Prioritizing Veterans’ Needs to Boost Enrollment

San Diego and Imperial Counties needed to fill more than 40,000 job openings across the region. To help address this workforce gap, the San Diego and Imperial County Consortium (SDIC) aimed to connect veterans and military-affiliated students with their 200+ fast-track programs and certifications. However, they faced significant trust and perception challenges with this specific audience.

Our Approach

Through our research, 3fold discovered that veterans have unique needs and a strong preference for trusting connections within their own community. Traditional advertising wouldn’t suffice.

Instead, we developed a strategy focused on building authentic relationships:

  • Created one-to-one connection opportunities through event activations at San Diego Padres games and Fleet Week
  • Partnered directly with Veterans Resource Centers across all 10 regional schools
  • Developed targeted content addressing veterans’ specific concerns about using GI Bill benefits and program flexibility

Impact

Our targeted approach delivered remarkable results:

  • 77% increase in website traffic to the dedicated SDIC veteran landing page
  • 13.9 million impressions served to military-affiliated residents in San Diego and Imperial Counties
  • STEM programs proved especially attractive to veteran applicants
  • 65% of web sessions originated from our strategic Google Display Ad placements

This campaign demonstrates how understanding an audience’s unique needs and communication preferences creates meaningful connections that drive real results.