When this assignment was introduced I knew that this was going to be challenging because I wanted to find something that no one has really ever heard of so they are informed about it and it is something new and exciting for them. I began my search and after many searches came across Hobsons website. There was so much information about their various new technologies offered for colleges and universities. I then found the web-2-print portion of the website and that' s when I knew I needed to get more information.
A fairly new company just opening its' doors in 1994, Hobsons partners with colleges and universities to help aid in the enrollment and admissions process. Specifically taking a look at Hobsons Enrollment Management Technology, it seems as though they are a rapidly growing and revolutionary company. Their goal with the EMT is to reach a wide range of students in all stages of life (http://www.hobsons-us.com/emt/index.html). Through EMT solutions colleges and universities will save time and money, become more productive and better serve their students. I had the opportunity to interview with Ben Weber, Account Manager, via the phone and I got more specific information about Hobsons.
Web-2-Print
In particular, Hobsons Web-2-Print materials directly affect the response rates of students. Students Browse through the particular college or university's website and come across a tab that reads request information. This is a part of the web page that Hobsons designed specifically for that client. The student then goes on to add general information onto the website (i.e. name, address, telephone number) and then checks what specific activities, organizations, etc. that they are interested in. Kennesaw State University utilizes Hobsons and has the page for the student to fill out information. They submist this page and automatically Hobsons generates a variable data brochure for this specific student that has their name on it and also only the information that the students requested and it is sent to the student.
What makes Hobsons different from many companies like this is that directly after the student submits that page, they are sent an electronic PDF version of that brochure so they can look at it immediately. Ben stated that "our generation doesn't really care about mail, so you have to make it personalized for them along with sending them an e-mail of the brochure."
They not only send out web-2-print brochures, but they also send out birthday and reminder postcards, along with posters and anything else that the school requests. I asked Ben approximately how many clients they have. He state they have about 2000 clients in general and for web-2-print specifically they have 100-120 and are growing. They also have international offices in London and Melbourne, and in the US they have offices in Oakland, Washington D.C. and Cincinnati is their Headquarters.
They have in house graphic designers that create most of the web-2-print materials for the Universities which also cuts down on their time and money. The designers get materials from the school such as text content, color specifications (if necessary) and also if the school wants to include their own photos they send those as well and then the designer creates the material accordingly. They do not have online templates that their clients can use but they can show the client what other schools have been doing and they can reference those but it is not really recommended.
Variable Data
Ben kept stressing to me that variable print is key to them and sets them apart from a lot of their competitors. They decided to use variable data printing because a lot of times information at Universities changes quite frequently so their brochures, etc. would need to be changed often. If they didn't have variable print and printed in bulk, they would have to throw all of the extra printed materials away if something needed to be changed. The variable print helped tremendously because now they only print when they need to so that way nothing goes out of date and if there is a change they make it right away before they print anymore.
Not only do they do variable data with text, but they do it with photos as well. Ben gave me an example of two prospective students from the same school that have the same interests etc. If one of the students is a traditional student in their early 20's they will have photos of students just like them. They also do the same with the nontraditional students in their 30's, etc.
Price Estimating
Ben explained to me that price estimating was quite difficult for the web to print materials because you aren't really sure how many you will print. It all depends on how many students request information online. They use the standard rate card pricing for everything except the paper and the per piece cost. They do send out reports monthly to each client letting them know how many they send out with some other information as well.
Response Rate
These are the response rates that Ben send to me regarding web-2-print with and without VDP:
• 1% for no personalization or customization
• 44% increase by adding a name
• 45% increase by adding color
• 135% increase by adding a name and color
• 500% increase by adding customized information
As you can see there is a distinct benefit in using the VDP system and customizing information to fit that particular students interests.
EMT Additional Features
Web-2-print is just a portion of what Hobsons has to offer for EMT. They have everything from group instant chat to text messaging. With instant chat, the student is able to get direct feedback from personalized questions they have which could in turn lead to enrollment at that specific university. They also offer blogs so that current students and faculty can share their college experience so that prospective students can hear from students just like themselves who are already on campus. Text messaging allows you to send texts as fast as e-mails but the students will get them right away. You can let me know of deadlines soon approaching, urgent campus news, etc. These are just a few additional features that they offer. To see all of their features, please visit their Solutions Page.
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