Higher Education Marketing Challenges

There are Dramatic Shifts in Higher Education as We Approach 2020

“The business of higher education

is going to change as much in the next decade as newspapers

did in the prior one.”

- Seth Godin, Marketer, author of “Purple Cow”

Higher Education

Marketing isSuffering from

an“Identity Crisis”

The Problem of “Sameness”…

“That’s billions of dollars of media to be reiterative… stop telling people the same thing they’re not hearing.” - Clive Sirkin, Senior marketing officer, Kimberly Clark

Elizabeth Scarborough, a higher education consultant, recently

developed a word cloud of almost 1,000 college and university

taglines that highlights common words perhaps indicative of a mass

market approach.

At the top of the “word cloud” list:

World, excellence, success, future, learning, life, minds, real

Sameness = Identity Crisis

*Source: A 2020 Perspective on Higher Education – themarketingprof.com

Common misconception that marketing should be primarily

focused on thefunction of admissions.

Consider the lifetime value chain of

a student from prospect to advocate.

*Source: A 2020 Perspective on Higher Education – themarketingprof.com

Students will often have even greater value to the institution

as alumni.

*Source: A 2020 Perspective on Higher Education – themarketingprof.com

Connect the links in the chain withintegrated marketing

communicationto capitalize on considerable opportunities to advance the

institution.

*Source: A 2020 Perspective on Higher Education – themarketingprof.com

“(findings highlight) a real need to go beyond the ‘social media checklist’ tactic and adopt a more strategic and measurable approach in higher education”

- Karine Joly, collegewebeditor.com

?IntegratedConsistent

Audience AppealReinforces Brand

Website Connected

Higher Education Marketing Meeting the Challenges

“You don’t win an Olympic gold medal with a few weeks of intensive training. There’s no such thing as an overnight opera sensation. Great law firms or design companies don’t spring up overnight… every great company, every great brand, and every great career has been built in exactly the same way: bit by bit, step by step, little by little.” - Seth Godin

What’s Needed: Now & Beyond

• RESEARCH/EXPLORE – RAM Panel>>Advertising campaign, Consumer behavior knowledge>>Targeted audiences, market intelligence>>Competitive landscape>>Borrell EDU data

• MEDIA MIX – Integrated media plan, broadcast, print, behaviorally targeted digital, outdoor, email, out-of-home, mobile sponsorship, social

• BRANDING/STRATEGY – Brand positioning, goals (short term and three-year), messaging, core strategy, major tactics

• DYNAMIC CREATIVE – Either to evolve current campaign or to depart from, depending on what the research says

• SOCIAL MEDIA – Content and platform strategy, tactics, marketing sync/training for contributors (staff, student, marketing), Blinq Media

• MEASUREMENT/ANALYTICS – RAM panel (analyze and measure campaigns), data capture/media analytics (PointRoll), social media analytics (Blinq Media)

A Need for Research“Unknowns” Make the Work of

Marketing Harder

Targeting, messaging and media mix:• What segment to target now, next and

later?• When, where and how often to reach each

audience?• How does the message resonate with each

audience?

Internal/external factors: • Understanding how the internal college

offerings (programs/curriculum) impact goals

• Understanding how the uncontrollable external market factors impact goals

Target Audience, Media and Message

in Sync

Mapping by Audience Segment

4

The Data Intelligence Tools

Develop a campaign following an audience segmentation study.

Create customer segments using secondary research tools from Nielsen (Claritas, Prizm and Consumerpoint)

and used PitneyBowes’ MapInfo® Software to demonstrate the geographic location segments by

household.

“Critical to the success of any Brand Campaign is how well you know your audience(s).”

Developing Personas

The Education Consumer Journey

Awareness

PrintDigital VideoSocial MediaSection Targeted Banner Ads(mobile + desktop)Rich Media Enabled Banner AdsHigh Impact Ad Units

Intent

PrintSEM/SEOE-mailBehavior Targeting Banner AdsRe-Targeting Banner AdsHigh Impact Ad UnitsSocial MediaReputation Management/Maps

Loyalty

E-mail MarketingSocial Media

Consideration

PrintSocial Media

Audience Targeted Banner Ads

(mobile + desktop)Reputation

Management/MapsE-mail

Purchase

PrintPay-per-click/SEOContent/Behavior

Targeting Banner AdsRe-Targeting Banner Ads

High Impact Ad UnitsSocial Media

Advocacy

E-mail MarketingReputation

Management/Maps

Borrell 2012 Data: Digital Media Mix

Percent Share

29% Paid Search

28% ROS Display

24% Targeted Display

13% Online Video*

4% Email*

1% Audio

*Online video is being under uti-lized by 12% and Email by 10% compared to higher education

nationally.

2012 Projection: $69.692017 Forecast: $213.31 $ in MillionsPercent Change: 206%

EXAMPLE: Digital budget distribution for Colleges and Universitiesin 4-County Des Moines Area (Polk, Warren, Dallas, Story).

Mobile Solutions: Ads,

Apps & Sites

Career Developme

ntPersonal Enrichmen

t

Opportunity

Family

SuccessStarts Here

Campus Virtual Tour

“Armed with the true intelligence, we

can begin the Creative Process, andit doesn’t start with clever words and pretty pictures. It begins with

strategy.”

What is the fundamentaltest of abrandposition?

Is it believableand can you own it?

Case Study:Southern New

Hampshire University

2003: A modest school when Le Blanc joined as president…it’s online program was:

“a sleepy operation on a nondescript corner of the main

campus. I thought it was squandering an opportunity.”

Now: SNHU’s Center for Online and Continuing Education (COCE), the largest online-

degree provider in New England with 10,600 students enrolled in 120 graduate and undergraduate programs and specialties.

Source: http://stateimpact.npr.org/new-hampshire/2012/03/07/why-a-business-magazine-named-snhu-one-of-worlds-most-innovative-companies/

http://www.snhustories.com/

StrategicContent Marketing

Social Media: Content Plan and Strategy Audit• Content Marketing

Plan• Marketing-

integrated• Targeting Audiences• Reinforces Brand?• Website Integration• Call-to-Action

Call-to-Action

Visual Social Audit

• Consistent across platforms

• Audience appeal• Brand tenets/

message present

• Pages optimized

StrategicSocial

Advertising

ENGAGECONSUMERS BUiLDBRANDS

Powerful Platform. BAM 2.0 is the most innovative, comprehensive and flexible social advertising platform. BAM 2.0 is fueled by BLiNQ Media’s LiFT: Likes. Interests & Fan TargetsTM, identifies and ranks global audiences with the highest propensity to engage with brands before the ad spend.

Break-through Results. Unprecedented targeting, performance and scale in social ad campaigns.

Aligning Outcomes with Goals: Business, Strategic, Tactical

Business goal examples• Total annual revenue to exceed ?? million in 2013-

2014• Total class enrollments to exceed ?? in 2013-2014Strategic goal examples• Maintain greater than 98%?? customer satisfaction• Elevate brand value by increasing Brand (BAV) factors• Develop a robust content strategy to support tenetsTactical goal examples• Achieve 140?? testimonials, 75?? PR mentions in

2013• Develop innovative “personal branding” training

program prof. (headshots, using social media, interviewing, etc)

• Execute a dynamic creative, impactful, data-rich ad program

• Expert speaker series or other to promote startup program

• Launch Campus Virtual Tour Mobile App

Your Challenges: DISCUSS