Annual marketing plan for University of the Sciences (2009-10)

1. CONFIDENTIAL

2. Purpose
Set a roadmap to follow next
year that becomes a springboard
for the future
 Analyze and interpret landscape
 Action plan for marketing
 Branding
 Relationship Marketing
 Enrollment Management
 Retention/Journey
 Evolution of Public Relations
 Measurement, Timing, Budget

3. Situation Analysis
 Economic, Social, Political,
Technology
 Higher Ed Industry
 Competition
 About University of the Sciences
 ―Customers‖ we serve

4. Eeeekonomy
 Housing crisis
 Politicians bi-partisan to fix it – HUH?
 Technology barrage gives new marketing
reach opportunities but adds to clutter
 All in a global world

5. Eeeekonomy
 Budget shortfalls in Pennsylvania state ($1.7b) and
city of Philadelphia
 Mergers and moves in pharma
 J losses
ob
 But healthcare insulated, still growing rapidly

6. Hunkering down: Higher Ed
Enrollment is anti-cyclical in a recession…
 Applications at most four-year state colleges in NJ,
PA and the nation are up
 Applications increased at 12 of 14 PA state system
universities
 Drexel received 30,000 apps – 36% increase
USP relies on
enrollment for
88% of revenue
(Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, March 15, 2009)

7. Hunkering down: Higher Ed
……financing is not
 Institution endowments
hemorrhaging
 Private college loans harder to get
 Public funding squeezed by falling
tax revenues and increased welfare
spending
 Raising tuition and fees raises
hackles
 Falling home values reduce second
mortgages
 529 accounts shrinking

8. Hunkering down: Higher Ed
Enrollment and costs intrinsically linked
 ―A $100 increase in tuition
correlates to enrollment drops of
0.5% to 1.0%.‖ (Heller study,
1997)
 ―75% of 2.7 million full-time,
first-time, degree-seeking
undergrads received financial
aid.‖ (Condition of Education
2008, nces.ed.gov)
 Applications at area private
schools with big price tags are flat
or declining

9. Competitive View
Location…Location…Location
 More than 3,000 colleges and universities in
Pennsylvania; over 80 in Philly area alone

10. Competitive View
Competition burgeoning…
 Surge in community colleges‘
enrollment
 From 1960 till 2004 and now
recession-driven
 In last decade, community college up
24% vs. public 4-year up 19% vs.
private 4-year up 15%
 For-profit institutions with on-line
degrees outpacing all others for last
5 years

11. Competitive View
…as core constricts
 Over 45% of USP students from PA
 Over 47% of USP students from Mid-Atlantic
Percent Change Between 2004-05 and 2014-15 in Total High School Graduates,
by State
(1992-2022, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, March 2008)

12. About University of the Sciences
 Small, private University in West Philly
 Rigorous programs for smart and smarter with
science and health profession bent
 Prestige pricing
2%
 5 colleges 15%
Area of Major
Pharmacy
Arts & Sciences
Health Sciences
23%
60% Mayes College
Total Enrolled
Three Year Average
550

13. About University of the Sciences
 Niche but we do it all in the niche
 Networks that work for graduates
 University of the Sciences in Philadelphia – a brand
name that never stuck

14. About University of the Sciences
Vision: Be distinguished worldwide as the
eminent institution in pharmacy, science
and health education
Strategy -- Integrated Marketing: Create
a culture of brand awareness and
integrated marketing throughout the
University. Through marketing progress
and accomplishments, enhance the Brand
and image of the University locally,
regionally, nationally and worldwide

15. Meet: Kristi Soo-Min Kang
ASA
Kristie Kang is on Facebook
 PharmD major: Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
 Legacy family: pharmacist father; dry-cleaner owner mother
 Asian American female (third generation)

16. Meet: Matthew William Harris
 Pharma Marketing and Management major: Mayes College
(transferred within USP from Physical Therapy)
 Insurance actuary father; elementary school teacher mother
 Primary influencer -- guidance counselor & friends
BMW

17. Meet: Anuja Shah
 Pre-med, Biology major: Misher Arts & Sciences College
 Indian-American, Hindu female (first generation)
 Primary influencers -- family friends with ties to USP

18. Meet: Graduate Students
 Average age -- 35 years old
 Seek program flexibility
 Tend to pursue degree to advance careers

19. Who we are missing
Demographics
 Hispanic/Latino
 Black/African American
 Transfers
 Non-traditional students
 GIs
 New Bill (8/09): Tuition/fee scaled to most
expensive public college in state of
residence
 Yellow Ribbon program: Institutions pay up
to 50% of GIs‘ costs not covered by the bill
with matching funds from Veterans Affairs.
(American Association of State colleges and Universities, 2009)

20. Who we are missing
Psychographics
 Preference for business or humanities
or other first, science second
 Trepidation of urban settings
 More online delivery and program
flexibility
 Cash strapped now; caring less about
earnings future
 Outside geography
 Simply unaware

21. Situation Analysis: Summary
 We are living in interesting times
 Great to be niche and networked
 Not great to be geo bound and tuition tied
 Challenged with the Brand
 Resource limited
 Unknown future

22. Marketing: Vision – Mission
 Vision: Be a true pacesetter in
creating and delivering a new
generation of higher
education marketing
 Mission: Use and foster our
unique talents in strategic
planning, creativity, process
and analytics to set the Brand
above competitive clutter and
to achieve institution‘s goals

23. Action Plan
Success = Brand + Relationship + Measurable MarComm
 Targeted, Integrated Cross-Channel, Measurable

24. Action Plan
How we attack it
 Continuation -- Following
 Twists on Strategy of the Tactics -- Partnering
 New Generation of Marketing – Leading

25. “Brand is how you sort out the cesspool.”
(Eric Schmidt, chief
executive, Google, as
quotes in Advertising Age,
October 8, 2008)

26. Brand -- Research
 University of the Sciences in
Philadelphia name is clunky and
long. ―USP‖ is unmemorable,
stands for nothing and didn‘t
stick after 10+ years of trying.
Drop ―in Philadelphia‖ to cut
syllables and avoid geographical
limitations. (Singer brand study, qualitative -- 7/08)
 BRAND BENCHMARK STUDY.
(Moore brand awareness study, quantitative & qualitative – 5/09)

27. Brand -- Bedrock foundation
 Objective: Define, establish and grow brand
awareness and perception to halo the University,
supporting and advancing all other efforts
 Strategy: Create and position a holistic experience
and consistent messaging approach to distinguish
programs, establish college personas/promises and
clearly position the Brand

28. Continuation
 Following & Executing
 Updating and refreshing existing materials
and messages
 Media
 Radio
 Signage
 Print ads
 Website updates
 PR: Bulletin, Newsletter
 Sponsorships, Event Support

29. Twists
 Partnering and strategy of the tactics
 Factsheet brochures with unique urls
 Social networking – Twitter & Blogs
 Vidcasts
 A picture is worth a thousand words and a video
is worth even more!
YOUniversity Vidcast
http://www.youniversitytv.com/university_science_philadelphia.html

30. New Generation
 Re-position the Brand
 Not about a name change
 Not about a tagline
 Brand is everything
 Positioning is defining,
differentiating, crystallizing and
obvious-simple
 Re-find PCP

31. “There is a yawning chasm between you
Generalists and we Directs. Your gods are not
our gods. You cultivate the mystique of
„creativity.‟ Some of you are pretentious
poseurs. We humble people who work in direct
do not regard advertising as an art form. Our
clients don't give a damn whether we win
awards. They pay us to sell their products. „We
sell--or else.‟"
(Advertising Manager‘s
Handbook, Quote of David
Ogilvy, Robert Bly, 1998)

32. Bridging from the Brand
Brand Marketing Relationship Marketing
Attitude (Perception) vs. Action (Behavior)
Establish the Brand vs. Support the Brand
Singular Promise vs. Segmented Promises
Emotional Response vs. Direct Response
Impart Information vs. Offer Information
Simultaneous Message vs. Sequential Messages
“Future” vs. “Now”
About “Us” vs. About “You”
“What do I say” vs. “What do I do?”
Research Dependent vs. Testing Dependent

33. Enrollment Management
 Objective: Increase enrollment in
the University, in general, and in
priority programs, specifically;
maximizing penetration in core
markets and expanding beyond
current strongholds
 Strategy: Leverage critical decision-
making windows by giving
consumers info they need, a
moment before they even know
they need it
 Be relevant, authentic, useful,
compelling

34. Continuation
 Following & Executing
 Direction from: Admissions,
Graduate Recruiting & Enrollment,
Events
 Media
 College fair displays
 Direct mail
 e-Mail
 Collateral
 Radio with offers

35. Twists
Partnering and strategy of
the tactics
 Display/banner ad
campaign
 SEARCH campaign
 Relevant messaging to
subsegments
 Legacy Connection
 Community College
Awareness Campaign
 New List Selects
 U-Sciences Prep finds
‗em younger

36. New Generation
 ―Resemblers‖ identified with predictive
modeling
 Geographical pockets
 Ethnic groups
 Parental Occupations
 Grad behavior—attitude--demographics
 Programmatic focus from cost/capacity data
 Tracking cost per channel to optimize
 Younger than high school juniors
 Support revamp in college fair participation
 Expanded U-Sciences Prep and High School
Outreach (guidance counselors/influencers)
 Delaware Valley Science Fair follow up

37. “The problem when solved will be simple.
The obvious is nearly always simple -- so
simple that sometimes a whole generation of
men and women have looked at it without
even seeing it.”
(Obvious Adams, page 27, Robert Updegraff)

38. Retention/Journey
 Objective: Grow
students into lifelong,
active advocates
 Strategy: Work with
internal partners to craft
and foster the ultimate
USP journey -- initial
consideration though
campus life and to the
pen-stroke into estate
planning

39. Continuation
 Following & Executing
 Direction from: Student Life, Alumni
Relations, Institutional Development
 Media
 Events
 Direct mail
 e-Mail
 Collateral

40. Twists
Opening the digital toolbox
 First integrated fundraising email
 First e-holiday greeting
 Migrating student housing
application online

41. New Generation
 Marketing mirror database
 Journey/touchpoints map for dialoguing at
moments of truth
 Digital and traditional
 Manage against lifetime value analysis
 80/20 rule for conversion to handraiser generation
 Social Networking
 Digital alumni destination
 Facebook fan page with reasons to visit
 Operationalize word of mouth -- grads

42. "What is greatness? I will
answer: it is the capacity to
live by the three fundamental
values of John Galt: reason,
purpose, self esteem."
Quote by Ayn Rand,
Author of Atlas Shrugged,
March 1964

43. Public Relations/Media Relations
 Team set up with responsibilities for:
 Brand credibility and media buzz;
communications to influence audiences
 Push of positive news and pull back of (potentially)
negative issues and even crises
 Opportunity to be dynamic part of goal-
oriented, integrated ―Marketing PR‖ efforts

44. Public Relations/Media Relations
 Objective: Propel the Brand
forward and advance
enrollment goals by effectively
telling the University‘s story
 Strategy: Take advantage of
new and existing media
opportunities using new and
traditional PR and media
tactics to reach different
audiences

45. Continuation & Twists
 Traditional PR
 News releases, broadcast coverage,
event support, health tips
 Publications
 USP Bulletin, Newsletters
 New PR
 Twitter
 Expert and Student blogs

46. New Generation
 Tool for geographical expansion
 End game is enrollment
 Measuring results
 Integrating efforts

47. “In God we trust...all others, bring data."
(W. Edwards Deming)

48. Measurement
 Key Performance Indicators
 Brand: awareness and perception
 Integration: ROI on traditional and e-channels to new
and existing markets
 Program: impact on consideration, inquiry, action and
conversion to match enrollment goals
 Organization effectiveness: partner satisfaction
 Ongoing – metrics by program
 Weekly – web analytics
 Quarterly – marketing dashboard
 Annually – budget and strategy review

49. Budget
1% Reconciled Budget 2008-09
1%
0% Marketing Communications
2%
8% Advertising/Media--traditional
8% Advertising/Media--digital
41%
Public Relations/Corporate
Relations
Event Support & Sponsorships
Web Development
Administration & Supplies
39%
Travel & Entertainment
1% 2009-10 Budget
1%
• Shift from traditional media
1%
Marketing Communications
2%
and collateral to digital and 8% Advertising/Media--traditional
experiential 38%
Advertising/Media--digital
14% Public Relations/Corporate
Relations
Event Support & Sponsorships
Web Development
Administration & Supplies
35%
Travel & Entertainment

50. "If you wish in this world to advance your
merits you're bound to enhance; you must
stir it and stump it, and blow your own
trumpet, or, trust me, you haven't a
chance."
Quote from William S. Gilbert (1836 - 1911)
Questions?