LocalPlay Helps Universities and Students Connect
Web-Controlled CD Boosts JMU Admission Yield 20 Percent

LocalPlay, Inc. enters the higher-education market with a success story already in play: Virginia’s James Madison University has improved admission yield by 20 percent, thanks to a LocalPlay Disc. The powerful, Web-controlled CD-Rom allowed prospective students to sample the campus experience via video, live chats and up-to-the-minute information. JMU mailed the customized LocalPlay Disc, labeled “JMU OneDisc,” to 11,000 students along with acceptance letters this spring.

“When prospective students visit the JMU campus they almost always enroll. Trouble is, out-of-state students don’t always make the trip,” said Andrew Perrine, director of the Identity Leadership Team. ”So our challenge was to find a medium that allowed us to bring the campus and its atmosphere to the student. LocalPlay was amazing — our four-week promotion made the difference.”

LocalPlay produces CDs that display rich media from disc and text from the Web. Viewers enjoy one integrated, up-to-date presentation with fast playback.

“LocalPlay provided a great experience for prospective students,” said Perrine. “They could see a video showing their peers in action — interacting in class, skiing at a resort close to campus — then join a chat to communicate with a JMU student live. And they never had to press a ‘back’ button or figure out where they’d been.”

JMU administrators were as impressed with another benefit, time savings, as Perrine was with the student response. Since LocalPlay gave prospective students easy access to chats and targeted content, staff had to field fewer routine questions. They could therefore concentrate on assisting students with special queries. “A recruitment effort that produces added benefits in our operation ? especially in tight budget times ? is a godsend,” Perrine declared. “It was gratifying.”

LocalPlay’s flexibility provided an additional benefit for JMU. Graphics-rich content such as videos were programmed directly onto the CD, but text — which resided on a special Web site reflecting the university’s online “look” — could be posted at any time. This allowed the staff to develop the chat schedule at their own pace ... and permitted them to add chats over the course of the four weeks. “Knowing new chats would be posted gave students a reason to keep coming back to the CD,” Perrine pointed out. And since the Web content was hosted by LocalPlay, the university’s busy network never had to accommodate high-volume traffic from prospective students.

Perrine, who is in charge of the university’s marketing efforts, appreciates the fact that LocalPlay delivered all these benefits for less money than the cost of a “hard-coded” interactive CD. LocalPlay typically costs as much as 75 percent less — while cutting development time from months to weeks.

Perrine is already making plans for next year’s LocalPlay promotion. Among the new features the staff is considering are surveys, printable enrollment forms and registration capabilities. They’re also planning to begin the promotion earlier in the year: “If we could get these results with a one-month promotion in April, we want to see what happens if we mail CDs to our early admits in January!” Perrine declared.

LocalPlay (localplay.com), a privately owned company in Sterling, Virginia, has already experienced success in categories such as long-distance learning and recruitment. The company is excited about its entry into higher education. “LocalPlay has pleased clients as diverse as SYColeman Corporation and the U.S. Army,” stated Roy Weinstock, LocalPlay’s founder and president. “JMU’s experience proves higher education is another natural fit. Colleges and universities want to show students they’re on top of new technologies — there’s no better way for them to connect.”