BY MIKE ROBINSON/VP BRANDING & CREATIVE

 

In part 1 of this series, we looked at today’s students and what makes them different than past generations. In part 2 of 2, we’ll look at the expectations of the Millennial generation and how to best communicate with them.

 

 By way of a quick recap: (or click here to read part 1) 

 

 

In this white paper, we’ll focus on what this means for the Christian college as it recruits today’s student. In a lot of ways, the Millennial generation has been hard to target. With so much noise out there, how do you get the attention of someone predisposed to ignore the volume of marketing messages? How do you rise above the noise? Do you shout louder or whisper? Wait for the right time and hit them with everything you’ve got or simply practice consistency? Get a celebrity to be your spokesperson or use real people to tell your story? 

 

The answers to these questions are not absolute. Location, brand recognition, target audience, unique offerings, and timing will be contributing factors as to the methodology employed in recruiting students. But one universal absolute that should be a priority objective in all your recruitment efforts is that you be memorable. Today’s student has a short attention span and an even shorter memory. *According to recent social science research, we tend to remember:

 

     + 10% of what we read

 

The goal is then to create a recruitment campaign that sticks out in students’ minds – one so memorable that it penetrates their skeptical marketing filters and causes them to quite literally become your advocates. At this point, a campaign ceases to be a series of print or digital components, but becomes a tribe to join, a movement to embrace. Here are some ways to make that happen.

 

It’s a simple concept and one that admission offices are keenly aware of as they recruit prospective students and give campus tours. Unfortunately for many when it comes to the actual recruitment tools, perception is reality. All too often the perception drawn by students is that there’s little distinction when comparing one Christian college to the next, and the perceived differences aren’t being leveraged in ways that matter to them. 

So get to know yourself. Carefully craft a campaign that is distinctively you and can’t be confused with or said by your competitors. Be passionate about what makes you unique as a Christian college and what you have to offer, and let that passion help create a movement that works from the inside out.

 

For too long design has been categorized as an add-on, as icing on the marketing cake. Design used to be a small component of a campaign, considered as the phase where text and photography are “prettied up.” Now design IS the campaign. If you don’t agree, just look at the change that’s happened in product and packaging design over the last 5 years. Apple is the most obvious example. Their packaging is smart, and it reflects their viewpoint that showing the product and keeping the message simple wins out over the way the technology and computer industry was doing it previously. Of course it also helps to have an amazing product. 

 

Design and aesthetics have become the new differentiators, not just feature sets and product offerings. There are other great examples… Mini Cooper, Nintendo Wii, Anthrolpologie, Coke… the list goes on. Christian colleges that want to not only compete for prospective students but also win the battle for their brand loyalty must do design and do it well.

 

As compelling, relevant design has become even more necessary to reach today’s student, so too has messaging (what you say and how you say it). In fact design and messaging should go hand in hand and be developed using the same research and creative processes. Just like a pb is incomplete without the j, design without messaging tastes a little bland. 

In order to get prospective students talking, you have to give them something to say. We can learn a lot from the recent presidential election campaign. One candidate took the approach of creating a clear, consistent, and catchy message. The other candidate opted for creating a major buzz with his VP nomination, a decision that ultimately diluted and side-tracked his message. In the end, regardless of political allegiances, we’ll always remember Barack Obama’s campaign tagline; “Change? Yes we can.” This is a particularly interesting example because in the young voters group (18-29 year olds), 66% voted for Obama.** What was it about his campaign that resonated with this age group? The message and the delivery of that message were certainly key factors.

 

Most admission campaigns consist of a series of letters and print pieces, some email correspondence, an admission section on the corporate website and a trade show display. There may be some extra touches here and there, but by and large campaigns are pretty standardized. Many of these components may still be necessary, but what else could you be doing? Be different. Not just for the sake of being different, but for the sake of meeting students on their turf. For starters, you ought to have a campaign specific Web site. If the goal of print is to drive them to the Web, and the goal of Web is to inform, get them to schedule a visit and ultimately to apply, then your Web site should be your number one communication asset in recruitment. That’s one idea, there are countless others. Try creating wearables as part of your recruiting process (students are walking billboards of style these days, join in the fun).  

 

Create a way for accepted/enrolled students to meet each other and band together before they get on campus for Freshman Orientation. That could be through a Facebook, MySpace or Twitter group or a message board created and monitored on your admissions Web site.

 

Certainly there are other factors to creating a memorable recruitment campaign. These are some of the main ones we’re passionate about. As a Christian college, YOU SEEK EXCELLENCE in developing the mind, body, and soul of the next generation. At DC, WE SEEK EXCELLENCE in communication.

 

 1.888.942.6608 or info@detailscom.com

 

 

 

 

* Taken from Alan See, writing for Customer Think blog

**Taken from Pew Research Center Publications