How To Market a University Episode 3: Building the Higher Ed Marketing Foundation: Research, Brand Assessment, and Goal Setting

Whether you love it or hate it, market research is the bedrock of great brand strategy. In Episode 3 of the How to Market a University Podcast series, Terry unpacks how to conduct effective market research for an institutional rebrand or brand shift. 

Terry walks listeners through an experiment that she has run many times to help remind institution leaders of the importance of market research as a starting point for higher ed branding and marketing, and shares a list of do’s and don’ts in order to ensure a successful process. 

Terry concludes by sharing a couple of specific examples of schools who designed, structured, and executed a market research project especially well, and explains what it was about these projects that yielded success. 

Register for Enrollify’s Mastercourse on How to Market a University with Terry Flannery.

More About the Series: The How to Market a University Podcast series features vignettes of Dr. Teresa Flannery’s book, How to Market a University.

Terry Flannery has spent her entire career in higher education. She was the first marketing director and chief marketing officer at the University of Maryland, the first Vice President of Communications at American University, and most recently the interim vice president for marketing and communication at Stony Brook University.

At a time of declining public support, a shrinking pipeline of traditional college-bound students, and a steady rise in tuition and discount rates, higher education leaders have never been under more pressure. 

How can they ensure steady or growing enrollments while cultivating greater philanthropic support, increasing research funding, and diversifying revenue streams? 

In How to Market a University, Terry argues that institutions can meet all of these goals by implementing strategic integrated marketing in ways that are consistent with academic culture and university values.

Enrollify and Terry have joined forces to produce Enrollify’s first-ever Mastercouse that mirrors the robust learnings and deep insights packed into Terry’s book. Over the next eight weeks, this special podcast series will give you a taste of what you can expect in the Mastercourse. 

But that’s it…just a taste!  To unpack all of the language, frameworks, tools, and tactics that CMOs or aspiring CMOs will need to lead the work of marketing in higher education, we invite you to register for the Mastercourse on How to Market a University at www.enrollify.org/mastercourse. 

This Mastercourse features guest experts like Seth Odell, Jenny Petty, Jaime Hunt, Ethan Braden, Michael Stoner, Angela Polec, Binty Harvey, Bob Johnson, and many more.  It’s also filled with downloadable templates and worksheets to help you retain the course material. 

And last but certainly not least, this course was made possible by the leading agencies in higher education marketing who came together to support this effort.  

We want to thank SimpsonScarborough, Mindpower, DD Agency, and Ologie for their incredible guidance and partnership.

Register for the Mastercourse on How to Market a University here. 

Learn more about this episode in our show notes. 

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Connect With Our Co-Hosts:
Mallory Willsea
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorywillsea/
https://twitter.com/mallorywillsea

Seth Odell
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethodell/
https://twitter.com/sethodell

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
The Higher Ed Pulse is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! Some of our favorites include Generation AI and Confessions of a Higher Education Social Media Manager.

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

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