Established in 1964, AMDA is a leading performing arts institution that has launched some of the most successful careers in theatre, film, television and dance. AMDA's Degree Programs and AOS or Certificate Programs support, teach and guide artists focused in all areas of the performing arts.
Connecting and Celebrating All Alumni
As a performing arts institution with campuses in LA and NYC, students come to AMDA with the goal of being a professional in the field of TV, film and stage. But many alumni take different career paths. Some find success in related professions as directors, producers and choreographers, while others branch out into teaching, communications, marketing, and more.
AMDA wants to celebrate, connect and shine a spotlight on all their alumni, not only those performing on Broadway or starring in the latest blockbuster film. To accomplish this, AMDA’s objectives are to systematically capture alumni profile information in a way that is accessible, searchable and secure, and provide a dynamic network that fosters communications among their alumni and other constituents.
"Engagement is paramount. By leveraging the platform, tools and customization offered by 360Alumni, AMDA is strongly positioned to nurture and sustain a growing community of thriving and supported entertainment professionals."
Ryan Dejak ‘09. Director of Alumni Engagement and Initiatives
Setting the Stage with Customization
With a clear plan and a long wish list, AMDA knew they would need to find a solution provider willing to collaborate and iterate their product to meet AMDA’s needs. 360Alumni delivered the feature-rich platform, product vision, and technical expertise to create a true partnership that helps them realize their alumni community vision.
As a performing arts school, AMDA’s alumni profiles require more than a typical alumni directory. They need to store and search on physical attributes, vocal range, dance proficiency, dialects, union affiliation and more. And they needed to store and manage high resolution professional headshots.
Ryan Dejak, Class of ’09 alum and Director of Alumni Engagement and Initiatives, worked with 360Alumni’s Product Team to develop specs for a more extensive set of profile fields. During this process, other needs were uncovered that included the ability to link to performance reels, a way to assign tasks and add special notes to user profiles, as well as an easy way to reorder profile sections.
100% Profile Activation
One-to-one pre-graduation onboarding sessions with each student and the Alumni team.
Fast Platform Customization
Within two months a brand new profile layout was delivered including customizable layout, labels, and links on custom fields.
Within four months, 360Alumni delivered a deactivated users list, job posting approval workflow and a CRM-like administrator task management feature.
AMDA was the immediate beneficiary of the platform changes, but the enhancements were released across the entire 360Alumni platform. That means all clients have access to unlimited profile custom fields, drag and drop profile section reordering and the CRM Activity feature.
Applying client feedback quickly and partnering with clients to maximize usability, value and engagement are fundamental to 360Alumni’s business model. That’s just one way we incorporate continuous innovation to keep the platform fresh and stay focused on our clients’ needs.
100% Account Activation Rate
Just as AMDA graduates are unique, so is the effective approach Ryan and his team are using to introduce the alumni community and onboard the newest alumni. AMDA currently adds several hundred graduates to the alumni database before each semester graduation. The AMDA alumni team meets with each student for an in-depth review of the community features and the value it provides.
Most importantly, they work with each student to update their profile, add their contact and casting information, headshot and activate their account during this session. The result is a 100% activation rate for each new graduating class.
AMDA also presents the alumni community when talking with prospective students. Every applicant understands that AMDA truly delivers on their promise of a helpful, engaged alumni network.
What’s Next
Right now, Ryan is focusing on engagement and activations for classes 2000+ and fine-tuning that process. He will be the first to tell you that there is still more thought and work that needs to go into engaging alumni from earlier graduating classes, who reconnect somewhat organically. Ryan is also considering launching a program that utilizes 360Alumni’s Mentorship feature. The untapped talent and experience among AMDA’s thousands of alumni is a tremendous resource, regardless of where a person is in their career journey.
"AMDA alumni are blown away by all the ways they can personalize their profiles and connect with the community. They return to 360Alumni again and again to post on the opportunity board and event calendar, and love receiving notifications directly in their inboxes.”
-Tara Hempstead. Alumni Services Coordinator
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