Stetson University College of Law
Growing a stronger applicant pool for Florida’s first law school.
Stetson University College of Law is Florida’s first law school, ranked #1 for trial advocacy and #4 for legal writing by U.S. News & World Report. With campuses in Gulfport and Tampa, Stetson competes for a shrinking national pool of law school applicants — and has been winning.
Big Sea has partnered with Stetson Law on admissions marketing since 2015. Over that time, class sizes, LSAT scores, and self-pay student ratios have grown year over year, outperforming nationwide declines across the industry. The strategy: targeted, persona-driven campaigns built on video, email, and content marketing that develop relationships with prospects long before the admissions team ever makes contact.
The Objective
Going after not only quantity, but quality
Stetson Law needed to implement a modern method of attracting qualified applicants to buck the national trend of declining law school attendance. They had a wealth of data about prospects, but no strategies in place to market to specific segments or show value to specific demographics. Their current email marketing approach wasn’t delivering the quality or quantity they needed to grow.
They turned to Big Sea to plan and execute a smart digital marketing strategy that begins with conversion optimization on Stetson Law’s website and guides applicants toward two crucial conversions — visiting campus and applying to their J.D. and LL.M. programs.
The Strategy
Establishing thought leadership and personality
Law schools are notorious for dry, clinical marketing materials. The admissions team at Stetson Law is anything but dry or boring. Through a robust editorial calendar and careful editing for content and search engine optimization, we helped them distill their friendly, engaged voices into killer content on the topics law school prospects care about most.
Stetson Law now has a growing library of keyword-rich content that can easily be repurposed in emails and shared with prospects on topics like appropriate formality in law school and how to solicit excellent letters of recommendation. Quality, consistent content has attracted over 900 subscribers to the Stetson Law Blog.
The Results
A strong applicant pool in just one cycle
Within one admission cycle, the Stetson Law team saw a stronger applicant pool, not only measured by volume and LSAT score but a 7+% increase in admit to deposit rates. When connecting with applicants, the team found them to be more engaged and more aware of the benefits of studying law at Stetson University College of Law.
The Results
Messaging that resonates
Big Sea segmented Stetson Law’s prospect data and developed campaigns around specific interests and identities. We created landing pages, premium content, blog posts, workflows, social posts and emails targeted to each persona we developed through research and interviews.
By working very closely with the admissions team in alignment with our agile marketing processes, we were able to nimbly focus on current events, news at Stetson Law, and seasonal messaging — such as sending emails about sunny “winter” weather in Florida targeted to undergrads in New England.
Introducing Video
Adapting to unprecedented times
Big Sea sought to guide Stetson Law’s digital presence through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21. One major component of this was video marketing, which Stetson Law incorporated into their efforts to provide a voice of calm and encouragement to potential students. Big Sea handled the planning, production and editing of these videos, which have gone on to engage thousands of prospective students.
The Numbers
Big Sea delivered by communicating with today’s qualified law school applicants on their terms, and addressing the topics that impact their future law careers.
73%
Increase in new contacts every month
2.7%
Increase in LSAT scores of applicates
10.42%
Click-to-submission rate on CTAs
