University of Houston
Compelling magazines and their digital companion that help boost UH’s ranking among the top U.S. universities.
The client
A client since 2022, the University of Houston (UH) is a renowned public research institution surrounded by global influencers in art, culture, and commerce in one of the nation’s largest cities. UH takes a bold, innovative approach to education, research, and problem-solving. It serves a diverse population of undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate-seeking students who are motivated to make significant, positive impacts on the environment, healthcare, society, and everyday life — not only for themselves but also for the world.
The partnership
UH is not waiting to be a force in higher education; it has already arrived. And it’s long past time the rest of academia recognizes it. That’s why UH’s goal is to become one of the top 50 public institutions in the United States.
To help UH attain top 50 status, D Custom creates a best-in-class magazine that tells the stories of academic innovation and success through the experiences of faculty, students, alumni, and the greater Houston community. We collaborate with UH to finalize the editorial lineup for each issue, then take on the writing, editing, fact-checking, proofing, art direction, design, and production.
To complement the biannual magazine, we built and maintain a content hub within the university’s existing content management system and produce additional digital content distributed through email newsletters and a paid social media campaign — all of which we manage from start to finish, with the goal of increasing website traffic.
In 2024, our partnership expanded with the creation of a new biannual magazine called Energy@Scale that helps position UH as The Energy University. Energy@Scale shares space with the flagship publication online.
The takeaways
Everything for UH is moving in the right direction — both in terms of rankings and paid media performance:
20
Rise in U.S. News & World Report rankings since our partnership began in 2022
60%
Increase in traffic to the content hub (Q3–Q4 2024)
258%
Increase in CTR to the content hub (Q3–Q4 2024)
2.37%
CTR on Facebook Ads compared to industry average of less than 1% (Q4 2024)
Flip through the latest issue of University of Houston magazine:
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