This College and University Marketing website by Armstrong|Shank Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations
What makes your school special? What role does your campus, the environment, or even location play in your success? With our unique research method, the Insite Report©, we can answer all these questions and more. Through an intensive one-on-one interview process, we can uncover the key characteristics of incoming freshmen and non-traditional students, then develop a profile of the student to whom we will be directly marketing. It's an approach to research that is both informative and customized for your needs.
Other
Research Models
Many firms offer some form of research, but few of them can provide a direct insight into what is uniquely marketable about your school. Without this knowledge, it's difficult to distinguish yourself from competitors.
Common research models rely on inferential data, which can tell you, for example, that a high percentage of the residents of a certain zip code have household incomes between $40,000 and $60,000, and that a high percentage of $40,000 to $60,000 households are likely to send their college-age children to large, public universities within 200 miles of home. With such general data, you may infer that a direct mail piece sent to this zip code will have a higher likelihood of success than one sent to a zip code two miles away where income levels are different. This can be valuable information, but it provides nothing you can use to decide what message to communicate in your advertising materials.
Still other models rely on focus group input, which confines groups of people to a room for several hours, where they respond to predetermined questions in an effort to produce a consensual body of input about your school's image and advertising needs. This approach can also yield useful information, but this situation is limited by the inevitable dynamics of the group, and even more severely limited by the skill and foresight of the people who write the questions.
Our exclusive InSite Report© takes a different starting point. We begin with the assumption that your school has some unique quality that attracts students. We interview key people, one at a time ... staff, students, potential students, etc., in a casual manner that allows unpredicted impressions and information to surface. We quickly uncover what is "working" about your school and how it is perceived by potential students. We determine the key demographic characteristics of students most likely to be attracted by your distinctive characteristics.
Within a matter of days we know who we're talking to, how to speak their language, and what to say to them. Now fully armed, we're ready to effectively communicate what makes your school unique with advertising and/or image marketing.
Does it work? See for yourself by reading a case study. Then give us a call at (316) 522-3000 to discuss Marketing U.
Armstrong|Shank
Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations
Serious Creativity Since 1981
Wichita Office
P.O. Box 16719 • Wichita, Kansas 67216
p:
316.522.3000 • f: 316.522.2827
e: susan@armstrongshank.com
Oklahoma City Office
1000 W. Wilshire • Oklahoma City, OK 73116
Phone: 405.286.5655 • Fax: 405.842.6259
e: sherry@armstrongshank.com
Take a look at some samples here.