Higher education marketing
Higher Ed Marketers: Elite Universities Go Virtual, Making You More Valuable
With last month’s announcement that scores of top-tier research universities will begin offering popular courses online, the work of higher education marketers just became more critical and urgent than ever. The situation wields a double-edged sword. While this offers enormous potential for students and the global economy, colleges and universities fear that it may make them obsolete.
According to an article reported by the Associated Press, supporters say these online courses can lower teaching costs, improve learning (both online and off) and significantly expand access to higher education that can fuel technological innovation and economic growth. On the other hand, critics warn that quality virtual education will undermine the finances of colleges and universities. Think about how web content decimated the newspaper and magazine industries.
No doubt some colleges and universities will suffer as a result of the proliferation of these mass open online courses (MOOCs). But you can safeguard your institution by planning and implementing more thoughtful and meaningful marketing—starting with brand differentiation.
By clearly identifying what your institution stands for, who it appeals to and how they’ll benefit from it, you’ll be well on your way to preservation and prosperity. You must convey that you have relevance far beyond the quality education you provide. In short, you must articulate a broader brand vision. That means defining your guiding star, your institution’s chief inspiration, world view and central philosophy. This will provide you the focus you need to achieve long-term goals.
From there, center your work on developing unique brand positioning. Quite simply, the net impression you intend to own in your audiences’ minds. Use this brand positioning statement as your internal strategic brand guide and overall communications compass.
Once positioned, follow up with strong value propositions. Think about the assets and promises you can deliver that make your positioning credible then deliver it in your own fresh voice. Communicate your values through your personality.
As you are well aware, there are many other steps involved in differentiating your institution and communicating value proposition. It can be a long and arduous process. But don’t wait; start this effort now.
It’s the difference between being prepared to thrive in the face of change and being scared into ignoring it. The reality is that higher education just entered the age of marketing, and it’s one where marketing requires a seat at the strategy table. The acknowledgment of senior administrators is not only a game changer, but a lifesaver.
Higher Education Could Benefit from Change Management
The low hanging fruit from President Obama’s speech on higher education at the University of Michigan last week was the request that colleges and universities continue to focus on cost containment. Since public institutions have been faced with huge decreases in state funding, cost cutting is nothing new and these efforts have met with some initial success. However, it’s not the only remedy as University of Michigan President, Sue Coleman’s rhetorical query articulated … ”can we cut our way to excellence?”
To truly accomplish the bigger goal of making higher education affordable for every family in America requires a much larger, inclusive effort.
It seems premature for the government to start by changing the criteria under which funds from three federal aid programs are awarded before colleges and universities have had the opportunity to devise plans for increasing access and completion. These are initiatives that require the kind of innovative thinking that equates to major changes in business models, institution culture and executive mind-set, education delivery systems, and alliance/co-opertition development.
Perhaps the underlying objective is that this first dramatic step will be the impetus for colleges and universities to act, and the competitions with the big dollar rewards being proposed are designed to soften the blow. After all, you can’t have a carrot without a stick. Trouble is, not everyone can win a competition and those that lose may find themselves without incentive or the ability to continue on the quest to create an “America Built to Last”.
That may leave but one course of action for each and every institution of higher education. Embrace change management now. Follow the processes necessary to embrace it, instill it enterprise wide and implement boldly and with courage.
Making the CASE for Higher Ed Marketing
Brand development, student enrollment, alumni engagement, student retention; all were key issues on the minds of attendees at this year’s annual CASE V higher education conference in Chicago. While many marketers have indicated they lack an accountable marketing and communications plan, it’s not from lack of internal resources. In fact, many are lucky to have creative directors and writers on staff to assist with web sites, social media, and ad hoc materials. The pain point seems to be more focused on the internal obstacles these marketers face from multiple internal “clients” and constituencies with little appreciation for marketing initiatives. There is also an overriding sense of ownership from uncooperative departments that exercise violations of brand guidelines, such as unauthorized variations of logos or departmental web pages that deviate from the approved color palette, layout or tonality.
There is a clear shift from printed matter to digital production in the higher ed sector. Interestingly, even the most prized of show pieces, the view book, was featured in a seminar and roundtable as now going print on-demand, and an iPad app. Student portals, mini-sites, social media are now the distribution points for news and information. And as if making a big statement, the crescendo rose as the concluding session focused on mobile web sites and apps as the next frontier for student, alumni and friends communication. (Did you know that 85% of parents prefer to view a web site over a printed piece? And 79% prefer a mobile web site over a mobile app).
We’re excited that higher education marketers are participating in the shift to digital communications. To students, parents and alumni, it’s how valued communication is delivered that matters.
Process Insights Highlight Higher Education Symposium
Whether you are looking to revitalize your brand, establish robust metrics and measurement or better target adult learners, there was plenty of roadmaps to success presented at the American Marketing Association’s 2011 Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education.
Themed ConnectEd, the conference built more than a solid case for focusing on integrated marketing efforts, but delivered practical how-to advice for accomplishing goals. Starting with the keynote address on Monday morning, Richard Lyons, Dean, Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, outlined how to create an authentic brand. His clear steps included leveraging the processes of change management laid out by John P. Kotter renowned Harvard Business School professor. Chief among his advice is to create a sense of urgency. Lyons encouraged institutions to use capital campaigns as the impetus to drive brand urgency. Critical to Berkeley’s success was also its ability to elevate faculty involvement to the level of ownership. Otherwise, they interpret “brand initiatives” to mean things they don’t have to do.
Another process highlighted at the symposium was Purdue University’s program for building a culture a measurement. There was clear envy and furious note taking in the room as Teri Lucie Thompson, Vice President of Marketing and Media listed their metrics which included everything from awareness and web analytics to QR code scans to app feature usage. Most importantly, the quantitative data she and her team analyze often leads the Board of Trustees to provide incremental funding for marketing.
These are just two examples of specific content that provided action plans that could be applied immediately to any institution’s marketing activity. But they boil down to important process take-aways: build momentum and measure everything.
LFGSM Goes Mobile
The Lake Forest Graduate School of Management (LFGSM) student profile is a 38-year old, mid-level manager, living and working in the busy Chicago area earning $100,000 plus and likely has a young family. This prospect carries a company-issued Blackberry or other task-oriented smartphone. They are mobile and depend on that Blackberry for email, calendars, contacts, online maps, online search and online sources of information and news. You almost never see that device out of their hands. The prospective student is similar in nature and behavior.
In an effort to reach this mobile target audience, CBD created a mobile marketing campaign that leveraged and greatly enhanced an existing “stealth” local marketing campaign for the Chicago campus. Surrounded by competing MBA schools, we previously deployed an out-of-home poster advertising campaign on Chicago’s “L” platforms that carry busy business commuters from home to work and back. While waiting for their trains, our station saturation of multiple poster ad units conveyed the “just steps away from your MBA” message of close proximity to the Chicago campus. This medium was ripe for inclusion of a text messaging (SMS) component to fully engage the prospect while they were standing around waiting for their train. By sending MBA to the text messaging short code (75309), prospects could obtain more information about the school or register for an open house (MBA Preview).
The benefits of a text messaging campaign such as this gave LFGSM the opportunity to establish and continue a dialogue with that prospect via text or email or however the prospect indicated their preference.
While actual response rates cannot be revealed for competitive reasons, we can state that LFGSM expanded the program to include other “stealth” media and enjoyed even greater results.
Mobile Marketing for Marketers in Higher Education
If you’re marketing to an undergraduate prospect, you should consider mobile marketing. If you’re marketing to a Masters candidate, you should consider mobile marketing. If you’re marketing to an MBA candidate you must consider mobile marketing.
The proliferation of smartphones – nearly 50% of all mobile phones in the USA will be smartphones by mid-2011 – and nearly fanatical usage – Apple reports millions of apps have been downloaded – makes mobile marketing a must in the media mix for any higher educational institution. And the trends for 2010 fully support the need for serious marketers to acknowledge and adopt some form of mobile marketing. I spoke with Mickey Alam Khan, editor-in-chief of MobileMarketer.com, and discussed five key trends for 2010.
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
