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20 janvier 2013

Seeing academic disciplines as brands

http://enews.ksu.edu.sa/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/UWN.jpgBy Iain Woodhouse. I used to think that being in an academic discipline was like standing in the corner of a room. When you are in it you know you are and so does everyone else. But once you start to drift… it’s not so clear whether you are in or out. These days, in many areas of academic study, the important discussions are happening in the middle of the room, not the corners.
As a physicist who has worked in departments of physics, engineering, water resources and geography, I guess I’ve moved towards the middle of the room (at least the one I occupy). And as a consequence, I’m starting to notice that disciplines are more like brands than they are corners of the room.
I meet disciplinary devotees who like to display it on their (metaphorical) T-shirt, or as a badge, and some even have it tattooed on their chest, lest they forget, or worse, lest someone question their loyalty to the cause. The discomfort of straying from the security of the corner of the room makes these ‘brands’ all the more important. Now we can debate for hours what an academic discipline is, and how it may or may not be just like a ‘brand’, but that might be too tedious. Instead, let me simply list some properties of both. Read More...
22 décembre 2012

Marketing the Value of IT in Higher Education

University Business LogoBy Philip Carlucci and Robert F. Johnson. Meeting expectations is passé. Today, it's all about exceeding expectations. Most colleges and universities understand that IT is integral to their function; however, few administrators truly understand the value of IT. This lack of understanding holds many universities back from capitalizing on information technology and the expertise of IT professionals. Technology pervades and facilitates nearly every university activity, from the library to the classroom to the administration buildings. IT leaders in higher education must package and market the value the IT department has and can deliver. Knowing that IT adds value to the campus is not enough. We must be able to both define that value and communicate it effectively to the President, Board of Trustees, and other university decision-makers.
We should look to the marketing folks for lessons. Not only are they adept at promoting a school’s brand, they are masters at promoting their value to the rest of the organization. Remember, marketing is not a department; it is a part of the university. Most IT organizations have never won awards for their marketing prowess. However, if IT doesn’t market itself well to the university, who will? Read more...
23 avril 2012

Less than perfect pitch

http://resources.theage.com.au/theage/media-common-1.0/images/feedback-button.gifBy Erice Cervini. AUSTRALIAN universities spend a lot on marketing. But is that money effective?
Marketing experts are urging a rethink on how universities sell Australian degrees to international students. A workshop for deputy vice-chancellors and directors of international students was held in Canberra last November.
Participants were told that a lot of time had been spent on emphasising Australia as a great destination.
But instead of using pictures of Sydney Harbour to promote the country as an affordable holiday destination, the key messages should be reputation, quality and prestige.
It’s easy to see why the experts want a change. Australia’s international education reputation has taken a battering in recent years. Australia simply didn’t seem such a safe holiday destination after Indian students were attacked on Melbourne streets.
Research also shows that international students seek out countries that have a great reputation for education. This could be a problem for Australian higher education.
In the past, Third Degree has reported on research about international students from the London-based Observatory on Borderless Higher Education. The research shows that prospective students see the US and  Britain as top education destinations.
And a 2009 report by IDP Education, Australia’s largest international recruitment agency, revealed that 6000 students from eight countries rated Australia well behind the US and Britain for quality of education. Of the 1130 Indian students surveyed, only 8 per cent rated Australian institutions as the most prestigious, compared with 58 per cent for the US.
A recent survey by the Knowledge Partnership, a global marketing and communication education consultancy, reinforces this view.
The survey of more than 3300 students from countries such as China, India, Singapore and Brazil showed 40 per cent of students nominated the US as having the best reputation for higher education, followed by Britain with 36 per cent.
Australia is a distant third, neck and neck with Canada. New Zealand is fifth.
Three times as many Chinese students nominated the US as having the best reputation for university education as nominated Australia.
But how can Australian universities restore their reputations? Is marketing enough or is the problem more serious?
Take Singaporean students. They’re a savvy bunch who are most likely to choose a country based on other students’ experience of studying in that country. Word of mouth is very powerful.
That could explain why so many students from Singapore now choose countries other than Australia.  If you talk to them about their Australian courses, many will tell you they are unhappy with low English entry standards.
Not all overseas students see their degree as a passport to permanent residency: they want their study to mean they have achieved a good academic standard. They also want evidence that Australian universities are top-notch. Empty statements about ‘‘world-class’’ universities in brochures won’t convince students to come to Australia.
So, here’s the problem for universities. They can change their marketing messages, but these will make no difference in attracting good students if the messages can’t be backed up.
Prospective students can seek guidance from world league tables of universities. They’ll find a handful of Australian universities in the top 100.
Graduate business students can look at the Financial Times rankings of business schools. But, once again, only a few Australian schools feature in top 100.
Lecturers and tutors who teach overseas students know the main obstacle to overseas students receiving a quality education is their poor command of English.
If universities want to talk about the reputation and quality of their courses, then they have to get serious about English entry standards.
16 janvier 2012

Marketing effectiveness: the big issue for HE communications?

http://static.guim.co.uk/static/894d5be2fd27175b6273c0b4d3966c55a95bac8a/common/images/logos/the-guardian/professional.gifConsultant William Annandale looks at the specific areas HE needs to address and highlights some best practice.
The challenge for HEIs

Investment in marketing and communications by HEIs is fast becoming a critical activity where the measurement of value and the effective deployment of resources are under the spotlight as never before. As a result of market changes and potentially declining student numbers, we believe that many HEIs will invest more in marketing and communications. This is to maintain their market share and ensure economies of scale are not threatened. Some recent benchmarking we conducted in the sector suggested that evaluation of marketing and communications activity is typically a little patchy and sporadic at present. There is more emphasis placed on measurement of individual initiatives than on overall programmes.
Measuring marketing effectiveness and return on marketing investment is notoriously difficult. In a complex sector such as HE, difficulties multiply as there are many dimensions of performance that marketing strategies and activities will seek to influence. In attracting undergraduate applications, for instance, universities will have targets regarding overall application numbers, applications by department or faculty, quality of applicants and educational background of applicants (state or private school), among others.
To demonstrate effectiveness, marketing activity needs to show positive impacts on these targets, in line with the university's strategy. This poses challenges in gathering and analysing data from a range of sources, as well as in conducting research and identifying where the marketing contribution is most effective. Maximising value is dependent on continuous tracking, learning over time through trend analysis, and the development of ratios and indices that turn analysis into actionable indicators and tools. The private sector has been wrestling with the measurement of effectiveness for some time. In a recent global study of chief marketing officers by IBM, it was identified as one of four critical tasks to address. To quote from the study:
"Most chief marketing officers are struggling in one vital respect – Return on Investment (ROI). Our research shows the measures used to evaluate marketing are changing. Nearly two-thirds of CMOs think return on marketing investment will be the primary measure of their effectiveness by 2015. But proving that value is difficult. Even among the most successful enterprises, half of all CMOs feel insufficiently prepared to provide hard numbers."
Public sector and marketing effectiveness

The public sector has also been wrestling with the challenge of marketing effectiveness. In November 2009, the COI published a heavyweight document entitled Payback and Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI) in the public sector.
The COI recommended a number of principles to guide marketers through an effectiveness measurement process for marketing campaigns. Among them are:
• Start with an understanding of what your campaign is trying to do and how it will work
• Isolate the impact of your campaign from the effects of other factors
• Make conservative but realistic estimates of the value of the impact
• Be transparent; show all your workings and list all your assumptions
There are some very strong examples of ROMI in the influencing of public behaviour, typically evidenced in the IPA Effectiveness awards, for instance:
• The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) changed its teacher recruitment communications from "selling" teaching to helping people become teachers, using a series of behavioural triggers. The campaign achieved a minimum payback of £101 for every £1 spent; increasing teacher enquiries and applications to record-breaking levels on a smaller spend.
• The Department of Health's stroke awareness campaign used a multi-channel strategy to communicate to the public how to spot the symptoms of a stroke and what to do as a result, using a memorable acronym – FAST. This resulted in estimates of nearly 10,000 more people getting to hospital faster; more than 600 of whom were saved from death or serious disability. The campaign achieved a payback of £3.20 for every £1 spent.
Where next for HE marketing?

For those HE marketers who are looking to improve the effectiveness of their marketing and communications, I've been thinking about how to set a base line with practical steps:
• Begin your marketing effectiveness upgrade one step at a time; don't try to do too much too quickly
• Work hard on alignment with the corporate strategy; start with your marketing objectiveness and strategy, and the overall marketing programme
• Don't focus solely on communications measures; they are the most obvious and visible to others but rarely tell the whole story
• Raise the profile of marketing effectiveness yourself. Tell key stakeholders in the university that this subject is being addressed and how.
• Make effectiveness measurement one of the first questions in a marketing plan, not the last. If you don't know how to measure the effect, should you be doing it?
These may seem obvious but, from experience, they make a difference. William Annandale is managing partner at Quadrant Consultants, a strategy and marketing consultancy.

12 mars 2010

Quand écoles et universités aspirent à devenir des marques

pcassuto | 12 mars, 2010 00:40

Revenir à l'accueil EducPros.fr, un site de l'EtudiantPar Marie Radovic. A l'occasion de notre deuxième conférence Educpros L'Etudiant, organisée le 11 mars 2010, intitulée "La marque, au service des établissements d'enseignement supérieur ?", Educpros a enquêté sur ce thème porteur. Longtemps cantonnée aux écoles de commerce, la marque, souvent synonyme de marchandisation des savoirs, a fait son entrée dans les autres établissements du supérieur. Changement de nom, consolidation de leur identité en interne et en externe, mise en place des outils pour faire vivre la marque... beaucoup comptent en faire un outil de développement. Lire notre dossier "Quand écoles et universités aspirent à devenir des marques". Outre-Rhin, les universités vont encore plus loin dans le marketing : découvrir cet éclairage européen "les universités allemandes s'offrent au marketing" paru en février 2010 sur Educpros.fr
Späť domov EducPros.fr, miesto StudentMarie Radovic.Pri príležitosti nášho druhého Educpros študentská konferencia, ktorá sa konala marec 11, 2010, nazvanej "ochrannej známky, servisné inštitúcie vyššieho vzdelávania?" Educpros prešetrovaní tejto ústrednú tému. Dlho obmedzené na obchodné školy, má značku, často synonymom commodification vedomostí, vstúpil do ďalšej vysokoškolské inštitúcie. Premenovanie, upevniť svoju identitu interne aj externe, vývojové nástroje pre bývanie značky ... veľa urobiť nástroj rozvoja. Prečítajte si naše "Kedy a vysokých škôl sa snažiť byť značky. Viac...
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