Scarlet Knight Marketing, a market research firm created by Allen Shi ’26, Mackenzie Clark ’27, and Samantha Edwards ’27 as part of B348: Marketing Research, has helped University Advancement tap into Gen Z’s thoughts on communications and marketing materials they receive from their Alma Mater after they graduate.

As part of the course, students learn how to develop market research studies in order to find answers to pressing marketing questions. Shi, Clark, and Edwards took on the task of examining how the University positions itself among those born since 1997.

“A big part of the class is experiential learning, meaning we apply what we learn through a real-world client project rather than just focusing on lectures,” Clark explained. “The goal in working with University Advancement was to better understand Gen Z students and alumni, their perspectives after graduating, and what motivates them to be engaged with Arcadia.”

The working partnership between University Advancement and Scarlet Knight Marketing came from an existing relationship between Rachel Fox ’15M, director of Advancement Communications, and the School of Global Business.

“I have a close relationship with the School of Global Business from my time spent as a graduate assistant during my master’s program here at Arcadia,” Fox said. “Professor Jennifer Fritch approached me about the possibility of us being a client for her marketing class, and it just fit. Alumni engagement is an environment that requires consistent pulse checks, and the work that Scarlet Knight Marketing provided is essential to helping us better meet our alums where they are.”

The trio interacted with 64 students and alumni through an online survey and two focus groups. Although the sample size was small, Scarlet Knight Marketing believes the findings are projectable to a broader Gen Z population.

“ Obviously, 53 [survey] respondents are not all of our Gen Z alumni, and 11 students [in the focus groups] are not the entire current population of students,” they said during the presentation, “but we do feel as though we can look beyond just the numbers and understand consumer behavior and motivations.”

One key insight uncovered by the team is that an emotional connection between alumni and the University does exist, but it’s not translating into action. Fifty-nine percent of Gen Z alumni they surveyed reported having little to no interaction with the University after graduation. Top barriers to engagement include time constraints, financial limitations, lack of overall awareness, and weak post-graduation relationships.

To combat this, Scarlet Knight Marketing recommended University Advancement shift from generic communications to more relationship-driven engagement. This could include leveraging relationships built with professors, athletic coaches, and others who help young alumni remember how special their time on campus was.

“It’s about building lifelong alumni relationships,” Edwards said. “As we saw from the data, this is what a lot of young alumni are wanting; focus on building a sense of belonging post-graduation.”

The market research was presented to Fox and Nicole Steiner, associate vice president for Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving. Throughout the presentation, Shi, Clark, and Edwards shared anecdotes from their survey and focus groups, allowing Fox and Steiner to hear directly from those involved.

“Several respondents said they feel their professors are still available to them after graduation, and these professors are another reason why they come back for alumni events,” the team told Fox and Steiner. “So it’s not just classmates, but also professors and staff members that help alumni feel connected.”

Receiving the anecdotes and accompanying data came at no cost to University Advancement. According to Fritch, an assistant professor of Marketing who teaches the course, a project like this could run upwards of $50,000.

“This would cost an organization $30,000-$50,000 to give a sense of value the students provided,” she said. “If you’ve seen market research before, this is typical for what engagement and results might look like. In other words, companies with small budgets would never be able to afford such research.”

Scarlet Knight Marketing wrapped up their presentation by relaying a recommendation to University Advancement:

“Build a community alumni want to stay a part of, not just one that they hear from.”