Will Edgier College Marketing Get a Failing Grade?

Drake University hopes a bold, blue "D" on a piece of direct mail and on its Web site and accept the attention of children in secondary school is flooded with the same old, same old college recruitment materials.
What seemed to be as bad as it was supposed to attract teenagers to take a closer look at the pros to attend school in Des Moines, Iowa.
Officials declined to Drake does not expect to get mocked the idea bold declaration on the blog, sparking outrage among the graduates, who complained on Facebook has been the devaluation of the testimony, or inspirational shop to the local market "Student D" t-shirts for students Drake fun and underachievers alike.
Consider it a cautionary tale for colleges to initiate marketing and promotional campaigns designed to put themselves away in the competition for the prestige of the butcher and capture a share of the shrinking pool of students.
Fifteen years ago, the term "brand" were not well known in the field of higher education. He added that the idea of selling the college such as a car expensive luxury or a cup of coffee as contrasted with the scholarship.
Despite pockets of resistance remain, I'd be hard these days to find a school for four years did not go through the search for institutional and self-marketing to later start the attack, which usually goes with being a "Brand America"
This may be a new challenge, and also learned Drake when everyone is trying to emerge and colleges can not wait to achieve the objectives of the registry by playing it safe:. And push the envelope marketing involves risks and rewards.
"Historically, people actually have taken a conservative approach to some extent," said Robert Moore, president and chief executive of Chicago, and Washington-based marketing firm Lipman Hearne is the author of the brand of higher education. "We are seeing a little more outside the box, stuff, and I think the jury is still out."
Request of those responsible for Drake edgy and out of the box, and when hired Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Stamats Communications, which specializes in marketing higher education, to assist in the formulation of a new marketing campaign for high school students.
The objective of the D to enter the campaign promotes a more traditional "feature Drake." It also found that the officials Drake, recruits are smart enough to recognize the reputation Drake is the best D.
"The idea is to catch the attention of prospective students' with the symbol that was to say the least ironic, that would create a bit of cognitive dissonance, and urged them to go ahead with it," said Fritz McDonald, vice president of creative strategy at Stamats.
Officials said in July, mailed materials to tens of thousands of high school students. And continued until the acceptance of D on the Internet, as well. The school argued it is cause for optimism: the polls more than 900 high school students alike have found this campaign to capture their attention and get across the concept of Drake to give them a leg.
Officials said as well, and visits the campus in July and August exceeded 720, an increase of 23 percent from the previous year. According to the 4856 study of inquiries from prospective students in those months, an increase of 66 percent.
"Everybody is trying to do something different," said Debra Lukehart, Executive Director of the Drake for marketing and communications. "It's not just a gimmick. It's very strategic, well-thought of the program - and worked with the target audience."
But after six weeks of show calm and caught the D-notice different audience: unsympathetic bloggers on the site and Awl [Adweek] as well as some students and alumni who have moved to social networks and blogs to complain that he sent the wrong message about the university.
"I love that the school is to get attention," said '97 graduate Jennifer Jahde Biddle of Leawood, Kansas, "Is it the right kind of attention? I am going to pay a lot of money on higher education, and I 'm will be known about the d? "
The uproar prompted school officials to send e-mail to faculty and staff to apologize for the arrest of a sudden, and explain the idea behind this campaign.
Through higher education, and some faculty members and administrators cringe at the precious financial resources to go to marketing, especially in times of down.
Earlier this year in the dissemination of trade within the Higher Ed, and Northeastern University official has warned his colleagues to seek to resolve the fast men "Higher Education in a frenzy" - the recession-torn consultants retail brands looking colleges and universities as an untapped market. Others voice similar concerns.
"The branding creative-driven is all about attention to just grab that any publicity is good publicity," said Bob Brock, President of Parker, Colorado-based education marketing company "and that really does not work with higher education because of a dangerous mission. It is not such as the sale to show the truth. "
Those working in the field of marketing faculty says the brand is not a slogan or a gimmick, but an identity - a distinguished figure is based on the core values and promises that can be delivered.
When the American University in Washington and agreed on the strategic plan in 2008, branding was part of it. Said Teresa Flannery, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications undergraduate and unknown outside the Beltway, or some academic circles, and the school had hoped to increase employment, and get more involved alumni and building a strong reputation research, amongst other things.
The U.S. team in the command with a string of fishing "American banner" to connect to it as specified landmarks, including the politically and socially wired students and location in the capital of the country.
As a sign of - the "know-received back" - no longer means just being at home and behind closed doors, but widened means a person smart, focused, and passionate, "said Flannery, citing a search of the school this term.
Students who arrive back on campus in the fall of this year grabbed the fonts t-shirts with 18 versions of a banner motif, including the Green banner banner and global levels. Others felt pens used to write in the labels for their shaky, on T-shirts - like the story residential building.
But not all of the charm. His complaint under article online last month in the campus paper and said, "sign" and called to mind a goose on the head with a shovel or a sexual act.
Flannery said the university expected a range of reactions. She said that most were positive, and the United States has worked to explain the campaign before being transferred outside the campus, including the involvement of students and luncheons held on campus.
Recession has taken a bite out of marketing budgets of many schools, officials say. But a lot of pressure to forward all the same, and considered it worth the investment as the number of traditional-age students entering college is expected to decline sharply in the next 10 years, and the erosion of government support and raise endowments to the importance of giving the private sector.
While it is too early to measure fully the Drake and U.S. efforts, has found other campaigns edgier success.
In 2005-6, has launched the University of Northern Arizona marketing effort with a new logo, which is a more green color to capture the spirit of the courses in the earth and friendly kidnapped ad copy such as "Mountain air makes you smarter."
Has grown at a later time, school enrollment, but spokesman Tom Bauer emphasized that "marketing is only partially responsible for our success. The fact that the institution should also live up to its promises is more important."
The height-for-profit colleges and huge investments in the area of marketing and branding, recruiting more competitive as well. For-profit University of Phoenix, the largest university in the country, recently offered a new logo more elegant. One notable change: Birds school with the same name rising from the ashes is now facing forward and not backward.
By the second week of the "D Portal -", Drake and officials had not heard enough. The study revealed that the icon would remain on the printed materials sent to the would-be students, they disappear from the site where the first attracted widespread notice.
Or some sort of disappear. Admission site now features a slide show of digital opens with "Drake" in white letters on a blue background. "D" and then shines brighter whites, and "signature" appears on the next slide.
"We at an educational institution," wrote David Maxwell, head of Drake in a letter Sept. 9 to the university community, "and we learn from our experiences."