UNSW invests in martech stack to bolster students' 'lifetime' loyalty

UNSW is looking to deploy a new customer data platform (CDP) as part of its strategy to expand its marketing capabilities beyond traditional student recruitment.

The Sydney-based university is investing in Adobe Experience Platform (AEP), which unifies data from multiple systems to build a single view of an individual audience target.

On top of the platform, UNSW is aiming to deploy Adobe’s marketing campaign orchestration tool Journey Optimiser.

According to Sofia Lloyd-Jones, UNSW executive director of marketing and digital experience, the software will help the university deliver “more personalised and connected student experiences”.

Speaking at Adobe Summit in Sydney earlier this month, Lloyd-Jones said the investments form part of UNSW’s customer experience strategy, which is focused on “lifelong learning”.

“The rapid changes we're seeing all around us in technology, climate and society more broadly are absolutely changing the world of work, and so a degree is still important, but it's no longer the end of the learning journey,” she said.

“People really need to be learning, upskilling and adapting throughout their careers. And that's where we've shifted our focus to lifelong learning.

"Our CX transformation is really framed around this strategic priority."

As such, she said, the university’s marketing strategy is no longer “just about recruitment – it's about loyalty.”

According to Lloyd-Jones, the additions of Adobe Experience Platform and Journey Optimiser will support the university’s aims of anticipating students’ early needs and engaging with them in a more personalised way.

This, she said, will help with “effectively building relationships that last a lifetime”.

To support the program, Lloyd-Jones added that the university is also investing in its staff’s “technical skills, particularly around the Adobe stack”.

This is complemented by ensuring that cross-functional and audience-led teams are “the norm” and by potential further investment in tech capabilities.

This, she said, will lean on “working smart with AI and automation so we can scale the great work we're doing today without compromising on qualities - that's really important from a team perspective”.

At the end of last year, UNSW revealed it is exploring how to integrate ChatGPT into its digital ecosystem through a 12-month pilot.

The university has rolled out the large language model’s education tool, ChatGPT Edu, to 500 trial participants after partnering with OpenAI.

ChatGPT is being used alongside other AI tools, including Microsoft’s Copilot, in a bid to “lift its UNSW-wide AI capability".