Most of my friends and colleagues know I’m not one for the November and December holidays. My nickname is Scrinch , a combination of Scrooge and Grinch. But, I do love New Year’s. It’s global, non-sectarian, and is about a fresh start and beginning.

For years I’ve been preaching about the experience economy and what it means to recruiting students, especially through more authentic, engaging, and memorable campus visits.

I have two titles at TargetX: VP, Consulting and Apostle of Authenticity. My mission as the Apostle of Authenticity is to get schools to be comfortable with who they genuinely are and to embrace their core DNA.

But our industry is overrun with a generation of leaders (most of whom have been raised in the era of Cold War propaganda and the Golden Age of advertising) who want to control the message. Well, wake up, change, or go ahead and retire. It’s soon to be 2012 and we don’t have time for marketing fluff, BS, and PR spin. Keep it real!

Prospective Millennial students crave and demand it. Keeping it real is the best way to recruit best-fit students.

Don’t just take my word for it.

The December 2011 Deliver Magazine‘s cover story is Piecing Together Millennials. A few quotes that matter:

“But while Millennials may be more accessible than some imagine, marketing to this group comes with its own set of rules — including one especially gilded commandment: Be real.”

“Millennials seek authenticity,” says Leah Reynolds, a consultant specializing in communicating across generational borders. “It’s not the mechanism that’s key — various forms of communication will work — it’s the voice. It’s laser focus on their situation and their needs that will resonate.”

“Millennials can be resistant to traditional mass market communication.” Reynolds recommends that marketers use a more targeted approach. “They’re looking for something they deem credible.”

Download the whole issue in PDF format at http://www.delivermagazine.com/deliver-archive/. Words of wisdom from your target audience.

So what does this mean to recruitment? Consider this expert in a recent Albany NY Times Union blog post entitled “Pace Yourself Victoria” by a high school senior about the application and all-important campus visit:

“I visited Pace University in New York City with my father on Friday, I am obsessed. At first when I started thinking about schools I thought my absolute number one choice in dream colleges was Syracuse University, well that was quickly changed after stepping just one foot on Paces’ campus.
I have always been a city girl. The big apple is where I have always wanted to live for at least a little while, why not spend four years there exploring to see how I like it? The opportunities the students are given with internships at well known, big businesses right in their metropolitan area are amazing.
Our tour guide was a sophomore at Pace and raved about everything, she was very honest when it came to the knit and grit of some topics such as the living situations and food, which made me trust her so much more.”
Key words: honest and trust. That’s what Millennials want. Now I’m thrilled and proud to say that Pace University is a campus visit consulting client. We’ve conducted several rounds of tour guide training and I know it’s positively impacting their enrollment.
So to all you college presidents, boards, VPs, deans and directors, it’s about to be 2012. Trust in authenticity keep it real, and empower those who work for you do the same. It is a resolution that will impact your bottom line and enrollment.

Read more about our authors.  Jeff is the VP of the Consulting Division and also known as the “Apostle of Authenticity.” He crisscrosses the country speaking at conferences and working with our clients. He’s driven by a mission to inspire higher education executives and admissions offices to overthrow dead culture, embrace their authentic “DNA” and render engaging experiences.