Case studies
Wayne State College
Who They Are
Reimagining Cooperative Education
For more than 100 years, Wayne State College has been devoted to student success and regional service. Located in Northeast Nebraska, Wayne State is nationally ranked and has received recognition for affordability, academic excellence and community service.
Among the unique programs offered at Wayne State is their cooperative education initiative, the Career Scholars Program. Cooperative education is a method of combining classroom education with real work experience for college credit. At its core, the Career Scholars Program offers students a four-year degree and direct career experience while also supporting workforce and economic development across the state.
The Challenge
More Dollars to More Scholars
While the Career Scholars Program had strong enrollment, there was room for improvement. The school offered an amazing scholarship package but cohorts were not completely full and there were more scholarships to award. Wayne State called on Firespring to increase the number of qualified applicants and maximize the number of scholarships awarded in the upcoming registration deadline.
Firespring’s media team leveraged their intimate knowledge of the Nebraska media landscape with digital usage research of the target audiences—prospective students and their parents—to develop a media strategy and timeline to align with the quickly approaching application deadline.
Key Insights About the Audiences
Gen Z (prospective students)
Snapchat 67%, Facebook 49%
Gen X (parents)
The Campaign
Digital Diversity
The team crafted a data-driven digital strategy based on visitor browsing insights. The media plan utilized a variety of digital tactics, including cross-platform display ads, website retargeting, predictive and lookalike audiences, online video (CTV/YouTube), social media ads (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat), and Google Ads for paid search.
Maximizing Results
Firespring ensured sustained audience engagement throughout the six-month campaign by developing diverse display and video assets with strategic calls-to-action, driving key interactions like form submissions and applications. Their media team continuously monitored performance metrics, making data-driven optimizations to enhance engagement. The campaign generated over 6.6 million impressions, achieved 75% viewability, and surpassed industry benchmarks for click-through rates. Most importantly, it resulted in a fully enrolled cohort and the distribution of life-changing scholarships to 130 students.
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Million Impressions
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Viewability with Target Audiences
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