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Minnesota State marketing team and campuses report enrollment gains as system trims paid-media budget
Summary
System marketing leaders told trustees they cut paid-media spending by 25% but still recorded strong reach and landing-page traffic; campus teams from Anoka Ramsey/Anoka Tech and Minnesota State University Moorhead described audience-first pathways and a visual rebrand that campus officials credit with enrollment gains.
Minnesota State system and campus marketing leaders told trustees on Tuesday that a concentrated, audience-first approach helped sustain recruitment outcomes even after a system-level 25% cut to paid-media spending.
"The Minnesota State marketing team chose to reduce our paid media budget by 25%," said Barbara Hine, director of marketing for Minnesota State, describing a narrower paid-media plan that prioritized core messages like the Minnesota State Promise and targeted audiences aged 18–54 across Minnesota and neighboring states. Despite the reduction, Hine reported the system recorded nearly 26 million impressions and over 460,000 views of the Minnesota State Promise landing page since it launched in 2025.
Campus teams described how those system efforts were paired with local strategies. Mary McCarthy, chief marketing communications officer for Anoka Ramsey Community College and Anoka Technical College, described shifting campaigns from program-driven messaging to audience-centered "career pathways" and student testimonial videos. "We stopped organizing marketing around our academic programs and started organizing it around the people we want to reach," McCarthy said, arguing the change reduced internal competition between the two Anoka campuses and produced steady growth in inquiries and applications without increasing budgets.
Minnesota State University Moorhead presented a separate rebrand that leaned into a vivid visual identity and place-based messaging. Vice president Jason Trainor and President Tim Downs told trustees the repositioning emphasized academic quality and student vibrancy; Trainor said the university saw significant enrollment outcomes tied to the work, including "a 32% increase this past fall of 2025." The campus said new visual choices and events drove more organic press coverage and greater local visibility.
Trustees asked how system and campus campaigns coordinate to avoid duplicative advertising. Campus presenters said system campaigns create moments campuses can "piggyback" on, and that careful timing and audience segmentation limits overlap. Trustees also asked for follow-up analysis on whether growth tied to specific adult-targeted campaigns is showing up in the intended program areas; presenters offered to provide that data offline.
The Outreach & Engagement committee approved the April 21 minutes by voice vote earlier in the meeting. The two committees then adjourned to continue board business the following day.
