May 19, 2006

Breaking Through the Noise of a Crowded Field

By ERIN STROUT

How 3 colleges use marketing to change an image, reach students, and engage alumni

With more than 3,000 colleges in the United States still competing for a part of the population that is projected to begin declining by the end of the decade — traditional high-school graduates — institutions are increasingly embracing more-aggressive marketing strategies in order to survive.

For them, marketing is not only about new logos, pithy tag lines, and expensive