going forward with the ScoopU service. More research needs to be done by speaking to other competitors. I have reached out to the admissions center at Baruch on the 7th of March to conduct an interview but they have yet to respond. But based off of new information, it would be in my best interest to reach out to the international student club and get a better understanding of their purpose and what they provide for international students as well. But with that being said, as far as my knowledge goes, I do believe that ScoopU holds a unique value proposition that Baruch lacks. And perhaps now i can begin to expand my parameters of my ScoopU service to not only think of how it would work at Baruch, but then other Cuny colleges, then other academic institutions in the Tri-state area, then the state of new york, and then the east coast, and perhaps even across America.

ScoopU’s Primary competitor

 

I would say that my primary competitor is the Baruch International student service center, and the Baruch transfer student center. Here is a list of 3-4 questions I would like to ask and the purpose behind these questions. What I hope to accomplish is to find out the effort and resources that a CUNY academic institution like Baruch provides for incoming students so that I may find out if the incoming student feels it is sufficient, or more than sufficient, enough to acclimate them quickly and efficiently. 

 

Questions

1. What is the purpose of the international student service center
2. What is the protocol/process when an incoming student gets admitted into Baruch
3. What resources are international students given when by the international students center
4. What are some of the biggest challenges the international student center faces?
5. What are some of the biggest challenges that international students face?

 

I also wanted to get in contact with the transfer student center, but to my knowledge, there is no formal center just for transfer students, just the Baruch admissions department. I am also keen on interviewing them to get more information. The questions are the same as the questions given to the ISSC at Baruch.

 

Questions

1. What is the purpose/objective of the Admission center at Baruch
2. What is the protocol/process when an incoming student gets admitted into Baruch
3. What resources are incoming students given when by the admission center
4. What are some of the biggest challenges the incoming student center faces?
5. What are some of the biggest challenges that incoming students face?

 

Hopefully by the end of the interview, I can receive a more well rounded perspective on the experience that an incoming student would go through when they arrive at a academic institution like Baruch College. This in turn will help me see if ScoopU still holds the amount of value I envision it having for incoming students, or If I must modify. Both departments have been emailed, and so I continue to wait patiently by the computer for a response. If they don’t respond in a timely manner, I’m afraid more drastic measures will have to be taken.

What ScoopU needs to consider: 

Millennials and Gen Z are more open to experimentation and innovation than generations have been in the past, but there is a thin line between taking society comfortably into the future and making society uncomfortable by the thought of change into what they perceive to be some sort of dystopian future out of black mirror. What ScoopU needs to do is decide whether our ScoopU wants to convince its target audience that it is just as “organic” as the old fashioned way and so there is no reason to feel intimidated by a new service, or to convince its target audience that ScoopU is better than “organic” because it is an enhanced college experience. 

 

What do you see that you want to replicate?

I do want to replicate the organic feeling, but perhaps an different type of organic, an enhanced organic. The strategy of leaving the past behind and diving head first into the future could be perfect for certain companies, but I believe that, on reflection, no individual wants to look back and feel that they had an abnormal college/university experience. They want to feel that it was a smooth, fun and memorable experience comparable to the ones older generations have had, and new generations will continue to have. But it is about balance. Dating sites are becoming very popular in contemporary culture because they focus a lot of attention on making the meeting between two people feel natural and “organic” while still being able to enhance the experience through the use of technology. The enhanced organic feeling is what I want ScoopU to be able to successfully replicate. 

 

Where do you want to deviate/differentiate from their model?

Where I want to deviate, or in others words, provide value, is to relieve the struggle, confusion, precious time and effort, awkwardness, and ignorance that comes along with the old fashioned way. Students who want the old fashioned route in search for a traditional organic experience can do so if they’ll like, but students should have the option to seek an enhanced organic experience that allows the student to feel more informed in a quicker amount of time, more confident, by being led by a sponsor who can help them along reach their goals quicker. 

 

What competitive advantage do they have that will make it hard for you to compete (beyond that they are established and/or may have money).

As mentioned previously, the “organic” problem is always a dilemma for ScoopU if there are students who want to endure the perceived “normal” route with all its challenges and plight, and if a majority of incoming students gravitate toward that method. Also, the level of safety could be perceived to be limited if the student chooses the old fashioned way, because there remains a level of independence that prevents from getting involved with other individuals with bad intentions. ScoopU is a service that involves a 1 on 1 student to sponsor relationship, which could be perceived as a trigger for people that have had negative, or even traumatic experiences that creates trust issues with other people that are meant to help or guide.

 

Will you pursue a similar value proposition?

No. ScoopU wants to accomplish the opposite by encouraging users to feel safe and comfortable when they put their trust into their sponsor. I suppose that in an indirect way, ScoopU also helps reinforce healthy relationships between individuals that users can carry with them through their academic career and into their adulthood. 

 

Why do you think it may NOT be a good idea to move forward with your idea?

I think it all comes down to how accurate my perception of the incoming student, and whether 1) this service can truly enhance their lives and 2) if there is a significant market share of incoming students who find value in it. If a majority of incoming students in modern society feel opposed to what they perceive as depending on the goodwill of another person to set the foundation of their academic experience, then I would have to reevaluate my definition of the modern day incoming college/university student. Maybe they are not nervous, or uncomfortable when starting at a new college or university, and even if they are, maybe they want to go through that because they find more value in the self journey than the guidance provided by ScoopU. The last thing I would want is to make a service that no one needs or wants, or even worse, a service that does more harm instead of good. 

First Lets go back to the year 2015…

Young and Confused Julian

When I enlisted in the military, I was assigned my first duty station i.e. the location I would  be working at for the next two years. On August 29, I would be arriving at a U.K airport, and 21 year old Julian would then have to make my way from the airport to U.K base without service (sim card didn’t work in a new country), then have a long list of things to do as soon as I arrived to my new base (If I made it there), such as get a new I.D card, give in my previous medical and professional records, fill out financial documents, etc. On top of that, I’m in a new country, by myself, with a new geography, with new customs, rules, cultures, etc. Without a sponsor, I literally would have gotten back on the plane, or gotten into a taxi to Scotland. But the reality was, I had a sponsor there waiting for me (mine was particularly efficient), with food, because he knew I’d be hungry when I arrived, new currency to give me, a new Sim card for my phone, and pretty much mentored me until I got the hang of my surroundings, both on the new base and outside the base. He taught me how to act, where I should go, what I needed to get done first, and how to do it. He told me about a time with no sponsor where there, and he got in a cab, managed to get to the front of the base, but had no accessible money to pay the cab driver (the bill was like 200 pounds sterling). So he was off to a bad start.

Present Day Julian

When I had my next duty station in Louisiana two years later, My sponsor was pretty much non-existent. I remember how much I hated the Felling, and how I never wanted anyone to feel like that, especially If I could do something about it (I became a sponsor soon after for new military arrivals). When I arrived to Baruch, I was alone again. I used the printer around the corner from Baruch until a year in, until I discovered that there were printers not only in the library but on several other floors in my main building. I had to manually walk around in circles around the campus from place to place to discover each restaurant and its proximity to the school (I made it back late to class or just bailed on my food order entirely), and many more misadventures. But I’m not the only one. Many people who signed up for the students veterans club (which has a sofa that you can lie down in if you have long breaks in between classes) didn’t realized there was such a club until their last year of college.  They would show up late for classes because they couldn’t find the correct room. Same with the bursar’s office. and the gym, and the clubroom area. You see where im going with this.

Does the confusion have to be a right of passage?

So When I arrived to Baruch I made it a personal mission to take an hour before or after my class to get to know the area, walk on every floor of the campus, and familiarize myself with my surroundings (military experience came into play). However, many freshman students are confused when they start college in a new campus, they are often scared and intimidated, confused about where certain offices or classrooms are, what things they need accomplished, not just academically (homework and such) but as a new students enrolled at a new university. They don’t have the time or the confidence to just walk around, ask people, and explore the campus. In fact, the real problem is that most students don’t know what they don’t know. By that I mean, even if they had the time to get to know the campus in and out early on, they would even know where to start. 

Possible solution

If each campus had a program/app, where each student has the opportunity to sign up for a personal college guide/sponsor. This person will message them, meet up with them, walk them to their first classes, give them the in and outs of the campus, what places are good to eat around the campus, where the club room, bursar, department, library is, introduce them to new people, help the student create a list of things they need to get done (get I.D card, Talk to the Bursar, how to sign up for the printers) and more. I know what your thinking, its a bit traditional, I mean personalized sponsors sounds like something that might have crashed an burned back at a large campus like Harvard back in the 60s or something. But maybe were ready for it again. I imagine something along the lines of: In its initial stage before it’s well known. Early on when the student gets accepted by their college of choice, they also receive an email telling them to sign up for the (Insert app name here) using their new I.D number (or something else). From there they will have access to a social media site tailored specifically for freshman students who get to choose their junior or senior student based on their profile, and create a conversation with them about what time they would like to meet on their first day of college and what experience they always wanted out of a college experience. There is still more to this idea but this is just a preliminary concept solution to the problem stated above. What do you guys think? Is this a problem you faced during your college experience? Let me know in the comments below.

Also initial working title for the app/concept will be:  Scoop U.