NIMS University: Turning Reputation Around and Tripling Admissions

The brief

Who they are

NIMS University has emerged as one of the largest self-financed universities in North India, structured on the composite-university model and listed among the country’s top medical universities. It spans health sciences, engineering, management, media, art and architecture, drawing students from across the globe and faculty from leading institutes.

The problem

The challenge

Following negative publicity in the media in 2014, admissions fell sharply, from roughly 2,000 a year to about 300 in 2015, then kept fluctuating. The in-house marketing team was unable to reverse the slide, and the problem was compounding: it hurt both the university’s name and its enrolment.

Spend was high but returns were low. Combined online and offline budgets exceeded ₹4 crore, yet campaigns underperformed, high CPCs, low ad quality scores, and consultant fees as steep as ₹50k per admission. The deeper problems were structural:

• Ad campaigns simply weren’t functioning well.
• Lead quality was poor, so conversion rates were poor too.
• Reach was limited and campaigns were poorly managed.
• Worst of all, searches for “NIMS University” surfaced negative links at the top of results, a reputation problem that actively deterred applicants and spread by word of mouth.

The approach

What 6S did

The team audited the funnel end-to-end and rebuilt it channel by channel:

1. Rebuilt the ad campaigns The old campaigns were beyond repair, so 6S created fresh, well-structured campaigns with new landing pages, new ad copy and a much-improved quality score for relevance.
2. Fixed lead quality Restructured landing pages made phone-number and OTP verification compulsory, so only genuinely interested applicants came through, lifting lead quality and conversions.
3. Sharpened audience targeting Facebook campaigns were split into two clear audiences: students aged 16-24 and parents aged 35-55.
4. Reallocated budget to what works Under-performing offline spend, paper ads, banners, hoardings and consultant charges. Was cut sharply and shifted into online promotion.
5. Repaired the reputation 6S ran reputation management across social, search, content and offline channels to push down the negative links and rebuild trust.

Tools used: Facebook, Google Keyword Planner, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Search Console. Services: content & creatives, conversion optimisation, content marketing and reputation management.

The outcome

Results

Since the campaign launch, 6S didn’t just cut costs. It grew results. Paper ads and per-student consultant fees went to zero, digital spend was concentrated where it converted, and admissions rose to approximately 1,700, a strong recovery from the prior cycle, achieved on a leaner, better-targeted budget.