For more than a decade, The Lawlor Group, a Minneapolis- based education marketing firm that specializes in market research, strategic brand management and integrated marketing communications, has partnered with DePauw University on dozens of projects, from an executive search and placement to consultation to the board of trustees to the development of new communication materials. Regardless of the assignment, university administrators agree on the reason for Lawlor's success at DePauw. "Lawlor understands DePauw as well as I do," observes Dr. Robert Bottoms, President. "They have the ability to internalize how this institution is different from others." That ability has helped DePauw in turn achieve uncommon success and get desired results.

DePauw's success in addressing recruitment issues in particular extends back to the mid-nineties when it sought to grow its applicant pool and increase the number of students of color on campus. To help with those initiatives, says Sally Davis, a human resources consultant and former Executive Assistant to the President at DePauw, the university enlisted the services of The Lawlor Group. Davis recalls that Lawlor's passion for learning about the university made it stand out from other firms. "We hired Lawlor because their interest in our success went beyond the projects at hand."

According to Stefanie Niles, Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid, Lawlor's work, which included developing DePauw's brand and overhauling its student recruitment publications, among other assignments, resulted in a doubling of applications overall, and an increase in the percentage of enrolled students of color from 14.3 percent to 16.5 percent.

To help meet current goals, Niles is working with The Lawlor Group on developing and implementing an electronic senior search and senior application campaign. The electronic tool will make it easier for both international and domestic prospects to apply to DePauw and help administrators better track and manage information about them. She says the project is transforming DePauw's recruitment strategy. "Lawlor has helped us understand what international students are most concerned and curious about. We now have a new set of information about the international market and publications that better help students understand DePauw."

Madeleine Eagon, Vice President for Strategic Communication, values Lawlor's expertise and methodology. With Lawlor, the branding process begins with extensive research, including interviews across the entire university community. "The Lawlor team spends a lot of time really trying to understand your campus," she explains. "We have a lot of programs, and they found a very interesting way to talk about those that turned them into a coherent whole for a person looking at us for the first time. They have the ability to synthesize various things at a university, to capture what is most important to you and then, even more critically, what will be most important in extending your brand."

Moreover, Eagon appreciates Lawlor's expertise with leveraging market research into key messages that produce results. "If you leaf through a 30-page piece about DePauw, you really have a very good understanding of what kind of place this is. Students really get to figure out if this is the right place for them," says Eagon. What's more, The Lawlor Group integrates those key messages into targeted communication platforms, such as DePauw's new electronic search campaign. Says President Bottoms, "Lawlor captures the essence of the institution, and that's why we keep working with them. We get results."

From providing sales and marketing training for the admission staff to identifying marketplace changes, Lawlor adds value at every turn, say administrators. Eagon observes that Lawlor is adept at recognizing and responding to changes both on the DePauw campus and in the marketplace. "They are pretty shrewd about identifying changes that are taking place. That is a big part of value added for the client." President Bottoms notes that from his perspective, Lawlor has added value by working with trustees to help them better understand the dynamic changes facing higher education today and how DePauw can differentiate itself in that crowded marketplace. He says, "Our board is used to working with successful enterprises and they want DePauw to be successful, so anyone who comes before them needs to be well prepared and very professional. Lawlor's ability to communicate with our board about marketing and branding is very important to us."

Eagon is emphatic when she describes DePauw's working relationship with The Lawlor Group as a partnership. "You don't feel that you're just a paying customer with them. They really are partners who are invested in your success. They're terrific professionals, and they're terrific people to work with, too." It's that partnership that has led to uncommon success for both DePauw University and Lawlor.

Published in 2007.

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