Students who receive a personal visit from Trip are 25-30 percent likely to end up enrolling-much higher than the University’s standard 10-15 percent yield rate. That daydream now includes a knock on the door and a little bit of dog drool. Six years in, the #ButlerBound program has completely changed the “I got in!” daydream for hopeful Butler applicants. And in an ever-competitive market, where the number of college-bound high school students is declining, university admissions and marketing departments must get creative to stand out. In fact, 92 percent of high school seniors now say they prefer to receive most communications from colleges–including the “you’ve been admitted’ announcement–online. The decades-old tradition of checking the mailbox for the large envelope is slowly changing. The goal, Kaltenmark says, is to capture student and family reaction and then feature it on social media so prospective students miles away might be inclined to apply. And the reach extends beyond just those who receive a personal surprise. But the efforts are worth it, as students who receive a visit from Trip are more likely to enroll at Butler than those who don’t. These carefully crafted visits require days of preparation, cooperation from co-conspiring admission counselors, parents, teachers, and a full gas tank to keep the Butler Blue Mobile trekking. Now entering its fifth year, the initiative has grown rapidly and delivered surprises to hundreds of high schoolers across 17 states. “We saw each family’s reactions, and watched the ripple effect made in social media and in each community we traveled to.Įvery year since, Trip and his team have been surprising high school seniors at their homes, schools, and places of work to let them know that they’ve been admitted to Butler–in person and live on social media, with thousands of followers sharing in the moment.
“I knew it was a great idea, and that was validated after the first few visits we made,” Kaltenmark says. “Matt Mindrum, our Vice President of Marketing at the time, suggested we should bolster those efforts and go see prospective students in each market who were waiting for their admission decision.” “We had already set this precedent of taking Trip on the road,” Kaltenmark says. The duo would make stops at some of the city’s main attractions and called their treks the Big Dawgs Tour.
It was 2014 and Kaltenmark, Director of Community and Government Relations and caretaker to official live mascots Butler Blue II and III (better known as Trip) had been traveling with bulldog in tow to different cities alongside the men’s basketball team.
Of course we should be doing that!’” says Kaltenmark. Michael Kaltenmark remembers the exact moment the plan was hatched to begin delivering Butler University admission decisions with a 65-pound, heavy-breathing, slobbery bulldog.
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