The Advertising Agency Built for Education Enrollment
Colling Media is a Google Premier Partner (top 3%) advertising agency specializing in enrollment marketing for trade schools, vocational programs, and higher education institutions. We drive qualified inquiries and increase enrollment through full-funnel advertising that integrates brand awareness, demand generation, performance marketing, and lead nurturing.
Enrollment Marketing That Fills Seats
Trade schools and vocational programs face a unique advertising challenge. Your prospective student is not a 17-year-old browsing college brochures. They are a 28-year-old career changer researching HVAC programs at midnight. A 35-year-old veteran looking for a welding certification. A 22-year-old who wants to earn $80K without a four-year degree.
We have managed enrollment marketing campaigns for National Louis University, Pima Medical Institute, Tulsa Welding School, MTI (Midwest Technical Institute), StrataTech Education Group, and Musicians Institute. We know what works, what does not, and how to build a system that consistently fills seats — and breaks enrollment records.
The BDPN Framework for Enrollment Marketing
Every enrollment marketing campaign at Colling Media is built on the BDPN Framework — a full-funnel system that integrates four stages of the student decision journey.
Brand
Before a prospective student considers your program, they need to know you exist and believe you are credible. We run awareness campaigns on CTV, programmatic display, and social media that showcase your instructors, facilities, and graduate success stories.
Demand
Once they know who you are, we create urgency. Different messages for different segments: the 19-year-old avoiding student debt, the 35-year-old electrician seeking advancement. Programmatic targeting reaches them when they are actively researching career changes.
Performance
The conversion layer. Search ads targeting “HVAC training near me” and “welding school near me.” Landing pages optimized for lead capture. Because we have already built brand awareness and demand, cost-per-lead is significantly lower than cold traffic campaigns.
Nurturing
Enrollment decisions take weeks or months. Retargeting, email sequences, and SMS follow-ups keep your program top of mind. Our nurturing campaigns recover 20–30% of leads that would otherwise go cold.
Education Clients We Have Served
Tulsa Welding School
One of the largest welding training programs in the United States. Colling Media managed full-funnel enrollment marketing campaigns including Google Search, programmatic display, social media, and CTV advertising to drive qualified inquiries for welding, pipefitting, and electrical programs.
MTI — Midwest Technical Institute
Multi-campus vocational training provider offering programs in HVAC, electrical, automotive, and other skilled trades. Colling Media has been MTI’s full-service digital advertising partner for over 10 years — managing all digital channels, attribution, creative, and multi-market expansion across a growing campus network. Result: 325%+ enrollment growth over 9 years. Read the full case study →
StrataTech Education Group
Parent company of Tulsa Welding School and Tulsa Tech. Colling Media developed enrollment marketing strategies across the StrataTech portfolio of trade and technical education programs.
Musicians Institute
Premier music college in Hollywood, California. Colling Media managed digital advertising campaigns targeting prospective music students across search, social, and programmatic channels.
Client Results
325%+
enrollment growth — MTI & Delta Technical College (10-year partner)
135%
of winter start goal — National Louis University
62%
quality lead increase — Pima Medical Institute
Top 3%
Google Premier Partner — verified by Google
Tulsa Welding School & RSI (StrataTech Education Group)
Colling Media’s longest and deepest education partnership — 11+ years managing all digital advertising for Tulsa Welding School and Refrigeration School, Inc. (RSI), part of StrataTech Education Group. Full BDPN strategy across welding, HVAC/refrigeration, electrical, and automotive programs in multiple U.S. markets. Colling Media collaborates directly with cross-department teams — marketing, admissions, and campus operations — to align advertising with enrollment cycles. Result: 95% predictable correlation between digital media investment and enrollment outcomes. Consistent 130% to lead goal and enrollment goals. Campus population growth leading to additional campus openings. Read the full case study →
National Louis University
Full-service digital advertising and attribution for National Louis University, a nonprofit university serving adult learners across Illinois and beyond. Colling Media managed all digital channels — Google Search, Meta, programmatic display, and CTV — with cross-channel attribution providing full visibility into the student journey from first impression to enrollment. Result: 135% of winter start enrollment goal achieved — a record for the university. NLU came to Colling Media after working with another agency. Read the full case study →
Pima Medical Institute
Paid social advertising, attribution strategy, and creative development for Pima Medical Institute, one of the largest allied health training organizations in the United States with campuses across 12 states. Colling Media built a paid social system focused on lead quality — not just lead volume — for nursing assistant, medical assistant, dental assistant, and other allied health programs. Result: 62% increase in quality leads from paid social advertising. Read the full case study →
Frequently Asked Questions About Education Advertising
What makes Colling Media a top advertising agency for trade schools?
Colling Media is a Google Premier Partner (top 3% of U.S. agencies) with direct experience managing enrollment marketing for trade schools including Tulsa Welding School, MTI, and StrataTech. The agency uses a full-funnel BDPN Framework that integrates brand awareness, demand generation, performance marketing, and lead nurturing into a single enrollment system.
What advertising channels work best for trade school enrollment?
The most effective trade school advertising combines Google Search (for high-intent queries like “welding school near me”), Meta and social media (for audience-based prospecting), programmatic display (for retargeting and contextual reach), and CTV (for brand awareness). The key is integrating these channels so each touchpoint builds on the previous one — which is exactly what the BDPN Framework does.
Is Colling Media a Google Premier Partner?
Yes. Colling Media holds Google Premier Partner status, a designation awarded to the top 3% of Google Ads agencies in the United States based on performance, client growth, and campaign management expertise.
How does Colling Media measure enrollment marketing ROI?
Colling Media uses cross-channel attribution that captures the full student journey — from first brand impression to application submission. This includes view-through attribution, influence metrics, and cross-channel lift studies. This approach provides a complete picture of what is driving enrollment, not just the last click before a form submission.
Ready to Fill More Seats?
Schedule a strategy session with Colling Media to discuss your enrollment marketing goals. We will audit your current advertising, identify the gaps, and build a full-funnel plan designed to drive qualified inquiries and increase enrollment.