Several Michigan State University colleges refreshed their alumni communications and donor engagement thanks to a comprehensive survey by Hanover Research.
Several Michigan State University colleges refreshed their alumni communications and donor engagement thanks to a comprehensive survey by Hanover Research.
How does one of the top-ranked research universities stay connected with its impressive alumni and donor base? Michigan State University’s (MSU) Office of University Advancement continually improves the quality and consistency of alumni and donor relationships by helping colleges across MSU facilitate institutional giving and appreciation.
In 2023, Dan Olsen, Senior Director of Advancement Marketing and Communications, and Ryan Kilcoyne, Senior Marketing Officer of the College of Natural Science, had previously conducted research on advancement messaging, but realized they needed to gain a more comprehensive understanding of alumni and donor needs, preferences, and communication channels.
With nearly 300,000 alumni in Michigan alone, an updated alumni and donor survey would present myriad opportunities to connect and engage more effectively with MSU’s extended community. Additionally, renewed survey insights could highlight new opportunities for MSU colleges to streamline their advancement operations and conserve valuable financial resources.
Kilcoyne and Olsen along with other campus stakeholders sought the help of Hanover Research to design an adaptable alumni and donor engagement survey with the purpose of understanding the ways in which respondents engage with multiple MSU colleges.
Hanover’s experts designed an instrument to future-proof the communication strategies of the Office of Advancement, as well as four other colleges: the College of Natural Science, College of Social Science, Broad College of Business and Lyman Briggs College. The survey gathered alumni and donor communication preferences and identified the factors that motivate them to interact with MSU. Furthermore, the project reaffirmed and challenged preconceived assumptions about the efficacy of certain communication channels, to prevent future unnecessary or unhelpful alterations.
Ultimately, the partnership presented valuable opportunities to advise specific colleges on how to refine and broaden their various communication strategies. This cross-departmental approach to communications offered a powerful way to promote university-wide improvement through increased donations and a renewed enthusiasm for all MSU has to offer.
“This survey provided valuable insight into the effectiveness of our current communications and revealed key preferences in how our audiences engage with us. These findings have been instrumental in shaping our marketing strategies for our upcoming capital campaign. By identifying areas for growth, we were able to make more meaningful shifts from traditional print to more impactful digital communications. Given the insights and successes of this study, we look forward to partnering again with Hanover again on future research.
—Ryan Kilcoyne, Senior Marketing Officer, College of Natural Science
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The 2024 Alumni and Donor Survey revealed powerful insights to help multiple marketing and advancement teams at MSU build more effective communication strategies.
With this collaboration in mind, Hanover’s aggregated data insights revealed several key findings related to overall engagement, communication preferences, topics of interest, reasons for engagement, and even the likelihood of recommending MSU to others.
Based on the survey findings, Hanover Research also presented a comprehensive set of recommendations to MSU’s advancement and marketing teams, including:
Hanover’s data analysis and recommendations continue to help Kilcoyne and Olsen to pinpoint key objectives for future central campaigns and offer invaluable guidance to the participating colleges.
Perhaps most importantly, the survey insights reveal critical opportunities to streamline resources by determining which channels yield higher donor and alumni engagement, and which ones underperform, comparatively. These strategic resourcing insights will, in turn, help MSU’s colleges prepare for even more successful futures.
“Hanover’s study revealed important preferences for receiving information, highlighting how we can reallocate resources to the most effective channels. The data validated the success of our advancement publications and prompted us to reassess less-effective channels. I think of this study as foundational work for future marketing campaigns.”
—Dan Olsen, Senior Director, Advancement Marketing and Communications
The percentage of alumni who feel connected to their specific college
The percentage of alumni who agree that MSU communications strengthen their personal connection to the institution
The percentage of alumni who take action after reading MSU emails (e.g., donating, visiting a website, discussing MSU with others)
Number of MSU alumni based in Michigan
Michigan State University
Public R1 undergraduate and graduate university
East Lansing, Michigan
Gather alumni and donor preferences and insights to guide future communication strategies.