Rice University: Designing emails 85% faster

From 48 hours to 45 minutes, discover how Beefree has helped Rice University design emails faster than ever.

Achieving 85% time savings and improved campaign efficiency

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Rice University, a prestigious private university in Houston, Texas, is celebrated for its robust engineering and architecture programs, diverse college communities, and strong campus traditions.

At the heart of Rice’s development and alumni relations efforts is Sonja Fulbright, the Owl Connect Business Analyst. Sonja plays a crucial role in managing the university’s communications and engagement strategies through Blackbaud’s CRM system.

Rice University, a prestigious private university in Houston, Texas, is celebrated for its robust engineering and architecture programs, diverse college communities, and strong campus traditions. At the heart of Rice’s development and alumni relations efforts is Sonja Fulbright, the Owl Connect Business Analyst. Sonja plays a crucial role in managing the university’s communications and engagement strategies through Blackbaud’s CRM system.

Overcoming the challenges of HTML email design in a university setting

The integration of Blackbaud CRM was a strategic move to unify data across the university. However, the accompanying Blackbaud Internet Solutions (BBIS) platform, used for managing emails and landing pages, quickly became a bottleneck. Different schools and departments, each using various sending platforms, were heavily reliant on Sonja’s team for email lists and design support. When the Architecture Department was onboarded, the complexity of BBIS became a significant hurdle.

As Sonja described, "It felt like coding a whole website from scratch." This highlighted the urgent need for a more efficient tool that could handle complex email designs without extensive coding, while maintaining the robust data integration and security that Blackbaud CRM provided.

Simplifying email creation without switching CRMs

Beefree emerged as the optimal solution, offering a user-friendly design tool that significantly reduced the need for manual coding or building email templates in tables. With features such as drag-and-drop editors, saved rows, and sync capabilities, Beefree was quickly adopted across a few of the university’s departments. Sonja was particularly impressed by how seamlessly Beefree addressed the core issues they faced with BBIS: "It was a very easy adoption for us, which is great because it does not store any data; it is just supporting the design of emails."

Implementing Beefree to enhance collaboration and brand consistency

The implementation of Beefree was straightforward and quickly proved its value across various departments. One of the standout features was Beefree's drag-and-drop email and landing page builders, allowing even non-technical users to easily create high-quality content. The Alumni Relations team, for instance, benefited greatly from Beefree’s saved and synced rows, enabling them to rapidly assemble multiple emails by reusing pre-designed elements during intensive campaigns.

Mobile optimization was another critical feature, ensuring that emails displayed correctly on smartphones. Additionally, Beefree's design tools worked effortlessly alongside the CRM without any concerns about data storage. The dark mode preview feature allowed designers to see how emails appear in different settings, preventing issues like white boxes around logos from disrupting the visual experience. Finally, By locking down assets such as logos and brand colors using the advanced style kit, Beefree ensured that all communications adhered to the university's branding standards.

These features collectively streamlined the email creation process, making it more efficient and consistent across the university.

Achieving 85% time savings and improved campaign efficiency

The results were immediately noticeable, showcasing Beefree’s ease of use and capability to handle complex email campaigns efficiently:

Significant time savings: Email template creation time was reduced from six hours for one incomplete template to just 45 minutes for eight complete templates.
Improved email production efficiency: The Annual Giving team was able to send out 12 distinct email pushes during a single 24-hour fundraising challenge, leveraging the speed and flexibility of Beefree.
Increased designers’ satisfaction: Designers were happier with their work, as Beefree eliminated the need for cumbersome coding, allowing them to focus on creativity.
Enhanced collaboration: Features like saved rows allow departments to easily share and reuse design elements, making collaborative projects more efficient.
Consistent Branding: By locking down assets and pre-populating libraries with approved logos, colors, and fonts, Beefree ensured all emails adhered to Rice University’s branding standards.
Better Mobile Experience: Turning off certain blocks for mobile or switching to mobile-optimized designs enhanced the readability and engagement of emails on smartphones.

Voices from the team

“Adopting Beefree was incredibly easy. Since it doesn’t store any data and focuses solely on email design, we were able to get started right away.”

Sonja Fulbright

Owl Connect Business Analyst

Get started with Beefree and empower your school

Since integrating Beefree, Rice University has seen remarkable improvements in efficiency and effectiveness in their email communications strategy. The intuitive design tools and powerful features have enabled a more cohesive and dynamic approach to engaging with alumni and students, setting a new standard for excellence in university communications.

Facing similar challenges? Consider how Beefree could streamline your processes and enhance your campaigns. Try Beefree today and experience the transformative benefits.