Making the student search process easier for colleges and universities

When colleges and universities want to “search” for students, they turn to The Lawlor Group (TLG), a full-service higher education marketing communications and brand management firm. When The Lawlor Group needs help getting out mailings on behalf of its clients, it turns to GLS.

Searching for students is no simple matter. It takes commitment, careful planning and flawless implementation. The commitment comes from the college or university; the planning and implementation comes from The Lawlor Group. Over the years, TLG has built a solid reputation helping colleges and universities identify meaningful messages and effective strategies for reaching its key constituencies—including prospective students.

And a common way for colleges and universities to reach prospective students is by purchasing lists through the national testing services that administer exams like the PSAT/NMSQT, ACT and SAT. From these lists, institutions can target students based on such criteria as GPA, test scores or zip codes.

In 2002, for example, TLG had an Ohio-based client who sent out a total of six recruitment mailings. The mailings ranged in quantity from 2,000 to 20,000 names and typically included two pieces: a brochure and a personalized reply card. One of the mailings also included a personalized letter. Each mailing was sent out in a pre-printed, window envelope.

“I can’t say enough about the service we receive from Debbie and GLS. If I have a question, she either knows the answer or finds it for me. She works around my schedule, and if there’s a technical issue, she’s not afraid to connect me with the appropriate resources inside GLS to solve it. It’s obvious to all of us at The Lawlor Group that GLS is committed to our success.” – Kristen Kokkinen, Project Manager – The Lawlor Group

GLS printed the reply cards, letters and envelopes for each of the mailings, and the university supplied the brochures. To save on costs, most of the reply cards and envelopes were pre-printed and warehoused until they were needed for each mailing. In fact, GLS prints and warehouses most of the supplies needed for many of TLG’s clients.

“If I send a file to GLS, they’ll even print the letterhead so our college clients don’t need to be bothered with this detail,” said Kristen Kokkinen, project manager, TLG. “And once a mailing is ready to go, GLS handles everything from printing to laser personalization for our clients. They go out of their way to make the entire process as easy as possible for us.”

It’s this attention to detail and high level of customer service that keeps Kokkinen coming back to GLS. She uses the latest mailing for the Ohio client as an example. “For the most recent mailing, we released the artwork for a new window envelope on Dec. 9, and GLS printed it, converted it and used it in a mailing that dropped at the post office on Dec. 27,” she said. “The timing was great when you factor the holidays into it.”

In the middle of this project, TLG also needed a 32-page, self-promotion piece printed in time for a January conference. “We got the file to GLS on Dec. 18 and needed to have the 1,000 pieces back by Jan. 2 to make the deadline for the conference,” Kokkinen said. “They delivered the proof to our president’s home to review and actually delivered the brochures to our office three days early.”

Kokkinen credits her account manager, Debbie Schuller, for the successful relationship. “I can’t say enough about the service we receive from Debbie and GLS. If I have a question, she either knows the answer or finds it for me. She works around my schedule, and if there’s a technical issue, she’s not afraid to connect me with the appropriate resources inside GLS to solve it. It’s obvious to all of us at TLG that GLS is committed to our success.”