Campus Tour de Force
Campus Tour de Force offers colleges, universities and independent schools, analytic evaluation, strategic recommendations and 360 video, to create superlative tours for prospective families.
The campus tour is a key factor in boosting application numbers and achieving better yields. Campus Tour de Force offers colleges and universities analytic evaluation and strategic recommendations to create superlative tours for prospective families. Your tour needs to tell your story effectively and provide a memorable and distinctive experience for visitors. Our comprehensive audit includes a review of your particulars (data, strategic plans, marketing and branding materials, etc.), a campus visit for both evaluation and strategic brainstorming, a detailed report of recommendations, and a culminating discussion session to help you set your course for implementation.
Why Now?
Has your campus environment changed with the addition of new or renovated facilities? Has your strategic plan placed an emphasis on growing or showcasing particular programs? Have your marketing strategies, goals, and materials been updated recently? The literal and figurative landscapes are always changing, prompting a need to have a critical look at how your campus tour experiences reflect and enhance your priorities, goals, and messaging. Whether you need to tweak your tour experience because it’s a little stale or do a complete overhaul, Campus Tour de Force offers recommendations tailored to your school’s unique situation.
Why Us?
For 25 years we, the principals at Peapod Design, have been leveraging creative and critical thinking to help hundreds of schools better tell their stories with brand consistency over print and digital media. Recently our oldest child began the college process, and we found ourselves on numerous campus tours. Many fantastic schools we visited had less-than-fantastic tours. It got us thinking: Why not apply the same kinds of strategic analysis, creative storytelling, and collaborative methods to help schools craft better tour experiences? We have decades of experience as branding experts and creative consultants for the educational industry. We have the tools and the expertise to have an impact on one of the most important elements of the admissions experience.
What We Do
Our multi-step Audit process consists of conducting research to understand your greater admissions and marketing context, experiencing the campus visit the way a prospective family would, and providing recommendations for improvement. We read and review. We look, listen, and learn. We ask questions. We synthesize answers. And we make recommendations to take your campus tour to the next level.
What an Audit Looks Like:
Pre-Visit Review
You provide data (visit numbers, conversion rates, survey results) and information (strategic plans, branding, recruitment publications).
We evaluate and head to the website to register for a visit.
Campus Visit Day 1
The Tour Experience:
Campus Tour de Force consultants start the day from the admissions visitor center to gain an understanding of what visiting families experience. We’ll tag along with two or three tour groups to learn what information is being provided by tour guides and what questions families are asking. We use our expertise in environmental design to evaluate your entire visit experience. Overall look to see if the expectations and brand promises promoted by the marketing materials match what families experience on campus.
Team Gathering:
We meet with admissions administrators and staff to share our first impressions and to begin discussions of the current challenges and goals for improvement.
Campus Visit Day 2
The Deep Dive:
We delve more deeply by meeting with campus leaders and stakeholders to learn more about the programs and highlights that are featured in the tour, as well as aspects of the school that need more exposure.
Ambassador Program Focus Groups:
We meet with tour guides/ambassadors to hear their insights and perspectives, and we confer with staffers who develop the curriculum and training for tour guides.
Post-Visit Written Report:
- A detailed review, critique, and commentary of the current visit experience (from your website to the follow-up email)
- Recommendations, small and large, for improving the visit experience
- Recommendations on aspects of environmental design
- An online photo album providing you with the “outsider’s perspective” on your campus
The Debriefing:
After you’ve digested the report, we’ll have a conference call to field your questions and clarify our recommendations.