Archive for 'Marketing'

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A little less conversation

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Change.

It’s an emotionally charged word in higher education, if not a dirty one.  And it’s been the war cry here at TargetX since day one.

When I joined the company back in 2005, I was quickly immersed into a culture of higher ed professionals trumpeting the need for industry change.  Defects from a world of cushy benefits and questionable accountability, they struck out on their own to become a voice of change in an industry sliding desperately into denial.

Together the team here wrote blog posts and email newsletters outlining how colleges needed to engage a new generation and operate more efficiently.   We spent years speaking at conferences about the impending shifts in technology, generations, demographics and more.  We even created our ...

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13
APR
0

Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Change, College Recruiting, Leadership, Marketing, Overthrowing Dead Culture, Uncategorized

Ch-Check it out

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Yes, that’s a Beastie Boys song title. While some may scoff at the idea of learning something from three guys who go by Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock — their 25-year career, international fan base and 2012 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is certainly no joke. And higher ed would be smart to listen up — there are serious lessons to be learned from this Brooklyn rap trio.

“The Beastie Boys Guide to Brand Storytelling” by Kimberly Bordonaro identifies seven elements that explain why their loyal following over the years didn’t happen because they got lucky. It happened through a unique blend of what the kids today would call “sick” rhymes, funky fresh beats, and for ...

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9
MAR
0

Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Communication, Marketing, Storytelling

Marketing is like sex…

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Why?  Everyone thinks they’re good at it!

All joking aside, it’s true. Everyone from your brother to your boss has got their own definition of what marketing is and what makes it great (or horrendous, or remarkable, or offensive, or inspired…)

So much so that it can make it quite difficult for someone in my shoes to be confident my team and I are hitting the mark.

If you’re feeling my pain, then don’t miss this list of “10 Companies with Insanely Great Marketing.”

Of course you’ll glean insights from legends like Apple, Nike and Geico (I confess, I can’t get enough of Maxwell, the pig who cries “weee weee weeeee” all the way home. Never gets old.)

But as much as we all have ...

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2
MAR
0

Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Communication, Marketing

Facebook without the whining

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“I would have written this article sooner,” says business journalist Lydia Dishman, “but I was busy on Pinterest.” Turns out, she wasn’t alone.

In her recent story in Fast Company magazine — entitled “Why Pinterest Is So Addictive” — Dishman explores the reasons this relatively new social networking site is attracting so many people, including, perhaps, students you’re trying to recruit.

Launched in 2010, Pinterest has suddenly exploded in popularity, with nearly 12 million unique U.S. visitors last month. The site is a virtual bulletin board that enables you to create online image collages, then easily share those collages — called pinboards — with other users.

Part of Pinterest’s appeal is that it is visually beautiful and overwhelmingly positive (“like Facebook without the ...

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24
FEB
1

Categories: College Recruiting, Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking

All Purchasing is Emotional – Especially Where to Attend College

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I will never understand the mind of teenagers. When we’re conducting tour guide workshops we ask students why they chose their school. There are always two repetitive answers: I visited and it felt right and I could see myself here.

I’ve also heard the most irrational reasons to support their choice:

  • “It was snowy and everyone was wearing flip flops when I visited in January and I thought they were cool.”
  • “My mom is afraid to drive over bridges, so I decided when I was crossing the Delaware river on the Ben Franklin bridge while driving in for a campus visit.”

As an emotive marketer, I was thrilled to read an article in a recent issue of The Economist about Ernest Dichter, an acolyte ...

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26
JAN
1

Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Marketing

Mailing Millennials

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Talking about “snail mail” as an effective recruitment strategy is sure to raise an eyebrow or two, but don’t discount its benefits and the value it adds. In the second half of this year’s recruitment cycle, admissions offices are thinking more about acceptance letters, open house invitations and financial aid packages — all traditionally print recruitment pieces — that still work according to Deliver Magazine.

In the article “Making sense of the Millennials” by Allan Nahajewski, Millennials don’t mind direct mail. According to one study, Millennials say 75 percent of the mail they receive is valuable, and 73 percent of them have used direct mail coupons.

With this in mind — what’s the most effective way to use direct mail? ...

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13
JAN
0

Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Communication, Communication Plans, Marketing, Millennial Generation, Millennials

Writing your school’s resume

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You’ve heard it a thousand times — Be distinctive; stand out from your competitors. You can’t do that with your faculty/student ratio, no matter how impressive. Or with your small class sizes, no matter how important. Or with the personalized attention your professors provide their students, no matter how beneficial.

Start your story with something that cuts through the college marketing clutter, say all the experts. But perhaps no one has said it quite like advertising executive Angie Jones.

“I have a Bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing,” Jones writes in a recent blog post. Pretty good, but unfortunately millions of people in America have the same degree and emphasis, she says. “Education-wise, I don’t stand out from ...

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11
JAN
0

Categories: Authenticity, College Recruiting, Communication, Marketing

Marketing is the future

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American universities are not the only ones struggling with change these days. Sharply rising tuition and increasing competition from abroad have schools in the UK relying on marketing like never before.

For a higher education system that has hummed along since the 12th century, aggressive marketing was something other industries had to worry about. But that is changing, says Britain’s William Annandale, and he offers five predictions for the future of higher education marketing that may have relevance for those of us in the colonies:

Differentiate or die. “All HEIs [higher education institutions, as they're known in the UK] need to think clearly about their proposition and how they differentiate themselves. Importantly, this should be addressed from the perspective of target audiences: ...

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9
DEC
0

Categories: Change, College Recruiting, Communication, CRM, Marketing

And the winners are…

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As one of the leading change agents in higher education, Jeff Kallay is always looking for kindred spirits. Especially when it comes time to select winners of the X Award, the annual prize from TargetX that goes to those who did the most to “overthrow dead culture” in college admissions.

Kallay lobbied hard for two of the top private colleges in the South for their innovative approaches to recruitment marketing, and his colleagues at TargetX agreed.

As a result, Saint Leo University in Florida has received the 5th annual X Award in recognition of an institution that has made great strides to overthrow dead culture, the phrase adopted by CEO Brian Wm. Niles to represent the company’s philosophy of modernizing student recruitment.

And ...

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11
NOV
2

Categories: Change, College Recruiting, Marketing, Overthrowing Dead Culture

Relationship building with CRM

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Jill Dougherty Cleary is busy. As Director of Marketing and Recruitment for Graduate Arts and Sciences at Saint Joseph’s University, Jill is responsible for generating qualified inquiries and leads for over 40 graduate programs.

“In the course of a day, I may have radio and online campaigns going,” she says. “I may have a niche publication advertising one of our programs.” Add to that monitoring search engines and social media marketing and it would be easy for Jill to get overwhelmed in the noise.

Jill and her colleagues rely on a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to help them rise above the media din.

“What the CRM enables us to do is take a more global look at the ...

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21
OCT
0

Categories: College Recruiting, CRM, Graduate Recruiting, Marketing