New Trends in Admission Publications

							New Trends in Admission
     Publications
     Shelley George, Guilford College
    Tania Rachkoskie, Guilford College
       CACRAO – December 2007
            The Customer
 High   School Students
  – 75% of teens 12 – 17 go online
    regularly (www.pewinternet.org, Kiecker)
  – Students are searching college websites
   (Carnegie Communications, Kiecker and Ryan)
  – A survey of 13,000 students conducted
    by University Research Partners found
    80% of those surveyed used the college
    website as an information source.
  – 73% used personal letters and email
    messages from admission counselors
– When students listed multiple sources of
  information, college websites were 2nd
  only to print publications. Print
  publications and information on
  websites should be complementary. The
  survey found students are using both
  print and web sources. (Kiecker)
            Top 10 modes of
             communication
1.  Campus Visit
2.  The college website
3.  Admissions website
4.  Student-guided campus tours
5.  Personal letters from the college
6.  Email communications from the college’s admissions
    office
7.  College’s responsiveness to telephone inquiries
8.  Individual communication with faculty
9.  Events hosted by the college’s admissions office
10. Communications with financial aid representatives
(Kiecker and Ryan)
        Others to Consider
 Parents   of High School Students
  – Unique message to parents
  – Print vs. Electronic communication


 GuidanceCounselors/ College
 Counselors
  – Web pages for Guidance counselors
     Admission  counselor contact information
     Application status via web

  – Newsletters for Guidance Counselors
             Print vs. Electronic
   Not all print media is created equal
    – Admission offices are taking some tricks from
      direct mail professionals
        Visually appealing
        Careful mailing so your information gets delivered &
         opened
        Letters versus brochures & self mailers

        Variable printing techniques

        Make an offer – ask for a response (expanded inquiry
         card, etc)
        Multiple mailings

        Test messages

        Track results

(http://www.marketingsurvivalkit.com/mail.htm)
 Electronic   communication
  – e-newsletters
  – html emails
  – personalized web pages
  – instant messaging
  – chat rooms
  – blogs
  – Online viewbooks
  – Search pieces
      To print…or not to print
Pros of Print          Cons of Print
 Tangible materials    Expensive

 Easy to reach         Mail overload for
  students               students
 Parents see           Office Staffing
  communication          Issues
 Innovative mailing    Mistakes cost time
  methods                & money
 Personalization       Duplicates

                        Ends up in the
                         trash
         The online debate
Pros of Electronic     Cons of Electronic
 Saves money           Bad email

 Able to reach more     addresses
  students              SPAM, SPAM, SPAM

 Time-sensitive        Competition from
  communication          other colleges
 Ability to track      Students without
  student response       email addresses
  to message            Parents do not see
                         the communication
    The best of both worlds ??…
   On-demand Printing
    – Use of variable data
       Relevance
       Relationship
       Personal
       Focused
    – Response rates may increase from 1.2% to
      margins greater than13%--but
      caution…this is not a one shot deal.
    – Personalized communication can take the
      shape of both electronic and print.


(Source: Digital Printing Council Newsletter and
            Coleman Resources)
 Mass email response rates--.0002%
 Permission based direct email--.74%

 Mass target ―print‖ direct mail—
  1.26%
 Personalized ―color printing direct
  mail‖—13.74%
(Source: Digital Printing Council Newsletter and
         Coleman Resources)
 Integrated Direct Mail and
  Personalized URL
   – Solicitation (search mailer)
   – Call to action—PURL
   – Personalized print on-demand piece
   – Custom web page
(Source: Digital Printing Council Newsletter and
         Coleman Resources)
         The good & bad of POD
   Pros                             Cons
    – Cuts down on extra              – Initial Set-up
      printing                          Expense
    – Cost savings                    – Fear of New
    – Saves on storage                  Technology
      space                           – Constant updating
    – Faster turnaround                 of variable data
      to student                        fields
    – Targeted message                – Miss opportunity for
                                        sharing information
    Source: Coleman Resources &
      ImageMark
      Guilford College Initiatives
   Student e-newsletters
   Parent & Guidance counselor print newsletters
   Instant Messaging
   Admitted Student Webpage (with online message
    board)
   Online registration for open houses
   Online virtual campus tour
   Personalized online viewbook
   Printed parent guide
   Online parent forum
   Postcards
   ―personalized‖ Apply on-line postcards
   Audio podcasts of academic majors and campus
    services
        What works for us?
 Both! Using electronic communication
  saves money that we can now use in other
  print communication (open house
  invitations, travel pieces, profiles, brag
  cards)
 There is a necessity to use both print &
  electronic communication. We have used
  our print pieces to push students to the
  web site, thus providing more information
  to a larger segment of our population.
 Currently investigating POD & PURLS.
                  References
Silver, Yanik. Effective Use of Direct Mail Marketing Techniques.
   http://www.marketingsurvivalkit.com/mail.htm
Reiher, Michael. (1997). The World of Variable Printing.
   American Printer.
Kiecker, Pamela (2005). Maximizing the Effectiveness of Web-based
   Recruitment Activities – A Research Perspective.
Kiecker, Pamela and Tracy Tutten Ryan (2005). Communication
   Preferences Among College-Bound High School Students: Do
   Gender and Ethnicity Change Things?
GDA Integrated Services (2004). Attracting Students of Color to
   Privates Institutions: What the Research Tells Us.
    http://dehne.com/3cues/3cues-summer04.htm
GDA Integrated Services. Presentation at College Board Forum 2004
   Chicago. Electronic Communication vs. Traditional Print Media:
   Which is More Effective?
Coleman Resources/ImageMark