Enrollment Publications, Marketing and Promotion

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Enrollment Publications, Marketing and Promotion

• Your Team and Their Roles
• SUNYCAP OpInform Workshop
• June 11, 2008
• Pam Freeman, Cayuga Community College

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The marketing communications team

• Roles
• Client
• Creative
• Production
• Vendors
• Distribution

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Admissions the client

• Must know
• Market the entire decision-making audience
  (traditional students, parents, guidance
  counselors, non-traditional students, employers,
  alumni)
• Competitive landscape advantages, disadvantages
• Brand value proposition, differentiation from
  the audience POV
• Communication objective problem, need,
  opportunity

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Creative copy, design, media

• Translates all of that into
• Content complete, accurate, focused
• Hook attention grabber for the target segment
• Design appealing, consistent look and tone for
  publication, print ad, web, broadcast, billboard
• Brand infusing everything more than a name or
  logo your identity and what it means to the
  audience

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Production and project management

• Calendarwhiteboardprogress chart specialized
  software
• Scheduling creative concept to delivery,
  archiving
• In-house client review and approvals roles and
  protocols committee / round-robin / e-mail pdf
• Pre-flight proofreading, file formatting (CMYK
  conversion, image resolution, spot or process
  color, fonts, swatches, layers)
• Vendor liaison quoting, buying, proofing,
  changes, authorizing payment for print, mail,
  ad space, website, online ads

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Vendor selection NYS bidding rules

• Competitive bidding NYS General Municipal Law
  Section 103
• Material purchases over 10,000 consider
  grouping planned projects to meet threshold, get
  volume savings
• Advertise publicly (local newspapers legal
  notices) send to bid list (vendors who have
  indicated interest)
• Level playing field provide same specifications
  and deadline to all bidders equivalent
  materials and processes permitted
• Award contract on objective basis generally to
  lowest responsible bidder

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Vendor selection non-bid projects

• Expertise 2-color, 4-color, digital, short run,
  print-mail, warehouse, variable data?
• Samples, references
• Comparison quotes
• Responsive partner? Quality and cost-saving
  suggestions? Value-added processes, e.g. ftp,
  proof/matchprint, warehouse large jobs?
• Be a good customer clean files, reasonable
  deadlines, prompt proofing, pay for changes

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Distribution

• Getting the right pieces to the right people at
  the right time
• Recruiting cycle and inquiry management system
  first wave, second wave, etc.
• Inventory keeping track of stock, preparing
  mailings
• Version control scrapping outdated materials
• Time to reorder? Revise per new data or audience
  feedback? Looping back to creative to update
  content

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The marketing communications team

• Roles
• Client
• Creative
• Production
• Vendors
• Distribution

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Marcom services in-house/outsource?

• Client Admissions internal by definition
• Distribution traditionally most items stocked
  in-house
• Some printers warehouse large jobs, handle
  inquiry fulfillment
• Print/mail vendors handle addressing (using
  purchased or client-supplied list), bulk mailing
• New technology online-only and/or demand
  publishing can eliminate some inventory

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Creative services in-house?

• Advantages
• Available resources already on staff
• Loyalty not juggling other accounts less
  turnover
• Staff knowledge of features, benefits, info
  sources
• Ease of contact and coordination
• Savings versus agency costs youre the AE

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Creative services in-house?

• Potential drawbacks
• Cost of staff development, equipment and software
  to evolve with technology and creative trends
• Limited resources attract campus-wide demand
• Smaller pool to draw on for creative input
• May overlook what fresh eyes would notice
• Budgets still constrained, even if spent in-house

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Creative services outsource?

• Agency, freelance advantages
• Specialized talent available on as-needed basis
• Ability to select or change provider to fit need
• Loyalty to steady client
• Creative and technical development, software and
  equipment are vendors responsibility
• Fresh eyes and perspective from other clients

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Creative services outsource?

• Agency, freelance drawbacks
• Expense paying for agency managers, owners,
  sales force as well as for direct project staff
• Learning curve
• Lack of instant on-campus access for impromptu
  meetings, plans that change on the fly
• Changes, turnover in project or account staffing

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Combining in-house and outsourcing

• Divide by project impact/expense
• Outsource viewbook? Search pubs? Catalog?
  Mailings?
• Divide by platform ride the tech curve
• Outsource website? Online recruitment (lead
  generation and fulfillment vendors)?
• Divide by role/responsibility handpick talent
• Outsource creative design, photography,
  illustration?

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Hybrid solutions

• Purchased technology (plus any necessary
  training) examples
• Catalog conversion to CD for paperless
  distribution website viewing accessibility
  issues?
• Dynamic catalog management impact on effective
  dates for policies, pre-reqs, degree
  requirements?
• Website content management pros and cons of
  decentralization (timeliness, grammar and syntax,
  consistent tone, review-revision-approval)

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Online more than make this a pdf

• Web interface is different from print
• Flat, no folds, no front/back covers
• Aspect ratio not 8.5 x 11, more like a TV
  screen
• Fonts availability (versus defaults),
  readability
• Images, flash graphics affect download time
• Accessibility for visually impaired viewers using
  screen readers

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Online more than make this a pdf

• Web content is different from print
• Expectation of timely, refreshed content
• 3D navigation must be as intuitive as possible
  whats the logical flow for the user?
• Easy to digest subheads, brief text blocks
• Hyperlinks, jump links
• Consistency of look and tone major challenge
  across an entire site

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Online more than make this a pdf

• Web process is different from print
• Sources, approvers content management issues
• Integration of marketing and IT oversight
• Team members must balance tech capability with
  effective messages, graphic appeal, brand
  stewardship

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Online versus print

• Traditional students thrive online yet will
  open appealing viewbooks
• Non-traditional students savvy web users too
• Print still works postcards, posters, brochures
• Touch adds one more sensory connection

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Print still works broadcast, too

• Keep it brief and focused
• Confuse em or waste their time and you lose
  em (easier than you think)
• Point of view and getting to the point
• Being John Malkovich get inside the audiences
  head
• One message take-away per page or 30 spot
• Call to action drive readers to events, website
• Get forms filled out online legible,
  labor-saving
• Keep them coming with a fresh, dynamic website

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E-mail and text messaging

• Many colleges in the In-boxand then in the
  Delete folder no one likes spam
• Prospect initiates contact by providing address
• Establish permission and preferences what kind
  of messages are desired (types of events,
  particular programs, deadlines, reminders)
• Exciting new tech tools blogs, podcasts, chat
  rooms require expertise and resource commitments

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Whatever the medium

• Whether old media or new content and
  presentation must reinforce the brand message for
  the target audience
• Evaluate and deploy any media for your needs (not
  just to follow the crowd)
• Respect the consumer theyre aware, involved,
  and have other sources of info

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Thanks for taking part!

• I hope this workshop was helpful for you.
• Questions?