Strengthening Connections: Northwood University Transforms Alumni Engagement Efforts | Education

8/16/2024 RRD

RRD’s commercial print support and innovative digital solutions expand alumni and donor reach and provide cost savings

CHALLENGE 

Located in Midland, Michigan, Northwood University takes pride in its core values, including freedom, integrity, and responsibility. In addition to their efforts to connect and engage with current students, Northwood’s alumni office prioritizes building and maintaining connections with graduates and donors. Printed and digital collateral, including fundraising letters and an alumni magazine, are key parts of this initiative. 

Throughout their partnership with the university, Northwood’s incumbent printing vendor took a hands-off approach, leaving it to Northwood to handle all aspects of project management with the vendor’s team. The vendor also struggled with accuracy issues  — and correcting their errors proved difficult for Northwood. After the vendor made a critical mistake on a key account, Northwood sought support from a new reliable, high-quality, and hands-on print partner.

SOLUTION

Northwood University turned to RRD. The RRD team quickly took over as Northwood’s primary print provider, managing all communications with RRD’s production team and overseeing project timelines. When discussing projects, the team now clearly outlines RRD’s capabilities and the best path forward — while prioritizing accuracy. 

“Communication with RRD has been great,” says Laura Rhodes, Northwood’s Director of Annual Giving. “A team member stops by at least once a week, and we are always able to reach someone.”

“We’ve never had that sort of relationship with previous vendors we’ve worked with,” adds Julie Adamczyk, Northwood’s longtime Alumni Engagement Officer.

A dynamic collaboration

Recently, Northwood and RRD partnered to print a 12-page saddle-stitched program for an Alumni Awards event. Unfortunately, the printed program included versions of award-recipient bios that had been submitted without approval. Moving quickly, RRD was able to reprint the program with the updated, approved bios in just 12 hours. 

Additionally, at a recent event, a donor came forward with a $25,000 sponsorship after recognition posters had already been printed. The RRD team rush-ordered additional posters to recognize this donor.

“Donors are more likely to donate again if we recognize them properly,” Adamczyk says.

Digital innovation

Previously, Northwood University published and mailed 20,000 copies of Idea, an alumni magazine, three times a year. Using RRD’s proprietary Digimag® solution, Northwood now produces a digital version of the magazine, pairing the look and feel of traditional print with enhanced functionality. In addition to augmenting the reader experience, the digital solution is more cost-effective and expands the magazine’s reach. 

RRD now produces three HTML5 digital editions of Idea annually, leveraging the magazine’s seasonal print files. The Digimag version reaches Northwood’s entire 28,000-person alumni email list, and an additional 3,000 printed magazines are mailed. This approach saves approximately $7,000 in postage and allows Northwood to reach 11,000 more alumni, donors, and friends. The university also can track, measure, and count how many times the digital magazine is opened.

“We still love our printed version, of course,” Adamczyk says. “But we can share the electronic version easily via email and social media. We can highlight specific stories and push them out individually, which is nice too. The Digimag versions have higher visibility — and certainly more engagement.”

Supplemental projects

Throughout their partnership, RRD has helped Northwood with a variety of print projects, including:

• Christmas ornaments
• Auto show stickers
• Signature event signage
• Window clings
• Yard signs
• Banners
• Mall walk banners
• Life-size cutouts

RESULTS

Taking over as their primary print vendor, RRD has helped Northwood University: 

• Create and mail 3,000 copies of its alumni magazine three times a year
• Add a digital Digimag version of its alumni magazine, emailing 28,000 digital copies three times a year
• Save thousands of dollars in printing and postage costs
• Reach 11,000 more alumni and potential donors via the Digimag version
• Save on postage costs by maximizing discounts
• Print and mail 700 calendars to alumni and potential donors
• Annually create, print, and mail 11,000 copies of a variable four-piece fundraising piece