The PASC Guest Speaker Series continued in November with UNC’s Vice President for External and University Relations, Dan Weaver. Vice President Weaver was joined by members of UNC’s Integrated Recruiting and Marketing Team (IRMT) in giving a presentation titled, “Sharing UNC.”
The IMRT is a cross-disciplinary team composed of several key University leaders:
- Dr. Linda Black, Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School and International Admissions
- Sean Broghammer, Director of Admissions
- Dr. Tobias Guzmán, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Access
- Jason Hughes, Assistant Vice President for Marketing
- Jeanie York, Executive Director of Extended Campus
In describing the purpose of the IRMT, VP Weaver identified two primary objectives:
- Create and integrate efforts involved in recruiting and bringing in new students
- Establish processes to coordinate marketing efforts and work collaboratively
AVP Jason Hughes led the next portion of the “Sharing UNC” presentation, the primary focus of which was to share information, including historical context and data, that inform UNC’s marketing efforts and objectives. First, Hughes looked to our history and the fundamentals of our refreshed marketing efforts:
- UNC’s rebrand and logo redesign was a vital early step in refocusing our marketing efforts
- UNC has phased in a new website format in recent years, including the creation of departmental pages that include marketing language, a fresh design, and the integration of new technology
- These (and other) efforts have been in service of UNC’s objective to grow student enrollment into a space that fits us as a University and is commensurate with our place in the higher education market
- So much can be done to promote a brand simply in how its constituents talk about and represent, or “live,” the institution
Next, Hughes discussed principles of marketing, as well as facts and discoveries about UNC that are informing our integrated marketing efforts:
- It is fundamentally important to know who you are and what your market wants, and what your distinguishing features are
- We at UNC have and can offer students a unique “vibe,” both in terms of the feel of our campus—which is historic, walkable, comfortable, and situated in an accessible mid-size city—and of our student life, i.e., we have a diverse student body, both culturally and socio-economically, and students have many ways to get involved in clubs, activities, recreation, etc.
- The data show that students who come to UNC do so because they want to be here; and they want to be here because of our academic reputation, size, value, and alumni outcomes. Those things matter deeply, and factor significantly into incoming students’ decision to be here
- Our students report back that UNC’s housing, both on and off campus, and our sense
of community, are great
- Both of these rates of satisfaction are superior to our competitors
- At UNC, “we have the big and small” – that is, we blend the best features traditionally associated with both large and small universities. We are “right-sized.”
Finally, Hughes discussed what we are doing, and what we will continue to do, with this information:
- University Relations is looking at how their work can support and augment the work of others at UNC, and to make it easily accessible
- “Orange juice” metaphor to describe one of our goals: When someone goes to the grocery store to buy orange juice, they choose among a few top brands on the shelf. We want to be one of the top brands for future students’ consideration
- The questions are, “How are we going to raise all ships, change the conversation, and make our people—our brand—front and center?”
- Marketing strategies are being developed to promote UNC’s unique “one-on-one,” personal
feel for students. Techniques include:
- Billboards throughout Denver and DIA
- Radio, TV, digital advertisements
- Boosting our SEO (search engine optimization) strategy and execution
- Enhancing our social media presence on platforms where future UNC students spend their time, such as Snapchat
- Generate great content to share—i.e., tell our story—across these platforms
- Looking ahead, UNC will continue to seek ways to eliminate barriers to student engagement and success; to distinguish ourselves and make ourselves distinct.
AVP Hughes finished his presentation by emphasizing that the entire UNC community can join in, and help with, these efforts by doing simple things like wearing a UNC t-shirt, putting a UNC decal on our cars, and sharing great stories about UNC with our friends, family, and colleagues.
The PASC council and other attendees had the opportunity to ask questions of VP Weaver, AVP Hughes, and the other members of the IRMT. Questions centered on our international recruiting efforts, whole-university promotion, and techniques in responding to, or dealing with, negative press.
