What one higher ed leader exposed about engagement—and why every event team should pay attention.
At a recent conference for higher education leaders, one slide froze the room: “I can’t pay a student to read an email.”
And then she said something even more important: "We still send the emails. Five times.”
Not a joke. A reality. She explained it plainly: incentives don’t work. Reminders don’t work. Even critical messages—deadlines, graduation steps, required actions—sit unopened.
This is the core challenge of engagement marketing: not sending more messages, but finding ways to actually engage your audience so those messages get acted on.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Data Behind the Frustration
This wasn’t just a feeling—it was backed by performance data across higher ed:
- <20% email open rates
- <2% click rates
- Event apps: <50% downloads, most users opt out of notifications
- Event staff: <70% resolution rates, limited by time and bandwidth
At the same time, the audience higher ed instituations are trying to reach has changed:
- 87% of younger audiences expect “modern tech”
- They prefer:
- Instant answers
- Text-based communication
- Easy, on-demand access to information
So the issue isn’t just email. It’s a mismatch between behavior and channel.
Email as Documentation vs. Email as Engagement
Here’s the reality she described: A student misses a graduation requirement. A parent calls—frustrated, confused, escalating.
“What do you mean they didn’t graduate? Why didn’t you tell them?”
The team doesn’t pull engagement data. They pull receipts.
“We sent 15 emails. The student opened 10.”
Case closed: email did its job, just not the job that mattered.
Event Teams Are Running the Same Playbook
Zoom out, and the pattern is identical across events:
- “We sent the reminder.”
- “We emailed the schedule update.”
- “We shared vendor instructions.”
The inbox proves effort, but effort doesn’t drive action.
The Real Question: What Outcome Did You Need?
If your goal is documentation, email works. If your goal is engagement, you need a different lens. Ask these questions instead:
- Did they click?
- Did they confirm?
- Did they show up?
- Did they buy?
- Did they complete the step?
From Activity to Outcomes: What Actually Matters
This is where the concept of Successful Engagements becomes critical—and where modern engagement metrics shift the focus from activity to outcomes:
- Questions asked and correctly answered
- Messages sent and promptly read
- User actions taken (clicks, purchases tasks).
If you don't know the answers to those questions, then the channel failed—no matter how many emails you sent. Not impressions or opens, but measurable outcomes.
Why SMS Changes The Game
At that same conference, another presenter walked through performance data from multiple campaigns. Slide after slide showed the same story: SMS didn’t just outperform email. It dominated it.
Not theory. Not opinion. It was performance data tied to real campaigns. SMS drove significantly higher interaction rates than email. This wasn’t theory. Then Arizona State University shared a concrete example of the power of SMS:
- 27,650+ valid mobile numbers collected
- 20,000+ user inquiries handled
- 100,000+ Successful Engagements
- 70,000+ push notifications delivered
And then the result that mattered most, a single alumni text campaign achieved:
- 8%+ click-through rate (2,400+ clicks)
- More than doubled event attendance
- 300% increase in web ordering sessions for graduation photo packages.
No complex funnel. No drip campaign. Just timing, relevance, and the right channel. Because once a channel produces measurable lift, the debate usually ends.
Why SMS Alone Isn’t the Strategy
Sending text messages doesn’t automatically create results. Random blasts annoy people. Poorly written messages underperform. Generic AI responses damage trust. That’s why 42Chat built Curated AI—our proprietary system that hand-curates and continually refines AI responses for unmatched accuracy and brand voice alignment.
Enter Curated AI: The Missing Layer
To make SMS scalable and reliable, you need precision. That’s where Curated AI comes in:
- Every response is pre-defined and approved
- Continuously refined for accuracy and clarity
- Designed to drive specific outcomes
So when someone replies, the system doesn’t guess. It:
- Answers correctly
- Guides the next step
- Stays on brand
That’s how we sustain 95%+ Correct Response Rate—the percentage of chatbot replies that perfectly address attendee intent. And that’s how organizations grow Connected SMS Users—attendees who actively opt in and maintain a live, two-way SMS relationship with your team. SMS isn’t the strategy; the relationship is the strategy.
Why This Matters Beyond the Event
The biggest shift isn’t just during the event, it’s what happens after. Institutions using SMS effectively are:
- Building early engagement habits with new alumni
- Creating positive, helpful first interactions
- Establishing long-term loyalty from day one
Because communication doesn’t end at the ceremony. It evolves into a community.
Email Documents. SMS Activates.
This experience ripples across industries. Throughout this blog, you could replace “student” or “graduate” with:
- Attendee
- Exhibitor
- Sponsor
- Vendor
- Registrant
And nothing changes. The pattern holds.
If your event depends on:
- Confirmations
- Deadlines
- Purchases
- On-site movement
- Post-event follow-up
Then your communication strategy must drive action—not just archive proof.
The Takeaway
Email won’t disappear. But if your goal is measurable engagement, don’t confuse sending with succeeding.
But let’s stop pretending it drives behavior. Because nobody wants to dig through a cluttered inbox to find a critical update. They want the moment—instantly, on their phone, with one tap.
If you want real engagement:
- Define the outcome
- Choose the channel that delivers it
- Measure what actually matters:
- Successful Engagements
- Correct Response Rate
- Growth of Connected SMS Users
They want the moment. Instant. Clear. Actionable. And it lives exactly where you already know it does: On their phone. One tap away.
