The Impact of COVID-19 on Arizona State University's Marketing

This thesis will analyze the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on Arizona State University's marketing efforts to new and current students in regard to budgeting, tactics, and effectiveness. The purpose of this thesis is twofold: to uncover the practices implemented by the university amid the pandemic and assess the impact that such practices had on their marketing effectiveness. Arizona State University (ASU) currently has over 75,000 enrolled students and is focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and a deep commitment to serving the public interest during a time of rapid and complex societal change. These goals and objectives translate directly into ASU’s marketing strategy and content development, but with an ever-changing world landscape, it is imperative to analyze the key changes and strategic initiatives that were made due to the pandemic in order to assess how to best move forward. Empirical data was collected through 7 interviews with participants across various colleges and campuses at ASU to identify the holistic strategy pre- and post-pandemic and what the implications are for current and prospective students. The findings revealed that the pandemic was a catalyst for the transition to online recruitment and marketing tactics that proved to be more successful in the attraction of prospective students than prior strategies due to the outreach capabilities. Additionally, the pandemic forced Arizona State University to change their messaging to be more student-focused in order to resonate stronger with consumers. The adoption of new marketing strategies and tactics because of the pandemic ultimately proved to be effective in increasing enrollment at ASU.