The University of Washington

"After years of struggling with silos of information in different databases throughout the university, we are now moving towards a comprehensive view of constituent email interactions through the use of Convio and its MultiCenter functionality. Individual business units will maintain the autonomy they need to carry out their own communications, but the University will retain the capacity needed to enhance our brand and drive overall strategic direction of the university's electronic communications."

- Ryan Hagg, Assistant Director for Online Giving , The University of Washington

About The University of Washington

Founded in 1861, the University of Washington (UW) is one of the oldest state-supported institutions of higher education on the West Coast and is one of the preeminent research universities in the world. The UW educates a diverse student body to become responsible global citizens and future leaders through a challenging learning environment informed by cutting-edge scholarship.

The challenge

UW's multiple colleges, schools and units were using different email vendors and databases that weren't connected to each other.
Constituents were receiving disparate email streams, many with different branding.
Administrators lacked the ability to view and manage constituent data and communications, which made it impossible to gain a holistic view of constituent interactions.

The solution

Convio Email Marketing to send targeted emails to diverse constituent segments;
Convio Events to manage registrations, payments, and cancellations of smaller campus events; and
Leverage Convio MultiCenter functionality to manage access to, and share, information across numerous business units, (including UW Alumni Association and UW Foundation).

Results

Email communications have a unified look and feel, regardless of which department sends the message.
Better constituent experience through rationalized emails and improved personalization.
First email solicitation sent using Convio had an open rate of 20%, a click-thru rate of 10% and resulted in 40 gifts within the first hour.