Cornell Tech

New institution. Aggressive goals. Challenge accepted.

In 2011, Cornell and its academic partner, Technion, won New York City’s Applied Sciences NYC competition. The award paved the way for the creation of Cornell Tech, an entirely new institution devoted to graduate-level technology education.  

By establishing itself as the hub for world-class research, innovation, and commercialization, Cornell Tech would not only redefine New York City as a global technology capital, but also help power regional economic growth for generations. 

In preparation for Cornell Tech’s move from a temporary home to a new campus, university leadership needed an experienced and capable partner to plan, develop, and execute a series of aggressive awareness-building and enrollment activities.  

This needed to be done quickly, all while maintaining the quality of applicants befitting an Ivy League institution. These were their aggressive goals: 

  • Increase class size for all programs 
  • Improve yield 
  • Increase diversity 

Cornell Tech partnered with Stamats to coordinate a comprehensive awareness and enrollment-building campaign. The message needed to powerfully and emotionally communicate the potential of Cornell Tech’s programs to nontraditional prospective students. 

In addition to touting the close interaction between faculty and students, the campaign needed to motivate a new generation of entrepreneurs and inspire well-established business owners and tech visionaries to push their professional boundaries and take a chance on Cornell’s new venture.  

To help achieve these goals, our team developed and launched a full suite of digital advertising and paid search campaigns. Our work included: 

  • Geo-fencing specific neighborhoods in New York City where prospective students lived, worked, and socialized 
  • Geo-targeting companies that employed prospective students 
  • Targeting digital publications and sites that prospective students were likely to visit 

Campaign respondents were delivered to a conversion-oriented landing page where they could download free e-books and access other content tailored to their interests. Each respondent’s information was captured as they were funneled into a nurture stream that led them through each step of the enrollment journey. 

By every measure, the campaign has been a resounding success. In its first year, Cornell Tech surpassed enrollment goals for every program offered, all while improving the quality of the classes for each. 

In the words of Christina Sneva, Cornell’s Senior Director of Enrollment, “It’s really been a miracle given our resources, our timing, and the level of awareness about Cornell Tech. Working with the Stamats team, we were able to deliver an exceptional class at a very reasonable cost per student.”

  • The Challenge

    In 2011, Cornell and its academic partner, Technion, won New York City’s Applied Sciences NYC competition. The award paved the way for the creation of Cornell Tech, an entirely new institution devoted to graduate-level technology education.  

    By establishing itself as the hub for world-class research, innovation, and commercialization, Cornell Tech would not only redefine New York City as a global technology capital, but also help power regional economic growth for generations. 

    In preparation for Cornell Tech’s move from a temporary home to a new campus, university leadership needed an experienced and capable partner to plan, develop, and execute a series of aggressive awareness-building and enrollment activities.  

    This needed to be done quickly, all while maintaining the quality of applicants befitting an Ivy League institution. These were their aggressive goals: 

    • Increase class size for all programs 
    • Improve yield 
    • Increase diversity 
  • The Project

    Cornell Tech partnered with Stamats to coordinate a comprehensive awareness and enrollment-building campaign. The message needed to powerfully and emotionally communicate the potential of Cornell Tech’s programs to nontraditional prospective students. 

    In addition to touting the close interaction between faculty and students, the campaign needed to motivate a new generation of entrepreneurs and inspire well-established business owners and tech visionaries to push their professional boundaries and take a chance on Cornell’s new venture.  

    To help achieve these goals, our team developed and launched a full suite of digital advertising and paid search campaigns. Our work included: 

    • Geo-fencing specific neighborhoods in New York City where prospective students lived, worked, and socialized 
    • Geo-targeting companies that employed prospective students 
    • Targeting digital publications and sites that prospective students were likely to visit 

    Campaign respondents were delivered to a conversion-oriented landing page where they could download free e-books and access other content tailored to their interests. Each respondent’s information was captured as they were funneled into a nurture stream that led them through each step of the enrollment journey. 

  • The Results

    By every measure, the campaign has been a resounding success. In its first year, Cornell Tech surpassed enrollment goals for every program offered, all while improving the quality of the classes for each. 

    In the words of Christina Sneva, Cornell’s Senior Director of Enrollment, “It’s really been a miracle given our resources, our timing, and the level of awareness about Cornell Tech. Working with the Stamats team, we were able to deliver an exceptional class at a very reasonable cost per student.”

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