Case Study: East Tennessee State University achieves increased student engagement and real-world digital marketing experience with Adobe Target

East Tennessee State University Teaches Students to Work with Adobe Experience Cloud for Real-World Marketing Success

East Tennessee State University (ETSU) needed to close a growing industry skills gap in digital marketing by giving students hands-on experience and boosting program recruitment without shifting university resources. To do that, ETSU partnered with Adobe Target and the broader Adobe Experience Cloud (including Adobe Analytics and Adobe Experience Manager) to build the Master of Arts in Brand and Media Strategy and teach personalization, testing, analytics, and content management on industry-standard tools.

By integrating Adobe Target with Adobe Analytics and Adobe Experience Manager into coursework and capstone projects, ETSU students run A/B tests, personalize audiences, manage web content and analyze real-time data on live campaigns. The Adobe Target–powered program helped grow the graduate cohort from 24 to more than 75 students in one year, engaged 70+ industry advisors, supplemented ETSU’s marketing resources with trained student workers, and produced measurable recruitment and engagement gains while delivering employer-ready skills.

East Tennessee State University

Stephen Marshall

Department Chair, Media and Communication Department