Jennifer Horvath
Manager, Marketing and Communications, Syracuse Abroad
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What's your background in IE?
I’ve been at Syracuse Abroad (and in my position) for five years. What unique ways do you use marketing and communication to get your Syracuse Abroad population engaged? We know that one of the biggest perceived hurdles for Syracuse University students is that they think they won’t be able to stay on their academic track and still spend a semester abroad. So this fall, we threw a “Study Abroad Showcase” event, where we invited academic advisers from all of our schools and colleges to meet with students at a study abroad-focused event. Through this event, we worked to overcome that barrier while also getting students excited about going abroad. |
This month, we're focusing our content on having a "data driven" mindset. How does the Syracuse Abroad marketing team implement this in your organization? Do you have any tips for IE colleagues who are aiming to become more analytical in their daily work?
Everything we do is guided by our strategic plan, which is shaped by data from a variety of sources, and that is such a valuable resource for me. I’m an office of one, so it’s so nice to be able to respond to requests by asking if it matches up with the goals set out in our strategic plan.
Data collection doesn’t have to be a huge, expensive undertaking. We worked with public relations classes at our school to do qualitative and quantitative data collection. From that, we were able to get a large enough data set to draw some significant conclusions and shape our marketing strategy accordingly. We were able to figure out what accounted for the drop between the number of incoming first-year students who say they want to study abroad and the actual figures of students who do study abroad by their senior year. We then used those results to shape our new print materials, email marketing, and event planning for the year. All for very little cost to our office!
What marketing and communication tactics have you tried that didn't work? What were the key differences between the ones that haven't worked and the ones that have?
We have found that our students really want messaging tailored super specifically to their needs. They want something that will fit into their schedules, not ours! We used to host general information sessions every month, but our attendance dropped over time. So we introduced an online scheduling system and a drop-in general advising system that allowed students to set their own advising times. It has been a huge success, with the number of scheduled and drop-in appointments increasing each semester.
Where's your most recent passport stamp from?
Madrid! I was lucky enough to accompany our Madrid Center students as they began their fall semester abroad. I traveled on their Signature Seminar and traveled to Madrid, Toledo, and Cordoba in one week.
What's your go-to airplane snack for an international flight?
I am a sucker for mini Oreos. I usually pick up a bag in the airport before every international flight and settle in to watch the movies!
What's your favorite memory from a trip you've taken?
On another trip with our students, I visited Flam, Norway in January. That’s obviously the off-season for tourists, so we had almost the entire village to ourselves. Standing on my hotel balcony looking out onto the fjord and up into the mountains, everything was quiet and still. I’ll never, ever forget that moment.
Everything we do is guided by our strategic plan, which is shaped by data from a variety of sources, and that is such a valuable resource for me. I’m an office of one, so it’s so nice to be able to respond to requests by asking if it matches up with the goals set out in our strategic plan.
Data collection doesn’t have to be a huge, expensive undertaking. We worked with public relations classes at our school to do qualitative and quantitative data collection. From that, we were able to get a large enough data set to draw some significant conclusions and shape our marketing strategy accordingly. We were able to figure out what accounted for the drop between the number of incoming first-year students who say they want to study abroad and the actual figures of students who do study abroad by their senior year. We then used those results to shape our new print materials, email marketing, and event planning for the year. All for very little cost to our office!
What marketing and communication tactics have you tried that didn't work? What were the key differences between the ones that haven't worked and the ones that have?
We have found that our students really want messaging tailored super specifically to their needs. They want something that will fit into their schedules, not ours! We used to host general information sessions every month, but our attendance dropped over time. So we introduced an online scheduling system and a drop-in general advising system that allowed students to set their own advising times. It has been a huge success, with the number of scheduled and drop-in appointments increasing each semester.
Where's your most recent passport stamp from?
Madrid! I was lucky enough to accompany our Madrid Center students as they began their fall semester abroad. I traveled on their Signature Seminar and traveled to Madrid, Toledo, and Cordoba in one week.
What's your go-to airplane snack for an international flight?
I am a sucker for mini Oreos. I usually pick up a bag in the airport before every international flight and settle in to watch the movies!
What's your favorite memory from a trip you've taken?
On another trip with our students, I visited Flam, Norway in January. That’s obviously the off-season for tourists, so we had almost the entire village to ourselves. Standing on my hotel balcony looking out onto the fjord and up into the mountains, everything was quiet and still. I’ll never, ever forget that moment.
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