Even in Academia, Image Is Everything

April 28, 2006 — -- The days of picking a college by flipping through the Princeton Review are fading fast, and what's replaced that are well-tailored Web sites and brochures promising the experience of a lifetime. Universities across the country are following in the footsteps of successful clothing lines, restaurants and condos by using marketing consultants to create and promote their "unique" college experience.

"It's a highly competitive environment. There are about 3,400 universities in the U.S. alone, that's not counting community colleges or online providers," said Rob Moore, president of Lipman Hearn, a marketing firm that works with nonprofit organizations that include Yale and Vanderbilt.

"I think students now are cannier shoppers. College is academic, but it's also a living experience," said Moore. "I'm not going to go to a bad institution because it has a great residence hall, but it's a legitimate part of the decision-making process."

In a survey conducted by Lipman Hearne, the top factors for most high-achieving students in choosing a college are whether it has a strong program in the student's area of interest and its proximity to home. Out of 600 students surveyed, only 6 percent listed campus life as a top descision-making factor.

Some college-bound students say that marketing and image have little effect on their final choice.

"Most kids don't look for a school," said Drew Stallings, a senior at Peninsula Catholic High School in Newport, Va. "They already have an idea of where they want to go from talking to their parents or word of mouth from friends already in college."

Stallings will be a freshman at Marymount University in Arlington, Va., this fall. He believes most kids barely skim college brochures and end up tossing them. "I just wonder how many of these things they can send me," said Stallings. "It's not about marketing, you just walk on a campus and you know that it just feels right."

Branding a College Can Be Subtle

What Stallings may not realize is that many of the things you see on that first campus walk are part of the university's brand. A brand, according to Moore, is the promise of a certain experience. So even though many college-bound teens toss those brochures, campuses still have plenty of other ways to sell their particular college experience through dorms, gyms or even coffee shops.

Sharon Schweitzer, assistant vice president of communications at Trinity College in San Antonio, said the school changed recruiting literature it had used for several years after learning through focus groups that Trinity College was projecting a "generic" image. The school also learned that as with any business, location, location, location is huge.

"We realized that Texas had a negative impression with some audiences outside the state, and to them Texas didn't say high-quality liberal arts college even to people who had never been here," said Schweitzer. "But San Antonio was seen as an oasis, so now we play up San Antonio."

And today's college students are not content with dorms too old for air-conditioning nor with sharing computers at the library to do their homework.

"Students have been asking us to turn Case into a more vibrant campus," said Laura Massie, spokeswoman for Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Case set a new standard of living for its students with a housing complex called the Village at 115. According to its Web site, it was "designed with the upperclass student in mind." Just to name a few amenities, the facility includes a wireless network, flat-screen televisions, fireplaces and conference rooms.

"There's a demand for it," said Massie. "I don't believe it takes away from the educational experience. The idea is to enhance it."

Alumni Proud to Donate

In a world where image really is everything -- or at least seems to be for many people -- marketing and branding have become part of the university lifecycle. The decision to take on a marketing consultant is not just about attracting new students; keeping the future alumni engaged in college life and academics is also a priority.

Colleges create a brand that not only entices would-be students but also one that builds and maintains a reputation that makes alumni proud to put their alma mater at the top of their resumes and perhaps one day make a donation to keep that reputation going.

"They [universities] have to build net revenue and that doesn't happen accidentally, someone's not going to say, 'Hey, I'm getting a great deal here. I think I'll pay extra thousand dollars tuition this year.' It just doesn't happen," said Moore of Lipman Hearn.

Schweitzer said initially some faculty members felt too much attention was being paid to image, but with enrollment up at Trinity, she cannot remember the last time she heard a complaint from anyone on campus.

"Marketing doesn't cost money, it makes money," Moore said. "If universities can make investments in effective marketing that return significantly more net dollars than they cost then it's just smart, it's good business."