It has a great impact. Our marketing campaign's goal is to brand our school as "the school" to train at because our grads go to work! It's what drives all of our marketing tools. When our students are surveyed they most often site that they heard (from graduates)this was the place to train because you will go to work.
The marketing campaign is what the customer sees as the whole company from there point of view. I believe the better the marketing campaign the less selling that the admissions department has to do. If you are successful in branding your company in the image you desire, the demographics of the students you seek will be more focused to your likening. How has the branding of our school effected our enrollments? It has improved the amount of quality leads we receive.
I believe that school marketing campaigns have a great deal of impact on admission sales. That is for the most part the first glimpse. They give a visual or oral (if radio ad) idea of what to expect when stepping into the institution.
Most definately the school "brands itself". The institution has been around for quite a few years. The logo is very recognizable to those who live in the area and its surroundings. When others speak of the school and describe the logo usually right away they know what institution you are referring to. There is less confusion and a greater desire to attend an the institution because of its recognition (well at least it helps and certainly in some peoples minds).
Marketing a brand has an immense impact on the success of an entity. Today potential clients, customers, students, etc. are much more savvy to the options and opportunities available to them. Through the use of the internet, an individual can much more easily obtain information, compare competitors, and be more selective in their choices. The internet travel sites such as Expedia or Orbitz are prime examples.
It has a tremendous impact! Although there may be a fair amount of word-of-mouth with a career college, students tend to get a complete image of a school and whether they should even make contact, based on the marketing material.
We are an international company originally founded in Europe, so our brand is much stronger overseas than locally. However, our name, logo and story can be found in nearly every industry magazine here as well as in other countries. That much market familiarity creates a basic comfort level with many of our prospective students. They know we are here to stay.
Thanks, James, for your comments! It would be interesting to see how the brand image changes, or to what degree, as the focus changes with your programs.
Jay
ML107 Facilitator
The school has a brand, Prepare Graduates for New Career Opportunities. I would say it is looking to create a new brand, a more broader brand. The school is moving away from the more technical courses involved with IT repair and service to a liberal arts BA program. It will take some time to see how this plays out.
Hi Donney! You're right, branding is powerful; that's why I go get a "Kleenex" instead of a tissue, or a "Band-Aid" as opposed to a bandage, or a Xerox" copy. I even, the other day, caught myself telling a friend that I was going to get a "Starbucks" as opposed to a cup of coffee! Can you beleive it?
By branding the name over and over, and combining with a positive result, a school can actually, in the potential student's mind, link its name to the image of the product/service it provides - what a wonderful marketing position to be in.
Thanks for your observations,
Jay Hollowell
ML107 Facilitator
It has a great impact, We really try to brand our name. Its what drives all of our marketing tools. I think by us using our name so much, we have now become known for a quality of education just by the name. "Your education comes F.I.R.S.T. at the F.I.R.S.T. School"
