Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, launched their immersive Circuit virtual tour in December 2025 to better showcase campus life and drive top-of-funnel engagement.

The experience was built with engagement and conversion in mind, with dynamic tours, a mascot-led scavenger hunt, student videos, audio narration, and a CRM-integrated form.

In just two months, Drake attracted over 5,000 visitors from around the world, exceeded engagement benchmarks, and used in-tour forms to drive reliable inquiry volume. Read on to learn more about how they did it, and explore the tour for yourself here: https://virtualtour.drake.edu/

The problem

As they considered new virtual tour platforms that could meet their evolving digital needs, Drake was looking for a dynamic solution for showcasing Drake’s vibrant campus experience in a more engaging, user-friendly way.

In rebooting their tour, the team had three primary objectives:

First, highlight the university's strong sense of community with scenes of life on campus and student testimonials.

Second, support top-of-funnel lead generation with CRM inquiry forms, event notices, and embedded admissions touch points.

Third, gain access to actionable analytics that would allow their team to continuously refine and evolve their tour strategy.

The solution

To bring their vision to life, Drake created a student-centric virtual experience that is designed to drive both engagement and conversion.

The project was driven by a strong partnership between the Admissions and University Communications and Marketing teams. The groups met weekly and appointed two dedicated project champions from each side to guide the implementation. This structure kept the project organized, teams aligned, and the launch on schedule.

Deneen Dygert, Associate Director of Admission, shared:

"[O]ne of the key strengths of Circuit is our ability to add, enhance, omit, alter, content as we deem necessary. Having ownership and training to make content expands our flexibility, [our] ability to strategize, personalize and adapt to inevitable changes in higher ed and on-campus."

Key elements of their launch included:

• 12 immersive tours spanning campus highlights, residence halls, athletics facilities, and academic faculties to provide a comprehensive view of campus life.
• Authentic, high-energy scenes, including a standout Knapp Center scene filmed during a live NCAA Division I basketball game, capturing the Bulldog spirit.
• Embedded student-led videos in every scene, offering an authentic, inside look at life on campus.

• A virtual scavenger hunt featuring Drake’s live mascot, Griff, hidden within each 360° panorama to encourage deeper exploration and increase time spent in the experience.

• Audio narration designed to enhance accessibility and deepen engagement.
• A fully integrated CRM form within the tour, enabling seamless lead conversion directly within the experience.

"Circuit really fills a gap that has been missing in higher education. In the past, our virtual campus tours were difficult to update, and our previous vendors simply missed the mark. Circuit understood what we needed and recognized how important a virtual campus tour is for higher education in today’s market." - Jeremy Sievers, Director of Marketing

The results

From launch, Drake supported the tour with a focused promotional strategy that drove immediate impact for future Bulldogs.

Awareness

They prominently featured the tour on high-traffic webpages, promoted it through TikTok and Meta ad campaigns, sent targeted email communications to prospective students, and embedded links to specific tour scenes within their email marketing drip campaigns.

The results were immediate and measurable. The tour attracted over 5,000 visitors from 35 countries, 46 U.S. states in the first two months alone.

Engagement & Conversion

Engagement also exceeded Circuit benchmarks, with average duration up 25% and time per page up 212%. The combination of vibrant content, relevant embedded video stories on scenes, a selection of 12 diverse tours, and the Griff scavenger hunt were effective in enticing visitors. Nearly 25% of engaged sessions used the narrated audio guide, while 14% of successful CTA sessions resulted in form submissions, supporting the enrollment team’s conversion goals.

Conclusion

Drake’s launch demonstrates what’s possible when creativity, strategy, promotion and data work together to support enrollment goals.

By combining experience design with promotional strategy, the university transformed its virtual tour into a powerful recruitment asset that is expanding reach, driving engagement, and generating qualified leads, laying the foundation for continued optimization and growth.

Jeremy Sievers summarized the experience:

"Circuit offers a best-of-breed product that’s quick to implement. The people who work there are truly incredible. When you combine fantastic technology with a top-notch service team, it creates a real recipe for success."

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