News & views

Each year colleges and universities up and down the country run intensive campaigns in an attempt to attract and engage new students. Marketing and branding budgets are spent on elaborate prospectuses, events, press ads and outdoor advertising. Many further and higher education institutes run strong campaigns with local schools in order to feed students on to courses, but despite all of these efforts it’s becoming increasingly harder to attract new students.

These challenging times, may be due to increasing numbers of distance learning options or the number of new academies opening. However it is more likely that it is due to the changing nature of the demographic. The upcoming generation of learners have been labelled many things, including “Generation Y”,  “Millennials” and “The Mobile Generation”, but one thing is for sure; they are part of a worldwide cultural phenomenon that is going change the rules branding and the way education is delivered.

Due in part to the continual increase in E-Commerce and also due to the population spike, we can see that in less than five years time the Mobile Generation will have more buying power than all other generations combined - a fact that no brand can afford to ignore.

More and more evidence is being gathered to show that the next generation of learners have completely different buying patterns to anything that has come before. The Mobile Generation has grown up in a world where commentary on products and services has become commonplace. The advertising industry has struggled to engage younger audiences through traditional methods, due to their highly “brand aware” nature.

A recent survey unveiled some interesting facts on how digital technology now plays a central role in how young adults connect with the world
-    94% of people born between 1980 and 1990 own at least one mobile phone
-    97% own their own computer,
-    76% use an instant messaging service
-    69% use Facebook

So what can be done to prepare for this change?
By working with teacher trained consultants and by investing time in research we have built up a range of experience in the education sector and have learnt some valuable lessons about building strategic brand campaigns for colleges and universities:

Firstly the message you convey needs to be 100% sincere:
The Mobile Generation is a lot more respectful than the generations that have come before. You can’t treat them as if they don’t know anything and the worst thing you can do is act like you’re something you’re not.

Remember they use mobile technology to stay informed:
More than 25% of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices, so make sure your course material, news, applications and other digital services can be accessed by using mobile devices.

Keep an array of options:
Variety is completely acceptable. Don’t choose images or models that you think represent Generation Y. They want to see an array of personalities.

Ensure you are everywhere:
A lot can be learnt from Barrack Obama’s use of the web, during his 2008 election campaign. One thing we can take from it, was the campaign’s willingness to embrace all and every social network site and application available. Making his message widely accessible on every level.

Bring in the experts:
That’s us! Creating a brand that connects with a cynical demographic is no easy task, so if you’d like to discuss how your college or university can benefit from our expertise please call our Managing Director, Paul Harvey on 01273 834434

Posted Tuesday 6th of October 2009