Utrecht University: Embracing Innovation

Utrecht University is a leading international research university where students and top researchers work together toward a better world.

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Utrecht University

Facts & Figures

Industry: Educational institution

Integrations & APIs: For Utrecht University (UU), a specific OAuth integration has been realised, giving employees automated and secure access based on their own rights structure. With over 300 editors of the UU in Maileon’s email marketing software, this is an absolute must.

Favourite features: Dynamic content and anonymous tracking.

Utrecht University

With its 7 faculties, 650 professors and 7400 employees, Utrecht University (UU) covers the entire scientific spectrum of research and education. With more than 30,000 students and 170,000 alumni, UU is one of the largest universities in the Netherlands.

Challenges and objectives

Like many educational institutions, UU faces the challenge of finding an email marketing solution that could keep pace with its evolving needs. The university required a platform that prioritises privacy and security while offering advanced features such as dynamic content and anonymous tracking. Additionally, UU sought a tool that could seamlessly integrate with its existing identity provider (IdP) and accommodate its large user base of over 300 users.

Erik Roelofs, a functional administrator at Utrecht University, shared his insights on the university’s journey to finding the perfect email marketing solution: “Our previous tool did not meet our requirements in the field of privacy and security. Especially the lack of different tracking levels and the lack of different (individual) roles and rights linked to our identity provider (IdP).”

“After extensive market research based on 3 essential criteria, we ended up with 6 possible suppliers. After several demos and trial accounts, we decided on Maileon,” explained Erik Roelofs.

Implementation and results

Switching over to Maileon was a total game-changer for us at Utrecht University. Honestly, it’s like we’ve found a real gem with its easy-to-use setup and all those features that have seriously levelled up our email marketing game. Now, we’re getting our messages out there in a way that really clicks with our diverse audience.

One of my favourite features in Maileon is the dynamic content capabilities. It’s like we can read our recipients’ minds, giving them content that matches what they’re into, their groups, and what they prefer, creating a personalised message every time. This personal touch has made a huge difference, increasing our engagement rates and providing positive feedback from our community.

“The big plus with Maileon is that they think with you on pretty much everything: issues, best practices, strategy.”

– Erik Roelofs

Team structure

Shifting focus to our Maileon user’s structure, The functional team handles the technical aspects of Maileon. With full clearance, we manage the mailing lists, oversee the addition and removal of contacts, and ensure they’re correctly categorised. Meanwhile, the various departments and faculties have their designated mailing lists and manage the emailing process themselves.

Another key aspect of Maileon that has impressed our team is the platform’s commitment to privacy and security. With anonymous tracking and detailed access controls, we can ensure that sensitive data remains protected while still gaining insights into the performance of our email campaigns. This means anyone outside our team can’t access contact details or individual preferences. However, they can still review overall reports, such as open rates and click-throughs, to understand what resonates with the audience.

Marketing Automation efforts

In the past year, we’ve successfully implemented an onboarding automation flow tailored for new employees at Utrecht University. This welcome sequence includes 8 or 9 emails, distributed over the first two months. New members of our staff are automatically enrolled to receive these emails, starting just a few hours after their onboarding begins. The purpose of this flow is to ensure they have all the necessary information and guidance needed to navigate their early days at UU effectively. The feedback on this new initiative has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting its impact on helping new employees feel informed and supported.

Conclusion

Wrapping up, our adventure with Maileon at Utrecht University really shines a light on the impressive things you can do with the right tools and a bit of teamwork in email marketing. Opting for a platform that doesn’t skimp on privacy, security, or making things easy for users has definitely opened some new doors for us in terms of engaging with our community and growing our reach.

As we keep pushing the envelope on what email marketing can achieve, it’s clear that having Maileon in our corner is a big plus. This partnership, built on a solid foundation of striving for the best and crafting top-notch experiences, sets us up for some exciting times ahead.