Declan Sullivan

A very moving piece about the Memorial Mass at the University of Notre Dame for Declan Sullivan, the 20 year old videographer killed this past week at ND. This should have never, ever, ever happened.

courtesy:  amyunsettled.wordpress.com

blessings,

marketmpb

On Wednesday, Declan was killed on campus in an accident involving a hydraulic lift. He was filming football practice for his job as a student manager, and high winds caused the scissor lift he was filming from to topple over.

He was 20 years old. He was a junior majoring in FTT (film, television, and theater) and marketing. He lived in Fisher Hall.

Tonight, Father John Jenkins, University President, presided over a Mass in Declan’s memory in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

Mass began at 10 pm. I was in a lecture and movie screening for class until 9:45 pm, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the Basilica in time to get a seat. I also wasn’t sure if I even wanted to go to the Mass. I didn’t know Declan, so a part of me thought, “Why should I take a seat from somebody who knew him, loved him, cared about him? Who am I to do that?” But another part of me desperately wanted to go to the Mass to show my support for Declan’s family during this horrible, difficult time. That part of me wanted to show the Sullivans that Notre Dame is a place where everybody matters, a place where the spirit of the community links everybody together. I was already running late and I knew that my baseball-cap-and-Ugg-boots attire wouldn’t fly at the Basilica, so I decided to go over to LaFortune Student Center, where I had heard there would be auxiliary seating and a live feed from the Mass.

As I walked across God Quad in the dark, I watched people walking towards the Basilica, two by two. The doors were wide open, emanating a warm golden glow. I was able to hear the prelude for Declan’s Mass all the way at the flagpole on South Quad, and the sound of the organ became clearer as I crossed through the pine trees and made my way to LaFortune.

Up the winding staircase, I burst in to LaFortune and brushed past the representatives from the Student Activities Office who tried to usher me upstairs to the ballroom. “We have some seats left up there,” a girl with a nametag whispered. By the time I heard her, I had already set down my backpack near my usual spot in the main lounge. LaFortune was different. Normally, the building serves as a study/food/coffee/socialization/meeting space, and it’s one of the busiest places on campus. But tonight, it was quiet. Dimmer, somehow.

All of the comfy armchairs were occupied, so after lingering against a wall, cornered by a trashcan, for a few minutes, I plopped down on the floor like a kindergartener. Mass was beginning. The broadcast was coming through on the two large televisions in the main lounge. (It was available online as well.) During the opening song, the SAO folks brought out a number of chairs from another room, and I snapped up a seat just as Fr. Jenkins was greeting the Sullivan family.

Then, the oddest thing began to happen. Everyone in the room began to respond to the TV, just like Mass.

Peace be with you.
“And also with you.”

I don’t know if it was reflex, a genuine desire to participate in the Mass, or some combination of both. All of a sudden, I found myself in the midst of the celebration of the Eucharist in the same room where I drink coffee, read the paper, watch ESPN, and play Sporcle.

Notre Dame is very good at a lot of things, and one of those things is church. Notre Dame knows how to put on a great Mass, and the higher-ups pulled out all the stops for Declan. The Folk Choir provided beautiful music for the service. I was particularly impressed with the selection of the readings. The first reading was Romans 8:31-39 (“If God is for us, who can be against us?”). The gospel reading was John 14:1-14 (“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”).

Father Tom Doyle, Vice President for Student Affairs, gave the homily. He spoke eloquently and simply about storytelling—about Declan’s love of telling stories through film and about the feeling that we have been “written out of the book of life” that accompanies loss and grief. Doyle said, “Most days, we live in this place that is like Eden before the fall.” Normally, bad things don’t happen here. Students joke about the “Notre Dame bubble” for a reason. When terrible things hit Notre Dame, it seems that much worse.

As I watched the Mass on TV from my chair in the LaFortune, I noticed that the camera kept panning out to the people sitting in the pews at the Basilica. The Sullivan family sat in the front row. Gwynn, Declan’s sister, wore a Notre Dame football jersey and Mac, Declan’s 15-year-old brother, wore a Notre Dame sweatshirt. Across the aisle, the men of Fisher Hall sat in the other front section, all with their trademark neon green retro sunglasses pushed back into messy brown waves and perched on blonde crewcuts. Fishermen wear these distinguishing sunglasses around campus all the time, so seemed appropriate that they wore their shades to Mass in memory of their hallmate. The Notre Dame football team sat behind the contingent from Fisher Hall.

During the Eucharistic Prayer, LaFortune was filled with the mutterings of hundreds of students.

Lift up your hearts.
“We lift them up to the Lord.”

When it came time for the Our Father, the Liturgical Choir sang the beautiful Notre Dame Our Father. LaFortune joined hands and joined in. Then, everyone got out of their seats for the sign of peace. Hugs and handshakes all around.

The SAO employees notified us that the Eucharist was being distributed outside the Basilica and that we could leave and come back. After a moment of hesitation, about 75% of the room stood up, grabbed coats, and quietly filed out of the room. I was near the door, so I made it out quickly. Down the stairs, across the quad, towards the music and light. There were hundreds of people already standing outside the Basilica—overflow. Outside, there were musicians performing acoustic versions of the songs playing inside. As I huddled around the front of the Basilica, I turned around. A massive block of students stretched all the way from the foot of the Basilica to the stairs of LaFortune, and people continued to stream out of the building from the ballroom on the second floor.

We stood patiently, quietly in the cold. Occasionally, a priest would emerge from the big Basilica doors. People gathered around eagerly as the priest distributed Communion. Nobody jostled, nobody complained. We just waited. Slowly, more priests came out. After I received Communion, I walked back to LaFortune. I counted six priests standing outside, each man completely surrounded by students waiting for the Eucharist.

I made it back to LaFortune just in time for the final blessing.
The Mass is ended, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
“Thanks be to God.”

And then, as always, we sang the alma mater, arms around each other, swaying.

Notre Dame, Our Mother
Tender, strong and true
Proudly in the heavens
Gleams thy gold and blue.
Glory’s mantle cloaks thee
Golden is thy fame.
And our hearts forever
Praise thee, Notre Dame.
And our hearts forever
Love thee, Notre Dame.

The fervent prayers of the Notre Dame community are with Declan Sullivan and his family.

A night like this should never have to happen again.

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Notre Dame Tragedy

My apologies for not writing in the last couple of days.  I have been mourning the loss of a Notre Dame Student who was taping practice when his scissor lift fell over.  Football is insignificant this week as the Notre Dame community mourns Declan.

Please say a prayer for Declan.

God, Country, Notre Dame

marketmpb

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Where are we with Location Based Marketing?

Good afternoon,  a great guest post today by Brad Ledson of the 0301 Consulting Group,  my thanks to Brad!

enjoy,

marketmpb

 

Location based marketing and networking such as Foursquare and Twitters @anywhere service are a fairly new marketing medium, but a very fast growing medium nevertheless.

I checked in today and receive an invite for a free coffee and marketing consultation. Now this was not for the place I was checking into but they caught my attention anyway! In the grand scheme of things what is a free coffee to a coffee shop? Answer, pennies. But to a consumer this could be the only draw they need. It had my interest and I was checking in @thelowry for a conference event. I just find it really interesting to see people using such a simple tool to encourage visitors, and if you think about it how many people would like I would share the experience with a number of our social groups?

I think for apparel store the like of Four Square is a totally untapped resource to drive customers and increase store footfall. There are so many ways you can promote this and it really is a shame so many are unwilling to embrace such a unique opportunity. I could present more than 10 different ways to increase your store/ showroom footfall at very little cost. It's all about being creative and being a leader in the field.

Consumers want to be engaged, they want to be gripped by the latest fad, trend or innovative marketing forum. They want something for nothing because you can bet if you don't do it someone else will.

Brad Ledson
E- Brad@the0301consultinggroup.com
W- www.the0301consultinggroup.com

Facebook - www.facebook.com/0301consulting
Twitter -www.twitter.com/0301consulting
Blog - www.0301consulting.posterous.com

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Some Email Marketing Tips

Well,  I avoided jumping off the cliff after watching the Notre Dame Football game,  wow was that a pitiful defensive performance.  I think I could have been a better defensive coach.

Lets talk some today about email marketing.   First, lets talk about segmenting your audience….

I occasionally get email ads for Spring Break discounts to Cancun.  Does the marketer not know I am 35, married, with two kids?  I think that I would stick out like a sore thumb and the girls would think I am an old pervert :) .  My point here is that it is very important to segment your audience  and know your demographics!  Who likes to feel old?

The second thing is to know your audience.  I can’t tell you how many times I have received an email ad for candles, crafts, and other girl stuff?  Does Matt sound like a girl’s name?  I understand that some spam is rarely targeted, but I think you see what I am getting at here.

The next thing you always want to avoid is the “double opt in”.  For example, if you sign up at national restaurant chain for their newsletter, and a week later you receive an email stating if you really want to subscribe and confirm?  I think that makes your business look like a clown show.  It certainly diminished your time you spent at the restaurant or whatever business you have.

It is very important to know your audience, don’t make someone feel old and avoid the double opt in, and PLEASE say a prayer for Notre Dame Football.

all the best,

marketmpb

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Colleges Need to Adapt

Good Friday to you,  here is a great article from Inside Higher Ed on leaders needing to adapt to the “technology” student.

thanks, marketmpb

(source insidehighered.com)

Imagine the following hypothetical scenario. Jen is a college first-year student. She attended a public high school in which randomly selected students received iPads as part of an innovative curricular grant project. Jen was fortunate enough to be one of the selected students. She loved writing, reading and using the computer – sometimes for fun, sometimes for homework.

Jen scored in the 78th percentile on the SATs, played on a varsity athletic team, and late in her senior year, showed an aptitude for and interest in photography. She worked during the summer. One of her two parents is a college graduate. Their combined income approximates $95,000.

Jen was accepted to a variety of colleges and universities, and decided to attend a mid-sized university, largely because of the financial aid package, and because its website showcased a new photography major.

Jen was bemused after her first week in college. She is a product of iPhones, smartboards, iPads and text messaging, and yet her classroom was devoid of technological gadgetry. Her professors lecture, sometimes with PowerPoint, sometimes without. They talk about research as if it is something to be done in a library, and not on one’s lap or in one’s hand.

The following example may or may not sound familiar to many educators and students, but it is likely to be the norm in the next few years. Our students process, retrieve and garner information in ways unimaginable a few years ago, if not months ago. We faculty, trained with card catalogs, photocopy packets, and reserve reading, are rapidly becoming living, breathing anachronisms.

Challenges abound – for Jen and for us. Students’ demand for infotainment need not be satisfied, but so too one should not dismiss the reality that such demand is a creation of cultural forces not easily ignored. Similarly, Jen’s technological acumen is not unique, nor is her professor’s lack of it. That divide is only likely to grow. Even as universities attempt to prepare faculty with info-tech workshops and seminars, today’s teenager is going to be more proficient at web design, for example, than your typical 50-something year-old English or sociology professor.

Years ago, I would find an article – in hard copy or on microfiche. If the abstract looked relevant, I would print out the article and read it. Now the digital version of that article is available with the touch of a few clicks. Which article abstracts does one read? How does one choose? The plethora of data is overwhelming for me; it must be daunting for someone without years of experience filtering and culling information.

We need to devote some time to rethink how we – faculty and students alike – read, write, study, research, and more generally, learn. As a relatively new dean, I have asked faculty to rethink their classes, not by tweaking a syllabus by adding or removing a book, but by thinking about today’s and tomorrow’s students. While this process has just commenced, I find that, generally, faculty are eager to accept the challenge. They too realize that today’s students are showing different learning skills than but a few years ago. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they are comfortable with facts – dates, times, and places – but less secure questioning ambiguous or conflicting ideas. Perhaps this is nothing new. After all, contextual analysis is a tricky and sometimes exhausting enterprise.

We have to develop those skills by adapting our own pedagogy and modifying our formal training. Many of us still love the book – the smell, the spine, and the ability to write in the margins. But we need not be intellectual dinosaurs. Perhaps there is something to be said about digital textbooks, replete with high-pixel digital images, highlighting and note-taking capabilities, podcasts and moving cameras. (The new digital art history books are mesmerizing.)

How do we develop those skills? The responsibility, I would suggest first lies with provosts, deans and chairs. Instead of wasting valuable time on weekly meetings about the status quo, we should be listening carefully to college-bound high school students. Our faculty should be present too, perhaps sitting in the background taking copious notes (either on a memo pad or an iPad). Provosts should make technology in the classroom the theme of their faculty retreats, perhaps for the next year or two, if only because technological advancements find the marketplace faster than the glacially slow academic calendar.

We then should be holding a series of summits with our information technology departments, not as we always do to discuss next year’s budget, but to imagine together what the next five or ten years of classroom instruction will look like, and to develop specific strategies for implementing that vision. Perhaps it will require a million dollars. Perhaps, indeed. If so, then it is time for us deans to raise funds, or for us quickly to develop strategic partners with computer companies.

There are no more Luddites in the university. I should know. I learned how to do chi-squares calculations by hand, and I still believe such a method teaches students how to understand the relationship between two variables. I still have a file cabinet full of journal articles. My fondness for books and bookstores has not dissipated, nor has my passion for reading the hard copy of the newspaper.

Critics may misinterpret this call for action as a desire to teach to the whims of technology. Quite the contrary. Even the able scholar with a fountain pen now uses a laptop and a flash drive. Information abounds – good, bad, true and false. It can be retrieved and stored in ways inconceivable but two years ago. Teaching Jen to discern what is crud and what is critically valuable – in a way that both inspirational and imaginative – is no easy task. Her voracious intellectual appetite must be met with creative energy we have not yet tapped.

Technorati Tags: matt blum,mattblum,insidehighered,marketing,advertising,higher education marketing,highereducationmarketing

Happy Days Dad Passes Away

Very sad, one of my favorite “dads” on TV, when I was growing up..  Tom Bosley RIP

(breaking news)

courtesy: foxnews.com

TV

'Happy Days' Dad Tom Bosley Dies

(ABC)

Tom Bosley, the actor who played mild-mannered hardware store owner Howard Cunningham on the classic sitcom 'Happy Days,' died on Tuesday, his agent confirmed.

Bosley was 83.

He had been battling a staph infection when he passed away at his Palm Springs home, according to reports.

Bosley's death comes just days after that of another beloved TV parent. Barbara Billingsley, who played mom June Cleaver on 'Leave It to Beaver," died this past weekend.

Bosley also starred in the "Father Dowling Mysteries" series in the late '90s, but he was best knows as Richie and Joanie Cunningham's dad, and Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli's landlord, on "Happy Days," which aired from 1974-84.

The show depicted middle-class life in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the 1950s just as rock and roll was taking hold of the American consciousness.

Bosley's character was typically the calm at the center of the storm, often dispensing his reasonable advice from the comfort of his easy chair in the Cunninghams' living room

Technorati Tags: mattblum,matt blum,tom bosley,breaking news

Would you like to be a writer?

Good afternoon, and I hope your news is good today. 

This is a shout out to anyone who would like to write about marketing, advertising, or any aspects of social media.  I am fortunate to have a few true experts writing for me now (eg, Patricia Plourde of Honey Bee Marketing), but I could use a few more.  I also don’t have any silly rules on writing, so you can include as many links back to your business/yourself as you like.

If interested, please contact the administrator (me) at

marketmpb@rocketmail.com

thank you!

Matt

Technorati Tags: matt blum,mattblum,writer,advertising,marketing,promotion

Forming Partnerships with Community Colleges

a great article, courtesy of stamats.com, one of the best out there!

marketmpb

As I think about the efforts four-year institutions are going through right now to try to befriend community colleges, I can’t help but think about the fact that many of the original “good partnerships” in higher education started with adult student programs. Many schools that I visit have had long-standing arrangements (some more formal than others) in relation to the 2+2 that community colleges and four-year institutions can often offer to adult students. Some of these partnerships go so far as to allow for recruitment staff to have office space on community college campuses, present in classes, and participate in educational sessions relating to “next steps” beyond the community college education.
What this actually offers is a true service to our adult students. The opportunity to have an introduction made to a trusted partner in higher education by the community college that has benefited them so much during their enrollment can go a long way in pointing an adult student toward a solid institution who operates a program that is truly designed to meet their needs. Additionally, it serves as a real vote of confidence to the adult student that a community college advisor feels they have what it takes to make the next step in their education.
If you are a program that has benefited from a solid partnership with a community college, I want to urge you to touch base often with a partner. Community colleges have truly been in the spotlight for their booming enrollment, but they are also a new focus for many institutions who have never before been interested in the prospective transfer students who graduate from their programs. In order to keep your relationship solid with these valuable partners I strongly recommend that you develop a clear process of connecting with them often and listening carefully to their needs. Be the good partner that they have been to you for all these years

Technorati Tags: matt blum,mattblum,community colleges,marketing,advertising,highereducationmarketing,higher education marketing

Brand Recognition, at a Young Age

Did you have a good weekend?  I hope you did.  Mine was great, a Notre Dame victory and some great time spent with family.

Tonight I would like to take a look at brand recognition from a young age perspective.

As some may know, I have a two great kids, a 4 year old and a 3 year old and they are great at recognizing certain things, especially a John Deere logo.

If you follow my blog,  you know that I have mixed feelings about John Deere.  Our L108 garden tractor blew up this past summer after only 5 years of use, plain and simple it apparently was not made for the rigors of cutting 3.5 acres of grass.  My take is that if something has a John Deere label, it should be made to cut any amount of grass.  Now I have to take some personal responsibility because the “cooling” fins apparently became clogged inside the engine and it got so hot it actually melted the crankshaft.  So I took the kids and we went and bought a new more powerful X-300 tractor and we love it.

Anyway, back to my story :).  So the kids and I are at the store the other day and my son yells out in the parking lot,  “DADDY, DADDY, JOHN DEERE, JOHN DEERE!!!!”.  So I am thinking we are in a urban grocery store’s parking lot, where in the world is this kid seeing a John Deere tractor???  It was not a tractor.

He had spotted a John Deere window sticker about 10 yards away, he knew the logo!  How about that???  The kid liked John Deere so much from our experience in buying the new one (and playing with the JD toys) that he recognized the logo.

Talk about marketing at an early age.  Would a young kid recognize your logo?

enjoy your weekend and thanks for letting me share this story…

Technorati Tags: matt blum,mattblum,john deere,marketingatanearlyage,advertising,marketing

Customah Feedback

a great marketing tool, from a great marketing expert Patricia Plourde,  owner of Honey Bee Marketing  (www.beethebuzz.com)

enjoy!
Matt

In a world where people take to the Internet to voice their opinions, how do you as a business do your best to make sure that negative comments don’t make it to the Internet or even through word-of-mouth on the street? It is true that when customers have a bad experience they will tell multiple people but when they have a good experience they might not tell anyone. Are our expectations too high to think that service needs to be perfect every single time we have a Business to Consumer interaction? I think we would all agree we would like the best service, and if it’s our business we would like to give the best service - what is critical is how we respond to bad service. Responding appropriately to bad service is just as important as always giving good service.

I have been recently introduced to a new product that is great for those of us that are on the go and constantly busy. We all have seen what I believe is a somewhat ineffective feedback process, the receipt at checkouts promising a chance to win a prize if you share how the Business’ service was. Don’t get me wrong, I would love a shopping spree but I’m never going to take the time to pull out the receipt (which is usually lost when I leave the store) then remember to find it when I get home, and go online: and so what if I tell you I have had a horrible experience. Time has passed and maybe too much to make a difference with the shopper.

So, why not invest in mobile feedback, Called Customah Feedback. Customah Feedback is easier and faster, keeping up with today’s demands: at your business (such as a shopping store with snacks, goodies, etc.) through marketing at the checkouts customers receive a number to text feedback. A customer could very well text in their feedback while waiting in line – it’s that fast and easy. The text message will contain a rating of 1-10, which is automatically sent to a mobile phone, for example, the manager. The manager knows that this person came in and s/he gave them a rating of 4. Well why? What happened? Customah Feedback gives the manager an opportunity to directly call that person immediately and find out what happened at the store and most importantly how the store can fix it. Staying on top of negative feedback and offering a solution will make your company stand out in the customers mind, and gives businesses an edge in customer satisfaction.

We all live in a world of instant gratification. When we have a bad experience we want to know someone cares and they will try to do their best to fix the problem. Customah Feedback allows that to happen. If you would like to invest in this for your company feel free to contact me. Make sure that when your customers are taking to the Internet it’s to talk about how you resolved a problem quickly!

Technorati Tags: matt blum,mattblum,patricia plourde,customah feedback,advertising,marketing

Tighter Restrictions on For Profits…

a very good article about the threat facing “The University of Phoenix…

courtesy ap.com

enjoy, admin

For-profit schools reel as rules affect enrollment

(AP) – 8 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's largest for-profit college says it will take a big hit to enrollment — and its bottom line — as it tightens admission practices. The move comes as the government ramps up regulation of an industry which critics say preys on lower-income students and leaves them with hefty debt loads and meager job prospects.

The number of lower-income students enrolled at for-profit colleges has surged in the past few years. Big advertising budgets drew those trying to bolster their resumes as a hedge against high unemployment. But critics claim the schools are not helping students find better jobs and say enrollment counselors sign up many who are unprepared for higher education. When they drop out, they are still stuck paying back their student loans.

Defaults on student loans have been rising, sticking taxpayers with the bills. So the government has proposed regulations that could limit schools' access to federal financial aid if graduates' debt levels are too high or too few students repay loans.

Amid intense scrutiny of the industry, Apollo Group Inc. said Wednesday it will provide new students with a free three-week trial program to see if they are ready for its University of Phoenix curriculums — weeding out those at risk of leaving school before earning degrees. And it will no longer pay its counselors bonuses based on how many students they enroll.

"Now, they have to slow down enrollment and be less active in targeting these students. They have to go back to the more traditional students who are working adults," said Matt Snowling, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets.

The Phoenix-based company also is monitoring 30,000 conversations every day between its employees and prospective students after a government report showed some for-profit colleges engaged in allegedly deceptive recruiting practices. It is trying to attract more employer-sponsored students into its classrooms — and will likely end up with a wealthier student body.

"There's going to be fewer associate students. Generally associate students tend to be a lower-income demographic," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Jeff Silber.

But the tighter admissions standards come at a cost. Apollo said it expects the number of new students enrolling at its University of Phoenix campuses to drop 40 percent in the next quarter and withdrew its profit outlook for next year.

The news sent chills through the industry as investors worried that other for-profit schools will issue similar forecasts. Stocks tumbled across the sector, led by Apollo, which dropped $11.50, or 23 percent, to $38. Education Management Corp., DeVry Inc., Corinthian Colleges Inc., ITT Educational Services Inc., Career Education Corp. and Strayer Education Inc. all fell by double-digit percentages. Shares of newspaper publisher Washington Post Co., which gets the majority of its revenue from the Kaplan school chain, slumped 9 percent.

Apollo, the first of the sector to report quarterly results, also warned that it is close to maxing out how much revenue it can receive from federal financial aid resources. Industrywide, for-profit schools get about 83 percent of their revenue from government-backed loans and federal Pell Grants, which go to lower-income students. Federal regulations cap that amount at 90 percent. If a school exceeds that limit for two years in a row, it may lose access to federal financial aid.

Apollo said that it expects to top that level in 2012. Since the government only covers a certain amount of tuition, Apollo said it may have to raise tuition to reduce the percentage of aid it receives and stay within the 90/10 requirement.

That scares Joslin Jade Ellis, a stay-at-home mom from Prince George's County, Md., and an online student at University of Phoenix. Her tuition is now covered entirely by a federal Pell Grant and other financial aid.

"It's important for anyone who wants to go to college to at least have that shot," said Ellis, who is taking health administration courses. "A lot of families can't afford to send their kids to college, at least in this economy. And now, no one will even look at your resume unless you have some sort of college background or a degree."

Former UoP student Glenn Moscoso finds the prospect of tuition increases alarming.

"In this economy and job market, isn't raising tuition adding debt to a no-guarantee job market?" said Moscoso, who in April earned a master's degree in education.

Moscoso, 40, said he chose the school because it didn't require him to take the Graduate Record Examination, or GRE. He said he took out $19,000 in federal student loans and so far has not found a job — in part, he said, because of limited opportunities in his field, adult education.

Technorati Tags: matt blum,mattblum,for profits,non-traditional education,restrictions

Effective Social Media Marketing

A great, simple video about social media marketing,  and I am a big fan of constant contact!

enjoy,

marketmpb

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: mattblum,matt blum,constant contact,advertising,social media marketing

Is Higher Ed Print Advertising Effective?

Good evening, and I hope you have been well.

I would like to take a look at if print advertising is still relevant in higher education.  Another poignant thing to take a look at, my sources told me that the USA Education Guides are being eliminated, wow, so they must not think they are effective!

When we take a look at how effective print advertising is or isn’t, lets take a look at some things:

-does the ad immediately grab the reader?

-does the headline promise an important benefit?

-is the ad too short or too long?

Print advertising in itself does offer several benefits: good reach and frequency, can handle complicated propositions, and it certainly reaches a niche audience in a very targeted manner.

However, any advertising in higher education is a tricky animal, branding in itself is no longer going to cut it, and really who can afford to “throw money at a problem”.

Any sort of branding has to be combined with other lead-generation efforts (higheredgrowth.com or campustechnology.com, those are the two best, in my opinion). 

Now, back to our print advertising.  Print advertising (in an international student context) is very effective.  You have to remember that students in certain countries can find internet access cheap, scarce, or non-existent.  I can understand domestic print publications being eliminated, but ones that are international focused???   I don’t get it.

Certainly, online advertising is the current trend and wave of the future, but mixing in a little print advertising (combine with lead generation) can lead to a very effective campaign.

enjoy your night,

marketmpb

Technorati Tags: matt blum,mattblum,print advertising,marketing,advertising

A Tropical Alert

Good afternoon all,

I thought I would send a message out about Hurricane Paula, it looks like interests in the Florida Panhandle and Louisiana should keep an eye on it.

marketmpb

www.nhc.noaa.gov

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: matt blum,mattblum,marketing,weather,hurricane

On the Lighter Side today

As I get ready for the Notre Dame game, I thought I would share a little of what interests me,  boating and being out on the water…. and this video is sweet,  a turbine (airplane engine) boat… the really good part starts about 1:50 into it…

enjoy your weekend!

marketmpb

Technorati Tags: matt blum,mattblum,boat racing,advertising,marketing,themostinterestingmarketingbloginthe world

Your Marketing Funnel

a great guest post tonight from Patricia Plourde, owner of Honey Bee Marketing (www.beethebuzz.com)

I recommend Honey Bee Marketing for your needs!

enjoy, marketmpb

 

Help! I’m stuck in the funnel.
Do you ever feel stuck in the funnel? Overwhelmed at everything that is coming at you? Well it’s clear with social media, websites that track what customers buy and their opinions; life is no longer a simple funnel. It’s chaos of pipes. Example 1-1 shows the basic funnel, Example 1-2 shows the complexity of the marketing process today. There is so much additional input before a consumer makes a purchase. It really doesn’t matter if it’s a college or a small business - the funnel has changed.
When asked to speak with marketing classes, this is the first thing I show them, how the funnel has changed. This is what you are up against. Marketing Strategies are no longer creating a marketing mix to move them through the funnel. We are moving them through pipes with lots of different turns along the way and it’s a maze that can take many different routes. You as a marketer have to keep them on route to make a purchase.

I work for a college that is technically orientated. Our students expect us to be what we say is “on the cutting edge without bleeding” meaning that we are one step ahead of everyone else not twelve and they have no idea what we are doing. So, each year as the Marketing Director I think about our students, the way they communicate and one thing that no one else is doing. That is what is going to make us stand out and we usually can do this pretty cost effectively.

A year ago due to the declining demographic in New England it was my mission to not only find new areas for us to expand in but to find a way to engage with them. At the New England School of Communications we require that all students have an interview as part of the admission process, during this time, which is normally two to three hours we give them a tour of our facility. We are located in Bangor, Maine, which people just don’t realize that we have an amazing facility. They leave wowed and we know that the tour is our biggest selling feature.

As I sat in my office I thought-

1. I need a new area to market in outside of New England

2. How am I going to show them our biggest selling feature? To get a student from away to commit to visiting is a much harder sell. I want to convert as many students as possible.

My idea was to create an online open house, with interactive chats, videos, and with all departments on board to chat with a prospective student, having many of the features that we wanted the event to be about we repurposed all of them, which made for a low cost event.

The results- we had students from all over the country attend and a 50% conversion rate for them to submit paperwork, application, interview, or become a student.

What we did in the funnel was allow them to get opinions from peers, we showed them everything so they could compare alternatives to us, and they were able to generate their own content by asking anything they wanted. What we did was make a change in the funnel where when they were done with the event they were recommending us to friends based on their experience.

As a Marketing Director in Higher Education and Owner of Honey Bee Marketing, I spend my days thinking about this very funnel. Thinking about how I can either provide the school or the client with a route in the pipe work that is going to equal a consumer. The key is to know who your consumer really is. What is the one thing in the funnel that you can do different then your competitor that your consumer is going to notice and make a move?

Technorati Tags: matt blum,honey bee marketing,marketing funnel,patricia plourde

Community Colleges, “Unsung Heroes”

This according to the Obama administration…  I am not sure I agree, but enjoy the article, courtesy of CNN.com.

marketmpb

source: cnn.com

Washington (CNN) -- Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Jill Biden, will host the first-ever White House Summit on Community Colleges Tuesday.

President Barack Obama will speak at the opening session of the event designed to "highlight the critical role that community colleges play in developing America's workforce and reaching our educational goals," the White House said.

Biden, who has a doctorate and teaches English full-time at a community college not far from the White House, describes them as "one of America's best-kept secrets," according to her profile on the White House website.

The summit will include a session on the Skills for America's Future initiative, according to the White House statement.

Examples of programs in the new initiative include Pacific Gas and Electric's work with community colleges to develop courses and training for energy jobs, professional literacy courses provided by McDonald's for managers across the country, and a pilot job training program in seven cities by Gap Inc., the statement said.

The summit begins a day after Obama announced an industry-led education initiative intended to ensure that the nation's community college graduates are well-trained for jobs in U.S. industry.

On Monday, Obama told a meeting of his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which includes business and labor leaders, that the Skills for America's Future initiative is a common-sense approach to a broader strategy of improving the ability of U.S. students to compete in the global workforce.

"The idea here is simple -- we want to make it easier to connect students looking for jobs with businesses that will hire them," Obama said in remarks at a board meeting at the White House.

A White House statement said the initiative is based on the same concept as the Educate to Innovate campaign, in which corporations develop specific programs to boost the performance of U.S. students in math, science, technology and engineering.

Obama said a Skills for America's Future task force will coordinate federal efforts with corporate partners in the initiative.

"The goal is to ensure there are strong partnerships between growing industries and community college or training programs in every state in the country," Obama said.

He called community colleges one of the nation's most under-valued assets, and repeated his goal of increasing the number of community college degrees and certificates by 5 million by the year 2020.

Technorati Tags: matt blum,mattblum,community colleges,heroes

Some Hot, Current Marketing Trends

Good evening, have you been marketing well?

Tonight, I thought we would take a look at some very current, successful marketing trends.

First, transparency and honesty are extremely important.  Clients and potential clients (along with the economic conditions) have lived through recent current events to know that folks are just no longer going to tolerate shady businesses or even suspicion of shady business dealings.  It is an ongoing effort to gain and keep a customer’s trust.

Consumers are more skeptical than ever these days, you have SHOW them the value add for product/service provides to them.  Show (don’t just tell) a customer why they should spend their hard earned money with you.

You need to join the social media conversation (Facebook, Twitter, etc), because these tools are not going away!  More and more consumers and potential consumers are using these tools everyday.  It is important to join and engage the users out there!

Going back to the negative events of recent years, consumers are looking for marketing messages that provide “peace of mind”.  Try your best to communicate a feeling of security to the consumer.

enjoy your night!

marketmpb

Technorati Tags: matt blum,mattblum,marketing trends,advertising