Case study
A reformed seminary generated qualified enrollment leads at 67 percent below their approved budget model.
How a structured 90-day paid acquisition pilot produced a cost per enrolled student that paid back inside the first semester.
Institution name held in confidence per partnership agreement.
The situation
Organic enrollment had plateaued.
The institution had built strong organic and referral pipelines over decades but had never deployed structured paid acquisition. Leadership approved a cost model with a target cost per qualified lead of $537. Legacy was retained to design and execute the pilot.
The result
127 qualified leads, 67 percent below the approved model.
Approved model vs. actual results
Cost per qualified lead
$175.19
$537 modeled
67 percent below the approved cost model.
Cost per enrolled student
$875.94
Recovered inside first-semester MDiv tuition. Estimated using the institution's historical 20 percent qualified-lead-to-enrollment rate.
127
Qualified leads in 90 days
~25
Estimated enrolled students
~20
Leads from AI search at no additional spend
What was built
Six components, deployed in 90 days.
- 01Website restructured for enrollment conversion
- 02Google Search and Meta campaigns targeted to confessional-fit prospects
- 03Program-specific landing pages for MDiv, DMin, and PhD
- 04Content written for organic and AI-assisted discovery
- 05Lead nurture sequences built for theological context
- 06Full attribution from ad click to inquiry to application
Why it worked
Confessional fluency.
The campaigns spoke directly to prospects who were specifically looking for a confessionally reformed institution. The landing pages used the seminary's actual confessional language.
The result was a sharply lower cost per qualified lead and a meaningful share of leads arriving through AI search tools, which surface confessional content well when it is written for the audience that searches for it.
Pilot availability
Bring the next enrollment decision into clearer view.
01
We take three pilot institutions per quarter. One slot is currently open.
Apply for a pilot slot