Hybrid's past year in Philly

Reflecting on the past year at Hybrid's Philadelphia office, we've achieved remarkable growth and success.

Our partnerships with educational institutions have surged by 250%, and our team has expanded by an impressive 40%. We’ve also made the move into our stylish new office on Market Street, which we’ve given a distinct Hybrid interior design flair.

Strategically located in Philadelphia’s educational hub, home to some of the top higher education institutions in the Tri-State area, our office has been at the forefront of these developments. This past year has been busy with nationwide travel, meeting with various educational institutions to strengthen the presence of Hybrid’s refreshed education platform, Study College, and showcasing the broader capabilities of the Hybrid brand.

With 15 years of experience in working with US schools and colleges — we understand the enrollment challenges facing our partners and are dedicated to devising new strategies to keep students connected to higher ed, with both new and long-standing partners.

Adapting to our partners’ needs has never been so important – with the continued rise of online programs, a growing apathy towards college and the end of affirmative action, we’re building more tailored campaigns than ever. Our teams have been working with clients to advertise at program level, supporting specific programs such as Msc and MBA – all the way up to faculty level through to central marketing.

But enough about us – hear what some of our team have to say about their biggest 2023 highlights:

"When I joined in January of 2023, it was exciting to be a part of something that was moving at such a fast pace. More importantly, it was the first time I ever felt like I was a PART of that process. It was the first time I came to work feeling like I was truly a part of a team that was moving forward every day, and seeing the exponential growth the office has gone through only fuels my excitement for next year!

My most interesting challenge was time management. I’ve been fortunate in my first year to be in a position where I’m not only working with new clients, but also managing my team’s calls too. Having to pivot from my own meetings to then jumping into someone else’s is something I’ve never done before, but I’m feeling more confident than ever.

It's easy to overcomplicate things and over analyse when you're speaking to a potential new client. But I find I’m most successful when I allow myself to not take things personally and more importantly, have fun with it!"

Jon Harrison works in Business Development, growing partnerships with higher education institutions across the US.

“My favourite project this year has been helping to build and launch Columbia University’s first full annual campaign with us. They have such a unique offering with their location, history, and acumen – there’s so much value to squeeze out.

In terms of my biggest challenge, I’d have to say moving to work from Study College, Hybrid’s education news platform, to working directly with our partnered clients. It was a big jump up, with many more moving parts involved in running a successful partner campaign. In this role, prioritisation has been key. There can be so much going on, so understanding the key objectives and what needs to be focused on first has been essential.”

Jessi Gerowitz is a Senior Account Manager at Hybrid, working on the front lines directly with our university partners.

“Over the past year, our partnership with Georgia Southern University's College of Arts and Humanities has been my favourite project. Tasked with tackling some of the problems faced nationally by colleges of arts and sciences, we aimed to elevate undergraduate recruitment by 10% this year.

We knew it would require effective audience mapping, informed channel selections, compelling insight-led creative, and super personalised re-marketing. The reason it was such an enjoyable project was because we used new predictive modelling tools to identify high-yield audiences and inform the geo-targeting strategies. The channel forecasting and creative solutions resonated powerfully with students, ultimately addressing their concerns about career utility of arts and humanities degrees.
The impact exceeded everyone's expectations. With a 30% surge in applications and 20% increase in enrolment, the work over the last 12 months has really paid off!

This past year has been moving so quickly, and it felt like we were adding new faces to the office every week. So many people have come into the business in different roles, and making sure that we get that right has been a big challenge. Hybrid has always been a very social company, and it’s something we wanted to continue in 2023. Making sure that there was something for everyone has been so much fun!

One colleague I’ve worked with this year has a good saying - ‘some things you should get right, and some things you'll definitely get wrong. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect to be fantastic.’ I like that a lot. And will be taking it with me in 2024."

Matt Hurley is Hybrid’s Director of North America – a Brit abroad, he has been working exclusively with US clients for several years.