Beyond Static Sites 

How Carthage College Engineered an Award-Winning Virtual Tour

The Virtual Tour That Earned Gold, and What Your Campus Can Take From It

Before a prospective student ever sets foot on campus, they’ve already toured you online, and for many of them that first look decides whether an in-person visit ever happens. A static website asks students to picture campus life from photos and blocks of copy. Carthage College gave them a campus they could explore, with current students as their guides and a path shaped by what each visitor cares about most.

That tour earned Gold in Interactive Media at the 41st Annual Educational Advertising Awards, the largest and oldest educational advertising competition in the country. In this on-demand session, Brad Ford, who leads marketing insights and strategy at Carthage, walks through the decisions behind the tour and what changed once it went live.

Watch with your own tour in mind, because nearly everything Carthage did can be adapted to your campus and your budget.

What You'll Walk Away With:

• Why Carthage moved beyond a static site, and what prospective students now expect from a college’s digital front door
• How student-produced video gives prospects a truer feel for campus life than polished promotional content
• How letting visitors filter the tour by academic and extracurricular interests turns a generic walkthrough into a personal one
• How Carthage took the tour from concept to launch without overloading its IT and marketing teams
• The metrics Carthage watches to know the tour is working, from dwell time to the jump from visitor to applicant

Come away with ideas you can bring to your team this semester, drawn from a tour that earned national recognition.

Who Should Watch

This webinar is designed for:

• Enrollment Leaders
• Admissions Leaders
• Marketing and Communications Leaders
• Web and Digital Teams
• Campus Visit and Visitor Services Teams
• Enrollment Marketing Professionals
• Student Ambassador & Tour Guide Coordinators
• Anyone responsible for the prospective student experience online