The age of personalised video: Driving enrolment at Villanova School of Business

In today's highly competitive college application landscape and heavily connected world, standing out has never been more important for higher education institutions. Coupled with Gen Z's appetite for personalised social media content — particularly videos — colleges and universities across the country are facing unique challenges on a scale unheard of just a decade ago. This paper analyses how, in order to address this problem, the Villanova School of Business (VSB) introduced personalised video content into its recruitment process for early action accepted candidates as well as prospective graduate students. This innovation tool has set VSB apart and provided a creative way to share its personal approach to higher education. The paper discusses the success of this tactic over the last few years, which has affirmed key aspects of VSB's understanding of prospective undergraduate and graduate student audiences. Video continues to be an essential and effective tool for engaging Gen Z and millennial audiences. Students and parents notice and appreciate personalised content. The paper describes how students want to feel a connection with the schools they select. Universities should use personalised video to differentiate themselves from their peers and build or strengthen relationships with individuals they want in their community. Showing prospective students that their institutions are investing in them as individuals can make all the difference in encouraging them to see themselves at a specific institution and persuading them that there is a home for them in higher education.