SCUP Webcast:

Thinking Strategically About Marketing in a Down Economy

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The dramatic economic upheaval affecting all walks of American life today also reverberates across every sector of American higher education. Few college presidents can currently speak with confidence about meeting enrollment and fiscal goals set for the upcoming fall. 
 
As a result, strategic discussions regarding the tremendous demographic and societal shifts that have shaken the foundations of American colleges have been placed on the backburner while concerns about "making the class" predominate. Given these two realities, higher education finds itself in a scenario in which it has little or no experience and which exacerbates its chronic issues like marketing, awareness, tuition discounting, accountability and competition for students.
 
How can higher education practitioners make sense of all of this, and what can we do to lend clarity to the situation facing our campuses? Most importantly, how should institutions demonstrate proactivity knowing that competition will just get tougher?

Gain the perspectives of practitioners and leaders in the area of higher education marketing who represent over 50 years of market expertise and and who have worked with hundreds of colleges and universities around the world.

There will be ample opportunity for questions and answers during the program, plus audience polling questions. Do you have a question now for presenters that you recommend they address during the program? Email your question to webcast.question@scup.org.

Handouts will include the presenters’ PowerPoint and other supportive articles for your reference.

Discussion Points:    

• How to leverage your existing resources to maximize your marketing budget and efforts
• Practical marketing strategies for operating in a down economy
• How to take advantage of the current economic situation for change in your marketing, and what you need to protect
• Why now is not the time to cut your research dollars
• How to communicate the value proposition of your school that enables your target audiences to say “You’re worth it!”
• Tips to help you act strategically in the long term
• How to rethink your market position, survival, stabilization, and recovery in unprecedented economic times

Who Should Attend?  

This webcast is aimed at: marketing and communications professionals, development and enrollment professionals, chief financial officers, and anyone responsible for competing for students, reputation, and revenue in two- and four-year schools. We recommend that you watch this program with your team and use it to stimulate dialogue on your own campus.

There will be time for questions during the program and you will be able to ask them via text or phone.

Moderator

Brian Dalton, Senior Vice President for Enrollment Management, Mercer University

Brian Dalton recently began as senior vice president for enrollment management at Mercer University in Macon, GA. Prior to his new role, Dalton spent ten years at The College of St. Scholastica (MN) where as vice president for enrollment management and associate academic dean for program development, he led strategic enrollment planning initiatives that dramatically improved the college's enrollment and fiscal health. Dalton also held the enrollment management leadership position at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, TX. He has worked for the past eight years with 26 colleges nationwide as a senior associate consultant with Noel Levitz. A graduate of Gannon University (PA) where he received his BA in political science and MA in public administration. He is completing his doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin in higher education administration.

Presenters:

George Dehne, President, GDA Integrated Services (GDAIS)

GDAIS specializes in market research, developing marketing strategies, strategic planning, and communications programming to meet the student recruitment and visibility needs of colleges and universities. Since founding the firm in 1982, Dehne has consulted with more than four hundred of the nation’s most distinguished colleges and universities throughout the United States.

As special assistant to the president from 1977 to 1981, Dehne developed and directed the landmark marketing program for Carleton College in Minnesota. During his tenure at the college, Carleton won four Grand Awards for Public Relations and Admissions from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The success of the Carleton effort was chronicled in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Harvard Business Review, to name a few publications. Dehne began his career as a feature writer for United Press International and later served as a creative director for Young & Rubicam, the worldwide advertising agency. Early in his career, he was director of public relations for Wittenberg University in Ohio, followed by tenure as an account executive for Gehrung Associates University Relations Counselors, the nation’s first and largest firm devoted to the promotion of higher education.

Dehne earned a master’s of business administration, a master’s of art in journalism and a master’s in higher education in addition to a bachelor’s in English. Dehne is the only North American member of the Council of Senior Advisors of the International Association of University Presidents.

Dehne’s articles have appeared in the Journal of College Admissions, The College Board Review, Trusteeship of the Association of Governing Boards, CASE Currents, College Marketing Alert, and the Handbook for Student Recruitment. He is also principal author of Marketing Higher Education: A Handbook for Administrators.

Tom Hayes, Professor, Department of Marketing, Xavier University and Vice President and Partner, Simpson-Scarborough

Tom Hayes has taught marketing at Xavier University for the last thirty-two years, serving as department chair for 13 years, and formerly as the director of institutional advancement. Hayes is also vice president and partner of Simpson-Scarborough, a marketing consulting agency for institutions of higher education. He is a nationally recognized expert in services marketing, the marketing of higher education, and the development of ideas for new products and services, and consults in these areas on a national and international basis.
He has participated on numerous boards and now serves on the faculty of the CASE Summer Institute for Communication and Marketing. He was awarded an ACE Fellowship for the 2004-2005 academic year which he served at Kenyon College. Hayes received a Bachelor's degree in Psychology as well as MBA in marketing at Xavier University. He also received an MBA in organization behavior and a PhD in marketing from the University of Cincinnati.

Hayes was the founder of the American Marketing Association's Symposium on the Marketing of Higher Education and is editor of The Journal of Marketing for Higher Education. His book, Marketing Professional Services, co-authored with Philip Kotler, published in January 2002. Hayes’ most recent books published by CASE are Marketing Colleges and Universities from a Services Perspective and University Marketing Mistakes: 50 Pitfalls to Avoid co-authored with Roy Adler.

Cost:

$195 USD

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To learn more about the webcast's sponsors, please visit:

The New York Times Knowledge Network: www.nytimesknownow.com/
Society for College and University Planning:  www.scup.org

Questions? Please contact Kathy Benton at kathy.benton@scup.org, or call 734.998.6966.