Marketing Your College in the Age of Advertising

Thursday, April 10, at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time

Mary Stagaman is associate vice president for external relations at the University of Cincinnati, where she has helped lead a campaign to reposition the institution as a "new urban research university." With experience in admissions marketing as well as work in the private sector, Ms. Stagaman is a well-known authority on college branding.

A transcript of the chat follows.

Goldie Blumenstyk (Moderator):
    Hello all and welcome to the Brown Bag. I'm Goldie Blumenstyk, a senior writer in The Chronicle's Money & Management section.

We're thrilled to have Mary Stagaman as our guest today, to talk about a range of marketing strategies that colleges might use to hone their message -- and why.

So if you have some questions, please send them along now.

Mary Stagaman:
    Thanks to The Chronicle for asking me to participate in this online discussion. I'm happy to share our experience at the University of Cincinnati in building a strong brand, which among other things, has moved us from a "fall-back" to "first-choice" school. Our success has been dependent on the participation of our entire communications and marketing team--and many others on campus--so I will do my best to represent our collective experience. And I encourage anyone who's participating to build on my comments with experience and knowledge of your own. That will be much more interesting than my simply answering questions! Thanks.

Question from Goldie Blumenstyk:
    Mary, To help set the stage a bit, can you give us a brief explanation of what prompted your institution to undertake its marketing efforts. From what you've said, it sounds like you were trying first and foremost to reach prospective students. Were you also trying to reach out to prospective faculty members? To alumni and donors?

Mary Stagaman:
    Until six years ago, we had no central marketing function or program for UC. It grew out of some foundational work we did beginning in around 2000 on building a stronger brand for UC. We realized that we were allowing others to brand us and that it was time to be much more strategic about our reputation and brand equity. This affects all aspects of our interaction with key publics, and we've seen our greatest success thus far in enrollment. But gifts are up, research dollars are up, and reputational indicators are all moving in the right direction.

Question from Patty, Large Research University:
    Corporations have found they sometimes need to adjust their marketing campaigns to other countries and cultures. Increasingly, U.S. institutions are riding their "brand" to open outposts abroad. In what ways might this brand need to be adjusted to local markets?

Mary Stagaman:
    In much the same way that corporations have realized that different cultures require different solutions. Here in Cincinnati, the "inventor" of branding, Procter & Gamble, discovered as they moved into Japan, for instance, that consumers were not inclined to trust a brand that might be a powerhouse in the U.S., e.g. Tide. The consumers wanted to know what company was behind the product before making a buying decision. So strategy had to change to bring the corporation, which was always invisible behind the brands, to the forefront.

Our international team reports that many overseas partners are much more concerned with our longevity (we were founded in 1819) than with our future ("the new urban research university"). So the solutions have to be addressed on a market by market basis.

Question from Shelly, George Washington University:
    How can universities tie their marketing messages and fundraising strategies together? Are there examples of universities who are doing this really well?

Mary Stagaman:
    Shelly, I'd like to ask the rest of participants to weigh in on this one. I believe, philosophically, that it's essential to be on message across all communications and that our core messages translate across audiences. For example, we have positioned ourselves as a model for an urban university. But how that gets expressed may vary depending upon target. We have had some success in the integration, but still have work to do.

Others may have thoughts about who is doing this particularly well.

Goldie Blumenstyk (Moderator):
    Good idea. If anyone out there knows of an institution where marketing has really had an impact on fundraising, you can respond with a comment by clicking on the "ask a question" link.

Question from J. at small liberal arts college:
    To what extent is genuine current faculty buy-in important or essential, and how is this best prompted?

Mary Stagaman:
    When I started at UC, I really hated the fact that process was all and that faculty had so much input into what we were doing--whether we solicited it or not. Over time, I've come to not only tolerate process, but to embrace it. If you can get buy-in for what you are doing from faculty and campus leaders, you will always be more successful in the long run. We try to update key groups on campus, e.g. the Faculty Senate, on a regular basis. A recent presentation to them resulted in four more invites to present to additional groups on campus.

We also involved faculty in our decision making, e.g. the selection of an advertising agency for UC.

Question from Gail James, University of Kansas:
    To what degree are consistent institutional image and message crucial? Would you recommend that new, innovative programs have images and messages that are different, more creative?

Mary Stagaman:
    Well, some of our colleges and schools that consider themselves most innovative would argue that they should have latitude to be more creative than most. But our team would argue that consistency is critical to getting the right messages across over time. And I would suggest that images and messages should always reflect a high degree of creativity focused on delivering compelling, memorable messages. Universities by their very nature should be engines of innovation, so new programs don't get an exclusive on this. You can use them to create a halo effect for the rest of the institution.

Question from Kacey, admissions @ selective research univ.:
    What role does a web presence play? How about blogs?

Mary Stagaman:
    Our web experts, and our admissions team would say that your web presence is critical to effective recruitment because its the first source of info for prospective students, and increasingly, their parents as well. Keeping your site dynamic and giving visitors reasons to come back or stay with you are critical considerations. I think that we ignore the blogosphere at our own peril, and right now we are more concerned with its public relations' implications rather than recruitment.

Question from Mary Beth Lufkin, Granite State College:
    As a marketing professional with many years of corporate experience, I need help in translating these seemingly "corporate" notions of branding into academia. What advice do you have?

Mary Stagaman:
    The basic concepts of branding are as valid in a higher ed setting as a corporate one, but you have to spend a lot more time helping people within the institution understand that. One way we've been successful is to respond to all critics and engage them in discussion about what outcomes we are trying to achieve. For instance, when we launched our first big ad campaign, we sent out a mailer to all employees and got some immediate negative feedback from some faculty about what we might be spending. But when we explained that the goal was to build a better reputation for UC and showcase the great work that our faculty and students were doing, they became our proponents. Feel free to call me for more on this.

Question from Request to be anonymous:
    In light of increasing competition (internationally) for a more ethnically diverse, yet smaller pool of students, what can a private, traditional university with limited resources from the upper midwest do to enhance its brand position?

Mary Stagaman:
    I'm not sure there's a short answer to this question, which strikes me as very complex. I think most of us struggle with limited resources, so we have to be efficient with the resources we have. So I would say that focus--really understanding and delivering on your position--and good strategy--putting your limited resources where they will do the most good--are the foundation for success. On a tactical level, this might be zeroing in on a single population you wish to recruit, rather than a scattershot approach to multiple populations.

Question from Jodi, small private university:
    Can you tell us more about your communications/marketing structure? What department is it housed in? Was there/is there a committee to help oversee the brand management & if so, who sits on it? Do you work with the entire campus to offer communications/marketing services?

Mary Stagaman:
    Marketing is housed within University Relations, which includes communications, PR, creative services, web services, UC Magazine, government and community relations. We had a small team that led the initial brand work with lots of input from leadership and we currently have a "brand review" committee that is comprised of communications pros from around campus. We don't control all the marketing/communications officers throughout the university, so we work through collaborative processes to get everyone rowing in the same direction. Marketing itself is just me and a program director, so we use our agency as an extension of our staff--we call them our "marketing partner."

Question from Anita, urban research university:
    I struggle with branding campaigns sometimes wondering whether the branding message is actually reflective of the reality in terms of quality of services being offered. It seems as though more an more universities are attempting to "brand" themselves as what they think students will be attracted to -- but it may nor may not be an accurate reflection of what the university actually has to offer or deliver. How do you reconcile this?

Mary Stagaman:
    Anita, I think almost all branding of universities is a little aspirational in that we want to project the best possible version of who and what we are, but it's essential that you can deliver on whatever brand promise you put out there. So even if you see others stretching, you shouldn't follow them. 10 years ago, we would never have focused on our great service to students because we had some real issues there. But today, with a strategic goal of "placing students at the center," we can make that promise come alive.

Question from Kristen Creighton, Carnegie Communications:
    Sometimes, the toughest part of building a brand can be getting every person on campus to understand his/her role as a brand champion and use consistent messaging, design, etc. in everything they do. What kind of tools have you given your faculty and staff to help accomplish this?

Mary Stagaman:
    Kristen, Start with www.uc.edu/branding for a lot of material we provide internally, including not only guidelines but templates for things like PP slides and nametags and business cards, etc. Our brand review committee helps units do a better job of compliance too. When we launched our program, we did workshops to help people understand our positioning and also tactical aspects of the work such as how to write to the brand or make an event "live" the brand, and we do periodic updates on brand-related topics.

I wish I could say that we have made everyone on campus a "brand champion," but we still have work to do in that department. But branding is now being integrated into orientation for new hires and also management training.

Question from Goldie Blumenstyk:
    How explicitly do you use different kinds of media to reach different kinds of audiences? I ask because one might presume that prospective faculty members might be reading and listening to different things than prospective students. And ditto for alumni and potential donors.

Mary Stagaman:
    In an ideal world, our budget would be big enough to not only tailor messages to each audience, but to buy a saturation level of media to reach them, or whatever is appropriate. We do work with our media buyer to select vehicles that are best suited to the audience, be that prospective students or local opinion leaders. Of course, much of our communication with alumni and donors is through means other than advertising.

Question from Ann Comer-Woods, Northeastern University:
    I'd like to hear more about how you branded your institution as the new urban university.

Mary Stagaman:
    This comes from our strategic plan UC|21: Defining the New Urban Research University. We have transformed our campus in the last 15 years and it is considered one of the most distinctive urban campuses in the country--"a museum of contemporary architecture" according to the NY Times. We've stepped up our engagement with the community and our leaders, with our president out front, are actively engaged in key regional initiatives. We've softened our campus borders and invested heavily in the neighborhoods around campus, working with community leaders to affect change. We are THE anchor institution in Cincinnati, as its largest employer. And our president is leading national efforts to put the power of urban universities to the wheel of transformative change in our older cities.

Question from Eric McBoyle, U. of Co.:
    There appears to be a lot of internet lead generation companies focused on higher education. What is your generalized view of these companies? And can they help colleges marketing reach?

Mary Stagaman:
    Eric,

I think we're still on the fence about the value of these services. You're correct that there are a lot of them out there and it's hard to determine which might be cost effective. Our admissions team still relies on more conventional methods to develop prospect lists and of course we get a lot of leads from students visiting our own web site, which I'm sure you've seen to.

Question from Jenny Lemmerman, Dana College of Nebraska, small liberal arts college:
    Hello!

I've just taken on the position of Director of Marketing and Communications here at Dana College (a newly-created position) in Blair, NE just 20 miles north of Omaha. Dana has not had any form of aggressive external marketing in the past. Of course, adding a marketing campaign will cost dollars, but what do you feel would be the top three or four marketing tactics that I can incorporate into an external plan that would be sure to create results? Would you recommend radio, outdoor, web and television as top priorities? If I could only do one or two...which ones would be the most important to implement for the college to feel direct benefits? Thank you! -Jenny

Mary Stagaman:
    Jenny, Congratulations on your new position. I wish you great success. My best recommendation is to start with research to determine how Dana is perceived in key audiences you want to attract. All of our work has been informed by substantive market research and though it can be expensive, there are creative and inexpensive ways to collect some data. Then you can build your plan based on what you learn. The tactical elements have to come out of that process and a realistic appraisal of what your budget can support. One caution: make sure your leadership understands that they must make an investment in building preference for your school. Too little money will not provide benefits. We have been successful in getting more funds by demonstrating the potential ROI from the investment.

Question from Tracey Beckley, West Virginia University:
    I am part of the WVU Extended Learning unit which focuses mostly on non-traditional students. We handle the marketing for off-campus and online programs. One concern we have is that we want to brand/market without being a nuisance to our adult audience. Do you have any suggestions on how to best reach this balance?

Mary Stagaman:
    Tracey, I'm not sure what you mean by being a "nuisance." Can you elaborate a little and we'll come back to this question. Or perhaps others can weigh in with comments. It's nice to hear from another Big East school!

Question from Ed Tate, consultant:
    My favorite marketing book is "Positioning" by Reis and Trout. What's yours, please?

Mary Stagaman:
    Probably whatever I'm reading at the moment, which currently includes Naked Conversations, about blogs, and Wikinomics. Anything by David Aaker. On reputation, Alsop and Alsop's 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation and Fombrun's Fame and Fortune.

Question from Alison, Private Liberal Arts College:
    What is the most effective medium to reach prospective students? Are traditional marketing efforts like direct mail/viewbooks/ etc. re-emerging?

Mary Stagaman:
    We are still using direct mail, especially to high achievers (and their parents who are looking over their shoulder) and I recently confirmed with our admissions director that the viewbook remains a critical part of the college search process. In fact, we're starting work on an entirely new concept and design next month for 2010-11 book.

Question from Alison, Private Liberal Arts College:
    Faculty input regarding marketing strategies was discussed earlier, what value do you place on student input and how do you recommend fostering that?

Mary Stagaman:
    We are consulting students as often as possible through both formal and informal research with them in our branding, marketing, and recruitment processes. As we develop concepts for our new viewbook and the next generation of recruitment communications, I would expect to test concepts with students before making a decision on direction.

Getting student input can be as simple as scheduling a lunch-time focus group with a sampling of the types of students you want to reach--either on campus or at an area high school, for instance. We do this sometimes when time and budget don't permit us to do more. I usually conduct the group so our only cost is lunch.

Question from Anonymous:
    How long do you feel a marketing plan should be in action to gauge its effectiveness?

Mary Stagaman:
    Well, it needs to be continuously refined as market conditions change, but our current plan was written about four years ago and we set targets then for improvement over time on key perceptions. We will be in the market this spring to see how we're doing on moving the needle. But we started this work with a short-term plan to turn around an enrollment decline that delivered 1900 new students within six months. On the other hand, it has taken 4-5 years of steady work to reach where we are today: about to enroll our largest class ever, after a record year in 2007. Applications have been up double digits all year.

Question from Cely @ mid-sized U.:
    Mary, what annual budget was dedicated to your brand development effort and how long did it take you to achieve your goal? Did you use an outside agency?

Mary Stagaman:
    The initial brand work was done with a budget of about $500K, but much of that was for research that informed every step of the process. We used the largest independently owned brand firm in the world, which is located here in Cincinnati and headed by grads from our design school. We continue to work with them from time to time, and we are supported in our marketing efforts by Lipman Hearne in Chicago.

Question from Patricia, large university in north east:
    Can you be more specific about your success with key publics, and in particular, with your alumni and donations? What have you done that has increased interest in these areas?

Mary Stagaman:
    Patricia, We believe that all the work we've done in branding UC more effectively and telling our story better through great PR and advertising has supported growth on the advancement side. Everyone wants to support a winner and UC is increasingly seen in that light. By being more visible and by better controlling the message, we are increasing support for UC.

Question from Sean, Oswego State:
    How much has the athletics been take into account as part of the brand identity. How much does that side of equation factor in relation to the academic character of the institution. Is there a need to keep them separate? Can they work in concert to benefit both sides-particularly from raising funds?

Mary Stagaman:
    Athletics is definitely at our table and the success of our teams has a big effect on public perceptions. When we entered the Big East a few years ago, we "beefed up" our athletics marks and as a result, we've seen good growth in licensing income. With our best football season since the 1950s (that's NOT a typo) last fall, everyone's feeling good about UC. A full stadium is a new experience for us and we're loving it. We are a case study on how athletics can affect reputation--both positively and negatively--and I'd be happy to talk to you off-line about that, Sean.

Question from Chris, medium midwest public:
    A lot of this is centered around student recruitment. How are you (or are you) building your brand to attract faculty and staff to UC?

Mary Stagaman:
    Chris, This is the next frontier for us. Obviously, our rising reputation helps with recruitment of faculty and staff, but we need to get more strategic in this area and we are having a robust discussion on the topic internally, especially at our health center. We are working closely with corporate and civic leaders across the region to make sure that Greater Cincinnati is perceived as a great place for talent. We are having some success on that front, but there's still work to be done.

Goldie Blumenstyk (Moderator):
    Here's that clarification, from an earlier question, on what might be a "nuisance" -- and Mary's response.

Question from Tracey Beckley, West Virginia University:
    Sure- let me elaborate. We encounter adult prospective students who are concerned that we will incessantly bombard them with emails, mailings, phone calls, etc. They are reluctant to provide contact information. We're trying to determine some best practices for the number of touches before dropping a prospect, the amount of time between touches, etc. Any advice?

Mary Stagaman:
    Tracey, This is a very good question and now I understand since I am one of those people reluctant to surrender my email address or my cell number. I think you have to ask them what will work. Have you done any research with current students, or offered prospects a compelling incentive (cash is always nice and $50 goes a long way) to attend a focus group to talk about where they are in their professional development, what motivates them to enroll, how they want to hear from you, etc. If you haven't done this before, there's a great how-to book on conducting your own groups by Krueger and Casey.

Goldie Blumenstyk (Moderator):
    We've had a ton of questions today and I'm afraid we won't have time for Mary to get to all of them. Obviously this is a big issue on a lot of campuses and we'll find ways to continue to address it -- in this format and others -- in the future. Thanks for all your interest. Hope to hear from all of you again in a future Brown Bag. And with our thanks, we'll give Mary the last word.

Mary Stagaman:
    Wow. This hour really flew by, even with starting on some questions last night. Thanks to all for participating and giving me the chance to think on my feet about the work we are doing. If you'd like to know more about what we've done at UC, drop me an email and I'll send you the abstracts from our Grand Gold award from CASE and our recent presentation to the AMA's Higher Ed Symposium. mary.stagaman@uc.edu