Clearwater, FL – September 27, 2018— Digital Media Solutions (DMS), the fastest-growing independent agency focused on performance marketing, announced the launch of DMS Education. Described as the “culmination of significant strategic investments,” by COO of DMS Fernando Borghese, DMS Education is the product of organic growth and the unification of a robust portfolio of industry-leading lead generation companies acquired by DMS, including Avenue 100/CourseAdvisor, Lead Media Partners and One on One Marketing.
Since 2002, DMS Education brands have been supporting the higher education industry, including traditional and for-profit colleges, trade schools, community colleges, boot camps, continuing education providers, OPMs and agencies. Throughout the years, the Digital Media Solutions education offering has expanded through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions.
“Higher education performance marketing has always been core to our capabilities as a trusted partner to a long list of academic institutions,” said Borghese. “Now with our unified DMS Education brand, we are the clear leader in this space.”
DMS Education uses robust targeting and routing logic to deliver predictable volumes of inquiries at scale to higher education institutions. Employing a diversified, multi-channel strategy, DMS Education media is dominated by internal, owned-and-operated traffic, including well-known, education-focused properties and a 150+ seat call center based in Clearwater, FL. DMS Education has significant reach and manages a large and growing share of the education lead industry:
DMS Education will continue to be led by higher education marketing industry veteran Cliff Libby, who joined the company earlier this year. The broader DMS Education team includes senior leadership with more than 50 years of collective experience in education, which means they understand the unique characteristics of the education consumer and their journey.
“DMS Education is the most reliable partner in the business for predictable, consistent and scalable higher education performance marketing solutions,” said Libby, Executive Vice President and General Manager of DMS Education. “Supported by the best team in the business, our list of owned-and-operated education portals, in-house media buying, email marketing, call center teams and proprietary technology will drive higher education growth for years to come.”
According to recent reports, between Q1 of 2017 and Q1 of 2018, inquiry volume for both campus-based and online programs increased. Add to that, advanced degree holders are still more likely to have jobs and earn better salaries than their peers. In a post-recession world, adult consumers are interested in leveraging higher education degree and certificate programs for career advancement, higher income and other employment opportunities. With DMS Education re-introduced to the marketplace via a more streamlined and comprehensive offering, DMS has massively expanded its reach across a multitude of mediums to help higher education institutions connect with high- intent consumers.