case studies >Ardeo Education Solutions

Ardeo Education Solutions

Ardeo empowers higher education with Student Loan Insurance and Loan Repayment Assistance Programs. Rule29 conducted research and messaging for the launch, ensuring a strategic website rollout to reach their target personas and maximize the impact of their offerings.

Industry

Education

Capabilities

Digital and SocialPrintStrategyWebsites

Services Provided

  • Brand Audit

  • Messaging Strategy

  • Competitive Analysis

  • Material Audits

  • Interviews

  • Ethnographic Research

  • Market Research

  • Quantitative and Qualitative Research

  • Brand Story

  • Iconography

  • Custom Illustrations

  • B2C Website Design

  • Information Architecture and Sitemaps

  • SEO Strategy

  • Social Media Marketing

  • Digital Platforms

  • PowerPoint Presentations

Project Overview

Challenges

  • Ardeo aimed to broaden market by selling LRAPs directly to parents and students entering college

  • Expansion required comprehensive understanding of target personas, effective outreach strategies, and insights into genuine desires and needs

  • Strategy focused on reaching parents and students with compelling messaging about the benefits of LRAPs in college planning

Solutions

  • Rule29 shifted focus from product to inherent passion, based on thorough analysis of data and interviews

  • Findings highlighted the emotional aspect of pursuing higher education and the value of safeguarding passion

  • Crafted new messaging acknowledging financial concerns, embarked on creation of a new website to effectively communicate this message

Results

  • Strategic shift from product-centric messaging to passion-driven narrative yielded significant and positive outcomes for Ardeo

  • Rule29's analysis highlighted inherent passion associated with pursuing higher education, leading to revamped messaging

  • Revamped messaging tapped into emotional aspects of college journey and addressed financial concerns, proving highly effective

We started with research and strategy to understand Ardeo, its products, and customers.

We began by interviewing Ardeo employees which let us understand their goals, experiences, and thoughts about Ardeo’s products. From there, we lead in-depth interviews with parents of high school-aged students. These interviews dove into the concerns about the costs of college and their honest feedback about a product like Student Loan Insurance. 

Once we completed the interviews, we needed to understand the feelings behind the Ardeo brand. We held a Brand Alignment Session with Ardeo C-Suite members where we dove into the 4Ps of a brand: purpose, personality, perceptions, and promise.

Elevating Presentations

Ardeo recognized the importance of maintaining a cohesive and recognizable brand identity across all their shared content. To address this need, we developed a comprehensive Microsoft PowerPoint template that not only imparts a sense of customization but ensures a steadfast alignment with the brand on every occasion.

20+

Custom illustrations were designed to communicate the Ardeo process

200

Colleges and universities use Ardeo’s services

16.1%

Wouldn’t enroll in college without Ardeo’s LRAP*

*Based on a 2021 survey of 1,200 families of students at several institutions by Ruffalo Noel Levitz