Preparing Advertising Material for Colleges
No matter what type of material is getting marketing to colleges and universities, crafting the items in such a way that they speak to the target audience is key. However, industry experts cannot just assume that all colleges and universities are the same. Conducting higher education market research on schools in general won't provide marketing teams with the necessary information to craft advertisements to a specific school. That type of research is certainly necessary, but it must be conducted on the school in question.
Colleges and universities can vary in a number of elements. Marketing teams need to make sure they match up with the goals of the school. For example, community colleges want to help their students go on to four-year institutions, and these four-year colleges want to help students procure successful job opportunities. At universities with multiple schools with both undergraduate and graduate study, marketing teams may need to advertise separately to each of these distinct identities. Advertising strategies that work for the school of education, for example, may not have an impact in the school of business.
.jpg?timestamp=1440743553421)
The research team also needs to investigate the ethics and codes governing the school. A religious institution in a bucolic setting is going to have a different motivating force behind it than a secular school in the middle of a large urbane area. Speaking to the ideals of the school will help the advertising team to have greater levels of success. They must think of schools as little societies in and of themselves. Just as they would target other advertisements to the exact members of the target audience, so must they when it comes to colleges and universities.
These teams also need to consider what it is that the schools need at the time. For example, a number of schools are encouraging students to use technology to access material as opposed to actual books. Therefore, advertising books to these institutions might not work so well unless some sort of technology component is involved with the efforts. Getting to know who the school is as an institution allows the advertising teams to have a better sense of how to create marketing material.
