Larry D. Lauer

This week I met with a group of boarding school advancement professionals to discuss integrated marketing. I had been looking forward to it because I have become acutely aware of how these schools are facing some of the same competitive and global forces that are facing universities.  Indeed, we all are a part of the same education industry, and greater connection and collaboration between us no doubt will benefit everyone.

These schools come in many types and sizes–smaller, with few staff and other resources, and larger with more of each. Universities come in many varieties as well.  So my presentation premise was that I could cover virtually the same material I do with universities, and that these independent school professionals would be able to adapt  the basic concepts  to  each of their specific situations.

I presented basic ideas about the importance of a clear brand identity, and the need to clarify competitive advantage. I talked about why specific markets must be targeted using each one’s preferred media.  We then discussed how using multiple tactics simultaneously would “converge” on each market target and cut through mass media clutter.  We explored how group process can be used to get supporters inside and out “on the same message page,” and why leaders at all levels must “walk-the-talk” to inspire word-of-mouth support and establish a positive image.

Reflecting on my premise, as well as on my meeting this week, I must say that I believe more than ever that most any kind of organization will find that an integrated approach to marketing is the most effective  pathway they can choose to long-term, sustained institutional advancement.

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Circumstances this week caused me to reflect on what I have learned about leading and managing the work of creative professionals. I recalled strong feelings of fear that my peer colleagues might not like what my staff just produced, and would think less of me. Or, important trustees, or donors, or community leaders, might react badly to what they saw, and that my professional judgment would come under question.  Getting comfortable with executive level marketing and communication pressures takes time.

I learned the hard way that creative people cannot be micro-managed.  To do this turns off their creativity, and renders them unproductive.  Likewise, if they work without guidelines, the result will be no results at all.  So, what should you do?

First, you should establish a creative team-building process up front that clarifies general expectations and guidelines. Second, you must accept the challenge of constantly educating your colleagues and target audiences about how your profession achieves long-term results. 

You can give editors and writers a set of branding themes that you want reinforced in feature stories over time.  You can also ask them to give you a heads-up on anything controversial so you can collaborate in advance on “approaches” to the story.  In this way, you build a relationship based on respect.   Then, you should not feel a strong need to edit the editor’s or writer’s work.  Glitches will occur, but even those that seem major will have minor long-term effect.

You should give artists plenty of information about each piece’s communication objective, as well as known expectations of intended audiences. This should be done long before they ever sit down at the computer.  Good designers can then come up with good ideas to consider.  If they start to design too soon, their work inevitably will be off the mark, and not effective.     

You should identify what communication materials exist primarily to promote only positive stories and people. These are referred to as “vanity” publications.  And you should also identify those that require journalistic integrity in order to establish broad audience credibility… usually this list includes the university magazine. It’s important for these audiences to understand that they might not always like what the writer reports, but credibility only comes with a measure of editorial independence.

It is not easy to manage creative professionals. It is not the same as managing a group of office workers. It requires leading by making expectations and guidelines clear in advance, by supporting and explaining the work of creative writers and artists, and by educating colleagues and important audiences on why you go about your work the way you do.

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