How data-led recruitment took Duke-NUS 280% above its lead target
The challenge
Duke-NUS faced a candidate-quality problem. Its messaging spoke only to the narrow audience it assumed it wanted: Singapore-based medical graduates. But the School's own admissions data told a different story about who actually succeeded.
Across previous cohorts, 35% of successful applicants came from outside science, from engineering, arts, humanities and finance. 30% weren't from Singapore. 18% already held a masters or doctorate. The thing they shared wasn't a background. It was intent.
A message the data could stand behind
We ran a four-step approach: define the audience's needs and pain points, crystallise the message, deliver it to the right people, and meet them at every touchpoint. Student surveys told us applicants chose Duke-NUS because their previous skills were transferable into medicine and they wanted to prove the field was open to everyone.
So we retuned the message. Less emphasis on curriculum and campus life, which matter mid-funnel but not at the top, and more on the school's real differentiators: the Clinician-Plus model, top healthcare-sector partnerships, and collaborations with leading researchers. The recruitment campaign then ran across Singapore, China and the USA against a modernised, mobile-responsive site.
The Results
Better applicants, at a lower cost
Campaign Assets
The Creative Work
