Case Study — Higher Education
National Louis University: 135% of Winter Start Enrollment Goal
National Louis University came to Colling Media after working with another agency. The goal: rebuild their digital advertising program from the ground up, establish full-funnel attribution, and drive a record-breaking winter start enrollment.
135%
of winter start enrollment goal achieved — a record for the university
Higher Yield
by programs of focus, driven by targeted channel strategy and attribution-informed optimization
All Digital
Full-funnel management: Google Search, Meta, programmatic display, CTV, and cross-channel attribution
The Challenge
National Louis University is a nonprofit university serving adult learners across Illinois and beyond, offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs designed for working adults. NLU came to Colling Media seeking a new approach to digital advertising — one that could not only drive enrollment volume but also provide clear, cross-channel attribution showing exactly what was working and why.
The winter start enrollment period is one of the most competitive windows in higher education marketing. Adult learners are making significant life decisions — returning to school while managing careers and families — and the advertising strategy has to meet them at every stage of that decision journey.
The Approach
Colling Media built a full-funnel digital advertising system for NLU using the BDPN Framework — Brand, Demand, Performance, and Nurturing — integrated across all digital channels with a cross-channel attribution model at the center.
Full-Channel Digital Management
Colling Media managed Google Search, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), programmatic display, Connected TV (CTV), and YouTube for NLU — all coordinated as a single enrollment system rather than isolated channel campaigns. Each channel played a defined role in the student decision journey.
Cross-Channel Attribution
A core requirement for NLU was understanding what was actually driving enrollment — not just last-click conversions, but the full journey from first impression to application to enrollment. Colling Media implemented cross-channel attribution that tracked view-through influence, multi-touch contribution, and enrollment outcomes by channel and program. This gave NLU’s marketing team full visibility into performance and allowed Colling Media to continuously optimize toward the channels and messages driving the highest-yield enrollments.
Program-Level Targeting
Rather than running a single university-wide campaign, Colling Media built program-specific advertising strategies for NLU’s highest-priority programs. This program-level targeting approach drove higher yield rates in the programs of focus — a key metric for NLU’s enrollment goals.
The Results
The winter start enrollment period delivered results that set a new record for National Louis University.
NLU achieved 135% of their winter start enrollment goal — the highest winter start in the university’s recent history. Yield rates in the programs of focus increased, driven by the program-level targeting strategy and attribution-informed optimization. The cross-channel attribution model gave NLU’s leadership team clear visibility into what was driving enrollment across every digital channel for the first time.
About National Louis University
National Louis University is a nonprofit university founded in 1886, serving adult learners across Illinois with campuses in Chicago, Wheeling, Lisle, and online. NLU offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs in education, business, psychology, and health sciences, designed for working adults seeking to advance their careers.
Ready to Build Your Enrollment System?
Colling Media specializes in full-funnel enrollment marketing for universities and trade schools. If you want to know what’s actually driving enrollment — not just leads — let’s talk.