iThink Blog

Podcast #38: The Financial Aid Perfect Storm

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Recently I had a very interesting conversation with my friends from Scannell & Kurz including Jim Scannell, Kathy Kurz and Samantha “Sam” Veeder. We discussed what some have called “the perfect storm” around the financial aid crisis hitting colleges and families. They also provide information about their conference in 2009. More information can be found at www.scannellkurz.com

To stream, download and subscribe to the Recruiting Revolution Podcast, click here to launch the iTunes Podcast Store.

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Enough with the walking backwards!

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It’s my soapbox platform – Tour Guides who walk backwards. You’ve read my rants about it here, heard me speak about it all over the country.

In my email exchange with higher education blogger Karlyn Morissette (see post below) about her recent campus visit experience she wrote about the walking backwards issue.

My TargetX colleague Adrienne Bartlett sent me this photo of tour guide t-shirt from a university in Philadelphia:

Enough of the walking backwards! It’s cliche. Again if all you want guest to remember about their visit to campus is how well your tour guides walk backwards, your campus visit program is failing.

Why am I so opposed to walking backwards (I’ve ...

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Karlyn Morissette "visits" Dartmouth

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Higher education blogger Karlyn Morissette, (That’s “Karlyn” like “Car-lin” in Vermont, but “Kaaaaahlyn” if we’re in Boston.) recently conducted a “prospective student” visit at Dartmouth University. (We’ve all seen the famous Drinkin’ Time video that pranks a campus tour at Dartmouth.)

Karlyn sat in the information session, which impressed her; and took a tour, which didn’t impress her.

Click here to read her insightful blog post about her experience.

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The virtual visit

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Further proof that the virtual world is becoming as important as the real thing comes from an Associated Press story lamenting the costs of today’s college search.

“Never mind four years of tuition,” writes AP reporter Dave Carpenter. “The college-selection process alone has gotten so expensive that parents need a budget just to deal with campus visits and other costs.”

That doesn’t mean abandoning the visitation process, he adds. “After all, there is nothing like setting foot on a campus for a prospective student to get sense of a school. But you need to be smart about controlling the costs.”

Start reducing costs by reducing the number of campuses you set foot on, Carpenter advises his readers. He then offers 10 tips for ...

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XpertTip No. 73: The Gen-X Parent

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My colleague Jeff Kallay and I spent last Friday on campus at Philadelphia University, where we helped the “Rambassadors” prepare for another semester on the front lines of the campus visit.

At lunch, we got to talking with our clients Christine Greb and Kathy Kissane about what to expect on campus tours this year.

Our response? “Different parents.”

We were referring to the fact that the parents of visiting prospects are beginning to shift from “Boomers” to “X-ers,” and that with this shift comes a whole new set of values and expectations.

Jeered as the “Baby Bust,” members of Generation X were born roughly between 1965 and 1980. These “latchkey kids” are marked by the emergence of working moms and the prevalence of divorce. ...

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What's a typewriter?

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It’s time for the annual reminder that you’re getting older. More accurately, it’s Beloit College’s August poke at college professors so they don’t make fools of themselves by mentioning people, places and things that have no meaning to their freshman students.

This is the 11th year that Beloit has put together its “Mindset List” to help orient educators to what their students know — and what references will go right over their heads.

“Hardening of the references” is what the list’s creators call it when teachers and administrators forget that events and personalities that are second nature to them are totally unknown or viewed through a different prism by teenagers.

So as you prepare copy for your website, printed pieces, blog posts and ...

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XpertTip No. 72: The Power of X

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It’s a busy day at TargetX — we’re hosting a blood drive here at Canal Works (our illustrious headquarters;)

In the spirit of the day (and in lieu of an XpertTip), I thought I would invite you to learn a little more about our philanthropic effort — the “Power of X.”

Under the leadership of CEO Brian Niles, we’ve agreed to give 1% profits to a local cause, 1% of products to associations that support college recruiting, and 1% of payroll (to allow employees to work for three days with a nonprofit organization in the community).

Read more about the Power of X here

Our friends from Albright College even joined us today to participate (and donate!) It ...

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Microsoft Surface – coming to a visitor center near you?

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Last week the TargetX Interactive Recruiting Workshop was held in Downtown Chicago at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business Gleacher Center. The host hotel was the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers.

The Sheraton had three Microsoft Surface units. Guest could program music, discover the neighborhood, and view satellite images/maps of Earth. We all agreed that these devices would make engaging tools in the any college visitor center.

At the hotel was “Microsoft Chris,” a Surface team member who was managing the installation. In conversation with him, my TargetX colleagues and our guest speakers Marisa Peterson from St. Edwards (TX) and Pete ...

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Lessons from the campaign trail

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Barack Obama’s appeal to young voters has not gone unnoticed by the advertising industry. Long identified as a generation sensitive to hype and resistant to marketing-speak, Millennials have nonetheless responded enthusiastically to the Obama brand.

“Mr. Obama’s brand management, unprecedented in presidential politics, shows pitch-perfect understanding of the keys to appealing to the youngest voters,” writes Peter Feld in the current issue of Advertising Age.

One of the best examples of the Obama campaign’s success with Millennials is its “mastery of cutting-edge social media,” according to Feld. In a passage that may hold lessons for college recruiters, Feld quotes Allison Mooney, who tracks youth trends for Fleishman-Hillard, a strategic communications agency.

Mooney points to the social network set up by the campaign at ...

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XpertTip No. 71: What guidance counselors want

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Two of my best friends and college roommates are high school guidance counselors.

When they aren’t working with students on the college selection process (or wearing one of the myriad other hats that come with the counselor gig), they rely heavily on technology to keep up with their personal lives.

They text message, share YouTube videos and post to photo-sharing sites. And they’re on Facebook. A lot.

Is this your image of the school counselor? If it isn’t, perhaps the way we communicate with prospects isn’t the only thing that needs to change.

Modern guidance offices want what we all want — a better way to keep up. That means making it easier for them to stay updated on important things like new ...

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How students choose

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Canadian colleges have already experienced the demographic dip in high school students now facing their U.S. counterparts, so Ken Steele has become a popular speaker at higher education conferences throughout North America.

The researcher has led his company’s efforts over the years to survey tens of thousands of applicants to Canadian institutions before those students decided where to enroll. The result is a treasure chest of information that Canadian schools have used to shape their marketing and enrollment strategies.

Steele, who is Senior VP at the Academica Group, a Canadian-based consulting firm, most recently shared his research findings and insights at the annual conference of the Society for College and University Planning in Montreal.

Among his observations:

- Canadian colleges have surged ahead of ...

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Don't walk backwards – lessons from the road

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West Virginia University – gathering up the tour group

If you heard me present about the campus visit, you know how my soap box, “Don’t walk backwards (tour guides that is).

I’ve heard all the reason why tour guides walk backwards and I can negate them all.

Why am I so opposed:

1. it slows down the tour,
2. it makes guest uncomfortable (is that tour guide going to trip, fall, loose flip-flop, etc…)walking backwards (and why tour guides shouldn’t),
3. guest look at the tour guide not the campus,
4. you don’t walk across campus backwards with your friends,
5. it’s cliche (even the media mocks it),
6. tour guides don’t have ...

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Ursuline College – "master" level tour guides

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Recently I visited Ursuline College in the Cleveland area. This great little Catholic college is primarily attended by women, and it mission it to give them values, voice, and vision.

Ursuline admissions does a great job customizing each tour based upon prospective student’s interest. More importantly their tour guides are “master” level. Navigator or “Gators” tell stories, ask powerful opened questions, are unscripted, engage in dialog, are honest, and funny. They are some of the best I’ve encountered. One of my tours featured a “rookie” who put most “seasoned” tour guides I’ve encountered to shame. It was refreshing to watch tour guides be “human” not ...

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XpertTip No. 70: The blog research you've been waiting for

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Brad Ward writes for a great blog called SquaredPeg (which you should all subscribe to if you don’t already).

His latest post points to some fantastic student blog research done by Karen Sines Rudolph, Coordinator of Public Information at McLennan Community College.

Her research examined 2,471 blog posts from 349 individual bloggers at 92 institutions during the 2005-2006 school year. Now that’s a mouthful.

It’s the kind of stuff we all dream of doing “as soon as we find the time…”

For those of you managing student blog initiatives (or even thinking about it) — get over there and download the study now!

Brad was kind enough to pull a few “teasers” from the research if you need ...

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The power of WOM

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It goes by many different names these days — including buzz, viral, grassroots, influencer and social media marketing — but most marketers still call it Word of Mouth. And they continue to be awed by the measurable impact it has on our increasingly online world.

Jenni Beattie, a communications consultant based in Australia, has pulled together one of the best collections of WOM facts and figures. “If you were ever unsure of the power of word of mouth,” she writes on Fresh Chat, “consider these.”

- Consumer recommendations are the most credible form of advertising among 78% of respondents to a global Nielsen survey.

- Online social network users were three times more likely to trust their peers’ opinions over advertising when making ...

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Podcast #37: Michael Vitez

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Long time TargetX friend and talented storyteller, Michael Vitez, joins me, Jeff Kallay and Adrienne Bartlett on this podcast recording to discuss the power and impact of stories in marketing and recruiting. Michael is the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer and author of the really awesome book, Rocky Stories. In February Michael provided the lunch time keynote address at our annual user’s group meeting and was a tremendous influence on the attendees.

Tip: If you are part of organizing an industry conference, be sure to add Michael Vitez to your list of possible keynote addresses. It’s an important topic and he’s an ...

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XpertTip No. 69: It's not about you

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Are you guilty of sending narcissistic email messages?

Ok, perhaps “narcissistic” might be a bit too harsh.

But I’ve seen quite a few messages that seem to focus more on what the college wants to say than what the reader wants to hear.

It’s the email equivalent of someone shoving a flyer into my hand as I’m walking down the street. Sure, they may have something they want to say, but hey, I’m busy and I never asked for it.

With email, there’s no need to launch into a three-paragraph history of your school’s origin or your founder’s vision.

It’s probably safe to say that no one wants to scroll through the academically-long-winded description of a new major they’ve never heard of, either.

All of that ...

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Self-centered marketing

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“Don’t like it,” says the middle-aged provost holding a mock-up of a brochure aimed at a 16-year-old audience. “This reads too informally,” huffs the academic department chair perusing a promotional email targeted to teenaged prospects.

This experience is so commonplace that media strategies exec Jim Meskauskas has a name for it: self-centered marketing. He’s talking mostly about clients who insist that an advertising campaign or communications plan reflect the media and the message that works best for them. But his warnings to change or risk marketing failure are just as apt for decision-makers in higher education.

“Human beings are simply wired this way,” he writes in iMedia Connection. “As unique as we like to think we are, at the same time, we ...

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XpertTip No. 68: Tweet this

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Excuse the shameless self-promotion — but do you read Brian Niles’ blog?

One of his recent posts announces his foray into the world of Twitter.

For those of you who have tried numerous times to wrap your mind around the concept (only to end up feeling more confused), perhaps his real-life example will help.

Brian offers readers a little peak into his world via frequent posts of 140 characters or less. It’s called “micro-blogging,” and plenty of people are paying attention.

Our own Ray Ulmer even did an Email Minute on it back in May.

It’s clear the TargetX team gets pretty excited about how these technologies could change the way we build relationships with students.

When it comes down ...

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University of Akron – Sarah YouTube Experience

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Sara – UA Homecoming

Recently I conducted a campus visit audit at The University of Akron. UA has really come on strong in the past few years. Building amazing facilities and transforming itself from a beige/industrial commuter school to a vibrant emerging leading university.

While I tend to concentrate on campus visit and experience economy posts in my blog, I wanted to share UA’s great YouTube video log. It features Sara – a senior nursing major. Each week Sara tells a story about her Akron experience. The videos are authentic, genuine and engaging. They’re not scripted, slick or overproduced.

You can click here to see all the videos or click the link to below to see my favorite ...

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Watching the mailbox

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As an expert in generational marketing, Kenneth Gronbach knows that electronic communication is the quickest way to a Millennial’s heart. But it wasn’t until he stopped his car at his mailbox one day that he realized something else about today’s young people.

When he got back in the car, his two teenage daughters excitedly asked if there was anything for them. In fact, they had each received direct-mail offers from their favorite clothing store, and they proceeded to beg Gronbach to take them shopping so they could use their new coupons.

“Even though kids live in a digital-online-wireless world of iPods, laptops, mobile phones, text messages and downloadable media, his daughters’ enthusiasm for the low-tech approach of direct mail is not unusual,” ...

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"We don't have a button for that!" (Why Starbucks is closing 600 stores)

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My best friend Celesta Sisco Brown loves coffee.

Some 16 years ago before Starbucks invaded Atlanta, we spent many a morning and evening enjoying “coffee and convo” (as she calls it) at the few independent coffee houses Atlanta had back then.

A former corporate communications executive at a few of Atlanta’s Fortune 500 companies, Celesta is brilliant writer, and master storyteller with keen insight. Now a work from home freelancer with two toddlers, she still needs her daily jolt to energize her long days (and nights).

She called me yesterday to tell me a sad story that I think explains why Starbuck’s same-store sells are down and why they are closing some 400 stores.

Celesta had a Starbuck’s coupon for free Grande size of ...

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Recycling experiences (and the Apple Store)

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Last year at our TargetX Chicago workshop, instituteNext, the learning excursion included a visit to the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue. The two predominant take-aways were:

1. customer service matters (especially in higher education)

2. and wouldn’t be great if more colleges build enrollment centers that worked like the Apple Store.

I’ve been a long time Mac fan/user, but last week my TargetX PowerBook gave up the ghost. (It’s log in about 75,000 frequent flyer miles this past year and proudly powered some 100+ presentations.)  The Apple Store Genius Bar and Personalized Shopping experiences I had at their Atlanta Perimeter Mall and Lenox Mall locations blew me away.

The reservation system was simple and fast. Once I got to the store(s) the welcome was ...

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Podcast #36: Joe Merante

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Just posted a really fun conversation I had recently with long time friend Dr. Joe Merante, former enrollment manager at Duquesne University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Southern California, Loyola University Marymount, and the director of the Snowmass Institute for the past 24 years.

Joe is now retired from enrollment management and provides a context to where we are today. He has an amazing understanding of the power of technology in recruiting and provides a challenge to get admissions offices to get rid of wasteful recruitment travel. It’s worth taking a few moments of your time to listen.

Subscribe to the Podcast Here

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XpertTip No. 67: 7 strategies to keep bloggers posting

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“How the heck do we keep them interested and posting regularly!?”

It’s the question I get most often about student bloggers.

It was also a popular topic of conversation last week at our Boston workshop. More than a few clients told me they have trouble keeping their bloggers…uh…regular;)

If you’re dealing with blasé bloggers, here are 7 strategies that could help spark a renewed interest:

1. Reinforce that brevity is ok.

  • Hey, it’s a blog, not a book. A three-sentence post is fine! If students feel like they have to write something long and drawn out, they’ll put it off. Plus most readers prefer short posts.

2. Meet with them regularly.

  • You should treat your bloggers like any other student organization — and that includes meeting ...
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