Paid digital in higher education offers incredible opportunities to connect with audiences, test creative ideas, and drive measurable results.
This session shares a real-world case study demonstrating how we leveraged campaign data to continuously refine creative and messaging, achieving year-over-year growth across paid digital channels.
Most improvements came from creative and data-driven optimization, and in a few targeted cases, strategic increases in spend amplified results, showing how small, informed adjustments can have a big impact.
Attendees will see exactly what we tested, what drove results, and how to apply the same approach to their own campaigns, translating insights into tangible improvements in engagement, conversions, and ROI.
Rebecca DeShane
Senior Digital Product Strategist, University of Toronto
Rebecca has spent the past 15 years in marketing, starting in the pharmaceutical industry before moving into the agency space, where she spent 10 years working across both B2B and B2C clients. During that time, she led digital experience work across a wide range of clients, shaping digital strategy, UX, and web optimization, and turning data and user insights into strategies that drive conversion and ROI.
Today, she brings that experience to the University of Toronto, working in Advancement supporting central and divisional fundraising and Alumni Relations, where she develops and implements digital marketing strategies for special campaigns, events, and broader university-wide initiatives, oversees DUA-owned digital properties and paid digital strategy, and leads product development for digital applications.
Andrea Villegas Mayorga
Digital Content Coordinator, University of Toronto
Andrea brings a multidisciplinary background in user experience design, web development, and business strategy. Over the past six years at the University of Toronto, she has supported the management of advancement website properties across both content and technical execution, helping implement new features, and training teams on website functionality to support evolving digital needs.
In paid digital, Andrea supports strategy development and campaign management in collaboration with external partners, while leading performance reporting across web and campaign channels. With a strong focus on translating data into actionable insights, she develops year-over-year optimization recommendations that help inform strategy and improve overall campaign effectiveness.