Marketing of a University

[DestinCajun]

Well message boards do help to sharpen ideas.

The alternative is everyone idividually bombarding the aministration with half cocked, not very well rounded concepts. This can only lead to a deaf ear.

I know I won't have much credibility saying this, but message boards should be an important first step, and a prudent administrator would do well to skim them for ideas.

jmo
igeaux.mobi _

If I am a university adminstrator I have no time to spend reading "message boards". Moreover, I do not see a lot of attention (or respect for that matter) given opinions posted by anonymous persons on these boards. To a great degree they carry about the same weight as the anonymous "pot shot" comments solicited at newspaper internet sites in connection with published articles and reports.

That's not to say that everyone who posts is anonymous and that's not to say that good ideas shared here aren't also communicated directly to the proper parties by certain posters.

Boards are certainly a great way to share what would otherwise be "local news" with a widespread group of interested parties. For better or worse they also say a lot about who we are as a group.

[Turbine]

If I am a university administrator I have no time to spend reading "message boards". Moreover, I do not see a lot of attention (or respect for that matter) given opinions posted by anonymous persons on these boards. To a great degree they carry about the same weight as the anonymous "pot shot" comments solicited at newspaper internet sites in connection with published articles and reports.

Over the years -besides the recent Houston Chronicle example- how many University Marketing articles have you read in newspapers? I would venture not many.

Thus an administrator whose job it is to promote a University is left with a few options.

Cocoon themselves to their own ideas.

Spend much more time having an endless parade of people giving him or her suggestions.

Spend untold dollars and hire a marketing firm to do his or her job that will spend endless hours bantering and bandying marketing ideas back and forth. (a lot like a message board) trying to come up with unique marketing ideas.

Google for ideas that other universities have used. Of course be ready this may lead back to a message board

Status quo, do nothing and assume everyone already knows what your school is about and all the tangibles.

I don't know the best formula but I still think a prudent admin at their own discretion can by skimming headlines on message boards -and delving deeper- gain insight to some unique marketing ideas.

[RaginFan2]

The idea of re-marketing a university, or re-branding the image of the Cajuns, has been taken up before on this board. In fact, the original post by SLC is almost a direct copy of the following posts. The Cajuns, regardless of the new president, always have an opportunity to get new fans, energize an uninterested fanbase, and attract new transfer or traditional students. But, the Cajuns can't assume everyone knows about the university. . . .

. . .If the university chooses not to promote itself or chooses not to shape and decide its own reputation, it has only itself to blame.

Great post! Naturally, I don't agree with 100% of your post (with a post that long, no one likely could). But I totally agree with the tone and direction of the post overall. I have always felt that the university leadership has: 1) assumed the local population knows enough about the university; 2) focused nearly all its "marketing" on Lafayette and the immediate surrounding areas (if you want to be the University of Louisiana, you need to promote yourself state-wide); and 3) not done a good job of addressing short- and long-range planning for the future of the university (while I have some serious issues with the "LSU crowd", we need to focus on the positives and work to improve ourselves, not play the blame game).