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Look to Michigan FY26 Paid Media Co‑Op Program

A Smarter Way to Extend Your Reach

A centrally managed paid media opportunity for the University of Michigan schools and colleges.

Purpose

The Look to Michigan (LTM) FY26 Paid Media Co-Op Program is a pilot initiative that provides participating schools and colleges with access to efficient, high-reach paid media through a centrally managed, co-branded approach. The program is designed to build system-level awareness and long-term brand equity while reducing cost, complexity, and duplication of effort across units. This initiative is intentionally upper-funnel in focus and is not intended to replace school-level, conversion-optimized campaigns.

Why Participate

Reaching prospective students at a meaningful scale is increasingly difficult and expensive. Fragmented budgets, limited internal capacity, and rising media costs often mean individual school campaigns struggle to break through.

The Look to Michigan (LTM) FY26 Paid Media Co-Op Program helps participating schools and colleges extend their reach by combining resources, messaging, and media buying power into a coordinated, university-wide effort.

This program allows your unit to benefit from greater visibility, professional campaign management, and reduced administrative burden while still maintaining control over your priorities and destination experience.

What You Get

Greater Reach—Together:
Pooling investment across participating units achieves a much stronger and more noticeable market presence than stand-alone campaigns.

Professionally Managed Campaigns:
Michigan Creative manages campaign strategy, execution, optimization, and reporting, saving your team time and effort.

Stronger University Signal:
Your school benefits from consistent visibility as part of a coordinated University of Michigan presence, while directing traffic to your unit-specific destination.

Look to Michigan Logo

Program Timing & Eligibility

Program period: March 1 – June 30, 2026
All program funds must be spent by June 30, 2026.

Eligible participants:

  • Schools and colleges on the Ann Arbor campus
  • University of Michigan–Dearborn
  • University of Michigan–Flint

Ready to Participate?

Fill out our form

Creative Approach

Standardized templates will be provided to each participating unit, including two ad variations per ratio—four images total (two square, two vertical). Each variation features its own text and photo. Additional creatixve options or variations are available upon request and scoped separately.

Square Ratio LTM Templates
Square Ratio Templates
Portrait Ratio LTM Templates
Portrait Ratio Templates

How the Program Works

  • Campaigns run as part of a centrally managed Look to Michigan paid media initiative
  • Each participating school or college receives a proposal tailored to:
    • Audience targeting
    • Destination URLs
    • Campaign goals
  • Creative is developed using standardized Look to Michigan templates designed to perform effectively at scale
  • Campaigns are optimized and reported on centrally, with school-specific results provided

Note: This is an upper-funnel program focused on awareness and brand equity. It is designed to complement, not replace, school-level recruitment or conversion-focused campaigns.

Channel & Strategy

  • Channel: Meta (Facebook and Instagram) only
  • Rationale:
    • Best platform for efficient reach at scale
    • Simplified execution and governance for a shared program
    • Consistent measurement and reporting across participants

Reporting & Measurement

  • At the conclusion of the program, participating units receive:
  • A comprehensive program-level wrap-up report
  • School-specific performance slides
  • Access to a shared data table

Key metrics include: landing page views, impressions, clicks, and engagement indicators to support post-campaign evaluation.

What Your Team Needs to Provide

Participation is designed to be lightweight. Schools and colleges will be asked to provide:

  • Audience targeting input to inform campaign development
  • Approval of copy and photography provided by Michigan Creative
  • Units may also submit photography for consideration
  • A destination URL for campaign traffic
  • White horizontal logo file with your unit name
  • A shortcode for billing

Michigan Creative handles campaign execution, optimization, and reporting.

Investment & Co-Op Match

Minimum investment
$5,000 per participating school or college

Co-op match:
Up to $10,000 per participating school or college

Additional Details
Schools and colleges may invest more than $10,000; however, the co-op match is capped at $10,000.

This structure makes participation accessible for smaller units and scalable for larger units, all within a consistent and equitable framework.

Ready to Participate?

Schools and colleges interested in participating in the LTM FY26 Paid Media Co-Op Program are invited to submit an interest form below.

Submitting the form does not guarantee participation. Michigan Creative will follow up with eligible units to confirm alignment, capacity, and next steps.

Interest submission deadline: 2/20/2026

For more information, please contact us at LTM-Co-Op@umich.edu