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Archive for the ‘Integrated Marketing’ Category

Lesson 301 On Becoming Thought Leaders

Posted in Higher Education, Integrated Marketing, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Planning, Strategic Communication on December 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Last week I attended a strategic planning meeting at the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Those attending described the organization as “the collaborative integration” of professionals in marketing and communication, fund-raising, alumni relations, government affairs… all focused on advancing education.

CASE has long been a truly international organization with offices currently in Washington, London, Singapore, and Mexico City… and now with growing activities in Africa. This planning exercise is taking a new look at the rapidly changing international education landscape.

The arrival of a new CASE president in Washington from Australia, and the appointment of a new international vice president based in London, has made this project particularly timely, relevant and exciting.

It was agreed early in the planning process that CASE’s basic aspirations are to be “bold, agile, and innovative.” And strategic goals were described as producing collaborative thought leaders; identifying, developing, and managing high potential talent; and engaging members worldwide in the planning discussions by making maximum use of technology.

I believe the daily work of these professionals positions them perfectly to scan the scene, recognize strong trends, keep constituents informed, and help their institutions determine the best way forward. In fact, I can see many of them assuming new leadership roles because finding new funding resources, adjusting brand identity, revising marketing plans, cultivating the help of international alumni and parents, and relating to governments in new ways, will be major challenges.

One CASE strategic goal that stood out to me is to act as “the voice of the industry.” This goal is especially relevant to my fellow professionals in marketing and communication. Indeed, we simply must prepare our external constituents (and in many cases even our top executives, administrators, faculty and students) to effectively address growing societal and political threats at home and abroad … as well as to identify and seize the many new and exciting opportunities that internationalization offers.

Just imagine the possibilities of a truly global education industry: Better cross-cultural understanding. Serious world problem solving using university experts. And the effective development of global leaders with a truly international perspective!

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Lesson 295 Preparing Institutions for Tomorrow

Posted in Branding, Higher Education, Integrated Marketing, Lessons Learned, Planning, Strategic Communication on November 4, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Last week I had the pleasure of working with a group of trustees committed to preserving the values and distinctions of a hundred year old institution. But they also understood that planning for the future will require using new communication tools and adapting to the needs of a generation that grew up with those tools.

We first discussed the increasing power of brand identity. In this digital media world people seem to affiliate with an institution as much for what it stands for and the total experience it delivers (values, culture, traditions, relationships, regional characteristics, consistency, program distinctions, etc.) as for its particular fields of study.

We also discussed how in an information cluttered world an authentic differentiated brand identity can actually achieve greater visibility, as well as greater distinction. And we explored how an authentic brand description can be adapted  to connect with different age groups and market segments, and how each segment will have its own preferred media platforms… some digital and some traditional.

At the heart of this institution’s educational experience has always been face-to-face conversations about social justice, gender, diversity, world religions, church and state, and more. So we discussed how all this can be preserved while adapting to the needs of new generations. Internet searches, easy to access media material, shorter talks in class, teleconferencing with experts from around the world, all can be used while preserving the added value of face-to-face conversations and forums.

What was most impressive about this group was that they could see how a contemporary vision for the future, and new methods of teaching, can remain grounded in its founding mission.

 

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Lesson 294 The Case of Latin America

Posted in Higher Education, Integrated Marketing, International, Lessons Learned, Media Literacy, Strategic Communication on October 29, 2015| 2 Comments »

The EU is a collection of separate countries that came together to prevent the possibility of another world war, as well as to compete more powerfully in the international marketplace. However, right now a common currency and shared issues in higher education seem to be the only things they have in common.

Latin America is made up of many separate countries too. Each has its distinct culture and political environment. As with the EU, it is almost impossible to refer to Latin America as a unified entity. Few if any would see it as a common market.

I had the honor this week of kicking off a conference attended by university marketing and communication professionals from many of the countries in Latin and Central America, the United States, and Puerto Rico.  I talked with them about my new book, The Transition Academy, and about my lessons learned over 50 years adapting marketing and communication strategies and tactics to the challenge of making academic institutions better understood. I found that on these topics they indeed did have a lot in common. They were all experiencing government cutbacks, the impact of the digital technology revolution both inside and outside their institutions, and the widespread effects of globalization.

The participants talked to me about how social media tools were changing their students, as well as how they were marketing their institutions differently. They were interested in more sophisticated approaches to brand identity development, and ways to get more support for their work inside their universities. In other words, they have the same internal politics issues that we all do. They asked about the importance of world rankings, and how smaller institutions can respond to related constituent pressures.

In other words, I experienced with this group what I had previously experienced in Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia, and even South Africa. While some of the specifics are different, many of the big issues we face in the academy are the same. While we compete for students and money in some cases, we also can come together and share common concerns and lessons.

Latin America is not a common market. But the universities of Latin America do have many issues in common and problems they can resolve together. And when I suggested that the ultimate potential of all this interaction was a global industry that developed truly international leaders and the expertise to solve our most pressing international problems, no one seemed to object.

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Lesson 275 Why You Should Love Creative People

Posted in Integrated Marketing, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on June 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

When I arrived at TCU in 1966 to teach radio-TV-film my closest colleagues and friends were in the art department. I found myself hanging out with oil painters, graphic artists, sculptors, and photographers. They were asking me about the psychic and social impact of television and I was learning about the power of imagery from them.

Looking back I can see clearly now that I believed early on that art had the ability to give context and tone to big ideas… and even enhance their power. In theatre the background set reinforces the dramatic impact of the story. In a marketing brochure graphic design and photography attract attention and reinforce the importance of the content. And the right magazine cover sets the stage for everything else that follows. In today’s media world you certainly can tell a lot about a book by its cover!

But it goes even deeper than this. Creative artists of all types provide insights and truths unavailable to many of us. The daily lives of poets, novelists, essayists, dramatists, composers, musicians, all take us a little closer to the basic truths we all seek. So when you engage with artists, appreciate what they do, see up close how they do it, and bring your compelling content ideas into the dialogue, you are enabling the kind of multi-sensory communication essential to influencing today’s audiences.

In the past I thought that intellectuals were only those high IQ people who could remember names and dates on objective tests. They were those scholars who could master numbers and put complicated formulas on blackboards. But over time I came to see that true intellectuals also include those who struggle to give birth to new ideas and surround themselves with creative people as a way to accomplish higher goals and deeper understanding. I love these people, and you should too.

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Lesson 274 Teacher. Trainer. Coach.

Posted in Higher Education, Integrated Marketing, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on June 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

This past week I was impressed by several interviews with the trainer of the Triple Crown winning horse. I have been thinking about what he said ever since. He repeatedly said it was all about having the right horse. He dodged every opportunity to take credit for the win, pointing out that the only way this can happen is having a horse with both the talent and the will to do it.

It occurred to me that athletic coaches wanting to win championships have said basically the same thing. It’s all about the players. It’s absolutely necessary to have the right athletes with the right talent and a single-minded commitment to winning. In other words, even a really good coach must have talented athletes with commitment in order to be able to use his or her knowledge and experience to enable their best performance.

I have learned this same lesson about teaching. For many years I was just fine teaching anyone in my classes about what I thought I knew about communication and media. But in time I realized that when it came to helping students achieve truly major things it was all about them. If they had the talent and a relentless desire to make a difference I could call on my hard learned lessons to help them turn their potential into impressive accomplishments.

And I also found that this applies to strategic communication and marketing administrators and leaders. My last blog post described both Bob Schieffer and former TCU Chancellor Michael Ferrari as opportunity enablers. Looking back on my administrative years I now know that my greatest satisfactions came when I hired people with extraordinary talent and helped them develop it.

In the end, helping professionals fine-tune their special talent enables satisfying working relationships that continue well beyond your time at work. In fact, you are making an ongoing difference in people’s lives that you may eventually come to see as your “crowning” achievement… your Triple Crown.

 

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Lesson 262 Why Government Communication Fails

Posted in Integrated Marketing, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on March 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Effective organizational communication requires the source to be credible, the message to be simple, and those doing the communicating to be working with a coordinated and simple  bureaucratic structure. If the source is not credible communication will fail. And if the structure is too complex messages will not come through consistently.

Governments face a special dilemma. They usually only have credibility with those audiences already in agreement with their policies. And they are often too complex bureaucratically to achieve consistently.

Messages must be simple and sent simultaneously to multiple audiences. Media platforms  must be selected based on each audience’s primary use preferences. Communicating complex issues simply and using different platforms for different audiences are significant challenges, indeed.

What makes matters even more complicated for governments are the relentless demands of 24/7 journalists for something to report all day long. If no news is forthcoming some reporters will write that the administration is not responsive, or that the staff is indecisive, or that the president is just too “professorial.” On the other hand, when statements are made under constant pressure the result can be widespread misunderstanding.

And to add even more complications, foreign audiences and political adversaries are ready every day to actively misunderstand. So even efficiently managed messages are likely to breakdown.

All that said, my experience with institutions and nonprofits would suggest that if there is a  simple message about core values which defines an attractive and compelling identity, it just might be possible to get that message through by relentlessly repeating it over time. And in the long run, getting that message through might be the most lasting communication success a government of goodwill can have.

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Lesson 251 Sound Mind in a Sound Body?

Posted in Higher Education, Integrated Marketing, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on January 7, 2015| Leave a Comment »

With the proliferation of college bowl games and talk of a national championship I found myself reflecting once again on the pros and cons of the current state of intercollegiate athletics. The games have certainly been exciting and the visibility benefit for many of the institutions is obvious.

As the marketing and communication vice-chancellor for a major private institution I was involved in explaining the many benefits of intercollegiate athletics… even overseeing athletic marketing for some years. At its best, athletic participation teaches leadership, the importance of discipline in achieving goals, the power of effective teamwork, the importance of maintaining strong values, and how to never give up striving for one’s best possible performance. And strong programs provide socialization opportunities that bring vitality and a good measure of positive fun to an academic community. When it all works right, the “sound mind in a sound body” philosophy is certainly compatible with most academic missions.

However, when the game becomes controlled by big money, institutions become stretched beyond their economy of scale, winning at any cost becomes the goal, exorbitant coaching and staff salaries soar beyond reason, players are pushed to play through dangerous injuries, conferences change membership annually based on politics and money, academic budgets are inadvertently and sometimes directly affected, television scheduling forces awkward game times, athletes are over-tutored, and bowl costs exceed revenues, one must ask: Is all this spinning toward  some kind of self-destructive end?

Like everything else today, Athletics issues have become hopelessly polarized. It’s either full speed ahead, or the whole thing is bad news and will destroy the academy. My experience suggests that intercollegiate athletics are too embedded in the fabric of most institutions to give up, and yet my analysis suggests that the issues are too important to ignore.

The ultimate answer awaits rational people to get engaged in meaningful dialogue aimed toward seeking rational solutions. Make no mistake, history teaches that self-destruction is certainly possible!

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Lesson 237 The Charismatic Leader Conundrum

Posted in Higher Education, Integrated Marketing, International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on October 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Newly elected Indian Prime Minister Modi has been taking the US by storm this week. He is coming off as sincere, competent and refreshing. He is making a positive impression on most everyone, from corporate CEOs to politicians to the many people from India now living in the US. His appearances often include the music and dance of the culture, all of which suggests that there is a whole new day unfolding for India. He makes the possibility of cooperation and attractive partnerships seem endless. He is demonstrating what one highly visible, articulate, and colorful person can do to establish a whole new “image” for an entire nation.

But is this initial impact sustainable? If it is, this week will have been an incredible testimony of the potential of charismatic leadership. But if it is not, the inevitable backlash will likely produce serious and widespread disappointments.

Last year I traveled to India. The group I was with had to travel more than an hour to move out of the most devastating poverty I have ever experienced. And even then the city streets and countryside were extremely difficult to navigate. Very quickly I also learned that India is a country of very independent states, each of which has its own seemingly endless bureaucratic barriers to overcome. I could not imagine how long it would take to understand all this, let alone to establish mutually rewarding partnerships. I was there to visit universities, and right up front their representatives made aggressive sales pitches to sign partnership intention agreements. Yet it soon became very clear that the benefits would be all theirs, and the cost to us very high.

My clear impression was that many partnerships in India are one-sided, and positive opportunities are very difficult to find. The proof will be if Modi’s central administration can actually deliver on his promises in a country that has been run by highly independent and entrenched state bureaucrats.

Businesses and countries built mostly on one charismatic leader’s personality often do not thrive. But when that leader is the colorful spokesperson for a group of highly talented managers ready and able to deliver on the promises, wonderful things can happen. For Modi, the verdict is still out. But if he pulls it off, he could be just what the great nation of India desperately needs.

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Lesson 224 The Academy in Transition

Posted in Higher Education, Integrated Marketing, Lessons Learned, Planning, Strategic Communication on July 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Much of my summer is being spent writing my fourth book about advancing academic institutions. This time my motivation has been the major changes speeding our way in education, and how far-reaching they are likely to become.

On the one hand, governments are changing their roles and funding levels in significant ways. And at the very same time education, and most especially higher education, is also becoming a global industry. All this happening simultaneously is certain to become a major, possibly even revolutionary, game-changer.

When I also take into account that the digital technology revolution is already changing how teaching and learning are being delivered, I realize that everyone inside and outside the academy will be affected. Both how we deliver education and how we communicate institutions will be dramatically different tomorrow.

University presidents, deans, faculty members, students, everyone in advancement professions, as well as alumni, key donors, and anyone else supporting the academy, should therefore already be preparing  for a completely different marketplace. Student enrollment patterns will become more global. Faculty will have new and intriguing international opportunities. And foreign institutions will suddenly be offering your corporate partners and foundations visibility and business opportunities in very interesting places.

My book will be my contribution to preparing for these changes. What lies ahead looks very scary, I must say. But on second thought, this new day could also be very exciting!  The book is scheduled for release mid-way through 2015.

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Lesson 221 Strategy…Then Tactics

Posted in Higher Education, Integrated Marketing, International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on June 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

On a recent trip to London I met with several university colleagues. I was interested in how they saw the challenges facing the future of our industry affecting those who market and communicate our institutions.

They shared my concern that many people new to our profession are focused so intensely on social media that they may be missing opportunities to learn about strategic thinking and planning, which is what really drives everything we do.

We discussed how social media use was changing almost daily. Experience is revealing what each one does well, and what it doesn’t. Facebook is good for reaching some constituents, but can be a waste of time when overused or when your “friends” are changing their patterns. Twitter can bring people to a website or meeting, but following or tweeting too often can be more fun than useful. It’s true that you can tweet links to connect people to more substantive material, but that works only when they follow those links and respond to them. True professionals in this field will be constantly evaluating all their tools, and will be making adjustments as use patterns change.

Leadership in marketing and communication happens at the strategic thinking and planning level. Knowing how to select the tools preferred by each audience, and then to use them simultaneously to increase intensity, is the key to success. And by the way, the tools selected will almost always include a mix of both old and new media.

With the coming sea change in higher education, this profession will have more opportunities for leadership than ever. Becoming an expert in new media might get you a job today, but learning about strategic thinking and planning just might get you a really exciting career!

 

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