Lead With the Story—Not the Lobby
For higher education, the campus visit is often the most pivotal moment in a student’s decision journey. In a place where emotion meets impression, how can we ensure those moments resonate? Before designing a welcome center or a welcome center experience you have to understand who your audience is and what moves them. Advent and the University of Oregon applied a proven methodology to understand what their audiences needed to “Think,” “Feel,” “Remember,” and “Do”.
Grace Johnson of Advent and Michael Luna of the University of Oregon share how a story-driven approach reshaped Oregon’s campus tour and Welcome Center experience. By uncovering authentic narrative themes to integrate those insights into physical and digital touchpoints, attendees will learn a simple framework for reshaping visitor experiences that are impactful.
With a portfolio of more than 200 academic partnerships, Advent works with institutions to turn data, research, and storytelling into powerful engagement strategies. The University of Oregon case study will reveal how this approach can connect prospective students and families to a university’s purpose that elevates every step of the visit from functional to unforgettable.
MAIN OBJECTIVES:
- Understand audience needs using the Think-Feel-Remember-Do Framework prior to making any decisions about spaces, displays, or tour routes
- Explore your institutions differentiators through StoryMining and dialogue to translate those themes into tour scripts and interactive elements
- Build a story map that turns standard campus visits into cohesive, memorable experiences.