MOTIMATIC
Motimatic is an automated "motivational support system" for college students at both traditional and online universities. The system delivers targeted social media ads -- reminders, tips, encouragement, and peer-group support -- through opt-in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google platforms. The Bay Area company was founded in 2016 by Alan Tripp, former founder/CEO of Inside Track and Score! Learning Centers.
THE SITUATION
Colleges and universities across the country face significant retention challenges ... barely half the students who enroll in traditional colleges graduate. The numbers are dramatically lower in online colleges. Motimatic addresses the problem by creating a constant/daily stream of social media messages and reminders that help keep students on course. By communicating with students via the online sites/apps they use the most (as well as the sites they use to escape and procrastinate the most), Motimatic's system keeps homework, test dates, re-enrollment dates, etc. top of mind. The primary challenge Motimatic faces is the need to create 100 to 200 ads/messages per month in order to keep the content fresh for the 20+ schools they currently serve.
THE PROCESS
Each month the Motimatic client provides us with a spreadsheet listing the universities we'll be creating content for, and the number of ads/messages needed for each of the 11 different "behavioral" categories ... categories that include study tips, reminders, value of a diploma, pride in chosen majors, pride in their chosen university, peer-group encouragement etc. Working with an automated system we helped them create, we populate each category with concepts that are approved in real time. Those concepts are then distributed to a team of digital designers who retouch and crop stock images, input copy, and upload final ads into Motimatic's media-serving software. The process allows us to produce anywhere from 50 to 150 ads a month, depending on the company's needs.
THE ADS
Working in 11 different content categories, and incorporating graphic standard guidelines from over 20 schools, means many of the ads are shared-content that any college can post to their students. Oher messages are proprietary and unique to individual schools, especially messages pertaining to school pride, course requirements, and re-enrollment dates. The goal across all of the ads is to demonstrate a real-world, sympathetic understanding of how challenging college is, and make sure students recognize that their university has multiple levels of support available to help them succeed.
RESULTS
According to Motimatic, participating schools have experienced an average 9.2% increase in their year-to-year retention rates, adding up to a 6.5x payback, and $850,000 in increased revenue.
CREDITS:
CD/CW: Jeff Huggins CD/AD:Andrea Janetos AD: Robbie Guertin