Higher education in America is at a crossroads as college enrollment has steadily declined since 2010. Contributing to this dilemma are the rising costs of tuition, expanding student loan debt, the growth of for-profit universities and uncertainties related to federal funding, among other factors. At the same time, while teacher salaries have remained relatively flat (although full-time faculty salaries jumped 4 percent between 2021-22), many universities have invested heavily in facilities and there is a necessity to fill up those premium dining halls and new dormitories. 

I’ve seen these challenges from the inside out, as we have partnered with a broad range of universities including the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, EduK in Puerto Rico, Washington University in St. Louis, Clark University, Northwestern University, the DAVE School, the University of Missouri, Ducere, Stevens-The Institute of Business & Art (SIBA) and more. 

Thus, in these challenging times, what’s a university to do? While every individual school’s challenges call for a customized approach, here’s some broad strokes based on our experience.

THE PROMISE

Maybe you’re an historically prestigious institution, perhaps not, or you could be somewhere in between. Regardless, at some point, each institution must decide what they are and how they wish to be perceived. You control your brand. It’s yours to articulate how you wish. 

Where we begin is by using insights from you and your constituents, culling proprietary data and success stories, and developing a structured set of messaging to shape your narrative. Whether based on reality or founded in an aspirational vision, the objective is to create a concrete narrative to use at every communications juncture. 

“Pontoon Boat State University is the Midwest’s premiere liberal arts university providing uniquely customized learning experiences and driving the spirit of innovation for the next generation of America’s thinkers, creators and leaders.”

Think of this baseline message platform like you would your own epitaph (which I’ll get to in greater detail later). It’s something you establish, articulate and anecdotally support consistently and persistently across every possible channel over and over again. This includes your website, advertisements, on merchandise, in news releases, within each federal grant application, in every conversation your admissions staff has with a prospective student or parent, your faculty’s articulation of the school they serve, and the list goes on. 

Consider your message to be as sacred as your academic standards. It’s biblical. 

LADDERING UP

Florida State University’s promise reads: 

“Florida State University preserves, expands, and disseminates knowledge in the sciences, technology, arts, humanities, and professions, while embracing a philosophy of learning strongly rooted in the traditions of the liberal arts. The university is dedicated to excellence in teaching, research, creative endeavors, and service. The university strives to instill the strength, skill, and character essential for lifelong learning, personal responsibility, and sustained achievement within a community that fosters free inquiry and embraces diversity.”

But how does, for instance, the College of Communication—one of FSU’s 17 colleges—ladder into this university-wide promise? 

On the college’s web portal, Dean Michelle Kazmer leads with a header that says, “Learning By Doing.” OK, experiential learning. Not sure I’m feeling the connectivity. However, she does articulate several of FSU’s stated goals in her opening salvo. But it needs work. Consistency matters. 

If we say it at the top, we must say it at the bottom, in the middle and everywhere in between. Consistent and persistent—that is the goal. 

DEFINING THE AUDIENCE

Most brands and organizations have multiple audiences and universities are no different: Students and parents (current and prospective), alumni, donors, corporate partners, government officials, faculty and prospective ones—that covers most of it for our purposes. 

Now we must create broad-brushed profiles for each of these audiences: Where do we find them, what channels do they use, how do they like to be communicated with, what messages and creative milieu do they react well to and more. Then, once we have those profiles created, we must develop a tactical plan to address each audience in each set of applicable channels.

CREATIVE NARRATIVE

Remember when I said I’d get to the epitaph? Funerals, in my mind, are largely celebrations of life. You’re ideally there to hear about the best of that human being. 

The point being, we’re now taking that epitaph or message platform, and translating it into the images, colors, voices, faces and tools (ads, blogs, videos, etc.) that best bring the description of your university to life in the most engaging and relatable way imaginable. We are squarely focused on articulating the best of everything you have to offer and feature those who best represent your value proposition in a way that resonates on an individual level.

If I’m leading your creative effort, we’re focused on developing a comprehensive, data-driven brand strategy and identity that positions the university as a clear leader. We establish a compelling brand personality and style, strengthen the articulation of your competitive advantages, and support the university’s next chapter of growth and profitability. 

So, if the promise for Pontoon Boat State University is the “premiere liberal arts university providing uniquely customized learning experiences and driving the spirit of innovation for the next generation of America’s thinkers, creators and leaders”—perhaps for the sake of arguments, we tailor it down to “Driving an Innovative Tomorrow” for the purposes of building a cohesive campaign. 

Then, we build creative concepts that focus on grabbing attention while driving that message home; and ready them for deployment via a planned, tactical approach to help ensure a smooth transition and the beginning of many positive brand interactions going forward. Our ultimate goal is to ensure the institution’s message doesn’t get lost in a sea of sameness while being memorable and relatable. 

CHANNELS

Channel efficacy will vary based on your immediate needs. For example, is the principal focus on recruiting undergraduate students? Or, are you conducting a $400 million capital campaign for a new student services center? Perhaps you’re focused on touting recent investments in a new school of nursing and working to reposition your most valuable tools? 

It could be all or none of these, but this is where the tailored approach really comes into play. Pontoon Boat State University should care less about the playbook used by Sailboat College for the Arts because SCA caters to students seeking degrees in fine arts and PBSU has never focused on the arts.  In short, focus on your specific needs and unique audiences. This will help dictate what channels to use. 

Let me give you a real-time example.

We’re currently running recruitment efforts for a large university’s data science and analytics program, specifically for master’s and PhDs. We determined paid search would be our primary tool as it proved most effective in testing. However, we also noted display advertising (programmatic and GDN) to be surprisingly effective at driving in-market leads at an efficient cost-per-lead (CPL). Additionally, we’re doing what’s known as “remarketing“ across all channels including search, display and social—which also proved effective in driving qualified leads and enrollments. We also tested Meta’s interest and job title targeting. But initial data demonstrated those audiences and placements were draining our budgets, so we reallocated to more efficient channels.

Confused? If you are not a marketing professional, I can’t blame you. Marketing today is steeped in the intersection of art and precision data science.

THE THROUGHLINE

The throughline for all of this, as indicated above, is data. We are continually looking at data to dictate words, creative, the channels we use—all centered around continuously improving and better-understanding our audiences and learning as they evolve.

Change is inevitable but struggle is optional—as long as you evolve with your audience.

GO GET IT

How does your university’s epitaph read and how do you bring that to life? What data sources are you using to inform every point of the process, your message and the channels you use? And how are we measuring and improving on this effort at each and every turn? 

If you are navigating the complexity of higher education today, these are the questions you need to be asking yourself. If you are in higher education or partner with higher education institutions, I’d love your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to email me at aaron@goelastic.com. Thank you for reading!