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ON STRATEGY: THE DIRECT RESULTS OF DIRECT MARKETING

An article I wrote on whether or not a college's marketing efforts should be centralized or decentralized recently ran in the Volume 12, Number 2, March/April 2004 issue of AGB Trusteeship.

The article began: With an eye toward increasing the effectiveness of their marketing efforts, sooner or later, college and university administrators, often at the behest of their trustees, ask themselves:

Should our marketing efforts be centralized or decentralized?

As you consider and frame the centralized vs. decentralized issue on your campuses, take care to understand the motivations of the administrators who are involved in the conversation. On some campuses—these motivations are altruistic—there is a strong desire to improve the effectiveness of their integrated marketing efforts. Perhaps administrators and staff are frustrated by current efforts and wonder if their dollars are being well-spent in their efforts to build a stronger brand, recruit more students, or raise more dollars.

On other campuses, however, the motivation is less altruistic. This is the sometimes difficult and highly political issue that must be carefully teased out. Rather than effectiveness (or perhaps in addition to effectiveness), the deans and VPs who ask the question are motivated merely by issues of turf. They see the question—and its answer—as a path to larger staffs, bigger budgets, and more control. They sometimes see the whole conversation as a chance to claim a bigger slice of the pie or an opportunity to extend their fiefdom.

A loss of control
Administrators and staff have another concern about the question of centralized or decentralized: Loss of control. Currently, I am helping a regional public university decide whether its marketing efforts should be centralized or decentralized. One big surprise has been how fearful, and reluctant, the individuals responsible for recruiting and fundraising are about the idea of a centralized approach to integrated marketing. They believe, and I suspect rightly, that while they will still be held accountable for getting the class, or raising the money, they will no longer have direct control over the resources—time, talent, and treasure—they need to do the job. They are afraid that their budgets will be usurped, their people absorbed, their organizational structures up-ended, and their needs dropped to the bottom of the quay.

Let's focus on the real question
Using an integrated marketing model that links brand marketing, direct marketing, customer relationship, it should become apparent that the question may be less whether a college's approach to marketing is centralized or decentralized, and more whether your efforts are truly integrated. Are you, in fact, supporting your direct marketing strategies with effective brand-building? In other words, are these parallel functions working in tandem or are they at cross purposes?

It is my belief that on most campuses, the institution's larger brand-building efforts should be centralized because the senior leadership has been tasked with building the larger institutional image. At the same time, direct marketing strategies are typically more effective when they are decentralized. This decentralization is necessary because the vice president of undergraduate admissions, the dean of the law school, and the vp of advancement all have very different direct marketing needs and calendars, and are more in tune with their market than the larger institution.

Multiple needs and goals, one plan
The key to balancing your centralized and decentralized marketing efforts is this: While brand marketing and direct marketing have different goals, and are directed by different individuals, they must all be coordinated by one, comprehensive plan. It is the plan, and people's adherence to it, that create symphony from cacophony and integration from disintegration. It is the plan that balances an institution's brand marketing responsibilities with its direct marketing needs.

Five questions to help you determine whether or not you have an integration problem

1. Does your marketing committee understand the relationship between brand marketing and direct marketing?
2. Does your marketing committee include representatives from both your brand marketing and direct marketing "sides" of the house?
3. Do you have a single plan that directs both your brand marketing and direct marketing efforts?
4. Can staff involved in your direct marketing effort—especially student recruiting—guide where your brand marketing effort is directed?
5. Can you determine, using data, how your brand marketing initiatives have supported your direct marketing initiatives?

If you answered more than one of these questions with a "No," you likely have an integration problem.

GO NORTH, YOUNG MAN AND WOMAN

In a brief article entitled, "Blame Canada for This Brain Drain," Newsweek (4/19/04) recounts recent successes Canadian schools have had in wooing American students. Evidently some 6,000 U.S. students are studying in Canada lured, in part, by the excellent colleges that are generally less expensive than their American counterparts and an exchange rate that favors the U.S. dollar. The University of Toronto, for example, charges just $13,000 for tuition, room and board, fees, and books. Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Michigan charge $29,700 and $25,647 respectively. By way of comparison, just six years ago, only 2,500 U.S. students were studying in Canada.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MESSAGE INTEGRATION
Ann Oleson, Senior Client Executive

Message Integration - the foundation for building and communicating a brand - is a key component of successful integrated marketing. The benefits of message integration are the development of a strong, consistent, and persistent message that works to support your brand while providing synergy and a foundation for communication efforts.

Integrated messaging is not just a tagline or graphic identity but a larger common goal shared by an institution. These two pieces are required in building a strong integrated message, but there are many other components that need to be taken into consideration when addressing the needs of an audience. When creating integrated messages many factors should be considered, including:

• Vision of the integrated marketing efforts
• Coordination of efforts, resources, and people
• Consistent use of vivid descriptors
• Consideration of the brand promise
• Relevant messages that resonate with the target audience
• A consistent tone
• Multiple media strategies
• A standardized treatment of your logo
• Photographic style
• Consistency across media

Message integration is important because it is the easiest and least expensive way for audiences to gain an understanding of who and what you are. If you consistently send mixed messages with a variety of styles, tones and formats it will be difficult for individuals to shape a consistent perception of your institution and have a clear understanding of your brand. To accomplish the institution's goals, which vary from rankings to student enrollment to fundraising, one must convince the target audience to vote for you, matriculate or donate. This is done by making it easy for the target audience to understand who you are and give them a consistent and clear message that allows them to respond to your request positively.

For more information on the 5 keys of message integration and tools to evaluate messages at your institution stay tuned for the next issue of Applications or contact me at ann.oleson@stamats.com.

INTEGRATED MARKETING SCORECARD AVAILABLE ON WEB

The IM Scorecard allows you to complete a quick self-evaluation of your current integrated marketing strategy. The 17 questions address the major components of an integrated marketing effort and the combined score (ranging from 0 to 100) will give you an approximate sense of how things are working.

The Scorecard is a balance of serious (it really does work) and a little bit of fun. So, take five minutes (really, only five minutes), and complete the Scorecard. When you are done, if you feel like you might need a little help, there's an option for contacting us directly about your integrated marketing needs.

You can access the Scorecard directly from the Stamats homepage (www.stamats.com), or you can go directly to www.stamats.com/scorecard/.

ARTICLE ON DECISION-MAKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

I am writing an article on helping colleges and universities do a better, more timely, job of making decisions.

Rather than a "why it is so tough to make decisions" approach, I am interested in strategies and tactics that seasoned administrators have developed to help them achieve the best possible decision in the shortest possible time.

If you have developed such a strategy, and don't mind sharing it, please drop me an e-mail (bob.sevier@stamats.com). Any insights by April 30 are especially welcome.

Thanks. Bob

COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATED MARKETING WORKBOOK

An Integrated Marketing Workbook for Colleges and Universities, authored by Dr. Robert A. Sevier, is now available from Strategy Publishing.

Written for college presidents, administrators, and faculty who are interested in how integrated can help them more effectively build an image, recruit students, and raise dollars, the book begins by exploring such questions as:

• How do I know if integrated marketing is right for our institution?
• What is the relationship between integrated marketing, integrated marketing communications, brand marketing, and strategic planning?
• How can I build internal support for integrated marketing on my campus?
• How long will it take to develop a plan and how much will it cost?

It outlines a step-by-step integrated marketing planning process that will move a planning team from initial goal creation through the major components of a marketing plan including audience identification, the definition of target geographies, the creation of vivid descriptors, and the completion of integrated marketing action plans.

Designed as a workbook—each chapter concludes with a series of discussion points and questions that will reinforce key themes and clarify decisions—the book contains the most comprehensive integrated marketing checklist ever published. In addition, budgeting is treated in-depth.

The book is available from Strategy Publishing at www.strategypublishing.com.