Mar 17th 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

Marketing Lesson: Korean BBQ & Twitter

I recently had lunch with a social media director from a large private college on the West Coast. He was waxing eloquent about how Twitter was responsible for the amazing success of Kogi Korean BBQ. In case you don’t know the story, Kogi Korean BBQ is a blend of Korean and Mexican flavors that is sold from trucks on the streets of LA. What makes the Kogi story so incredible, said my lunch mate, was... read more

Mar 3rd 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

Brown M&Ms

In the March 2010 issue of Fast Company, Dan and Chip Heath (the authors of Made to Stick) make an interesting observation about Van Halen, brown M&Ms, and the importance of managing all the details. Most of us know the tale of the brown M&Ms, or at least thought we did. Heath and Heath write, “In its 1980s heyday, the band became notorious for a clause in its touring contract that demanded... read more

Feb 4th 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

The Elements of Institutional Success

At the annual NAICU meeting in early February I had the opportunity to ask a number of college presidents this question: What are the ingredients to institutional success? I had lots of responses, but during the course of the day the following common themes occurred repeatedly. First, leadership. Someone needs to take charge, frame the issues, and make the tough decisions. Second, a strong senior team.... read more

Jan 20th 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

Marketing Complexity

A recent White Paper from Unica (Unica.com) offered a very nice summary of the forces that are transforming marketing. The implications for student recruiting and fundraising are clear. The paper suggests that three tightly interrelated megatrends are transforming marketing: The increasing empowerment of the customer The growth of direct and Internet-based media The relentless increase in marketing... read more

Nov 23rd 09 Posted by Bob Sevier

Farewell 2009

In the main, 2009 is behind. As we look to 2010, I wanted to offer three observations/predictions related to student recruiting. First, I agree wholeheartedly with my friends at Scannell & Kurz when they say that one of the primary recruiting messages must be affordability. As you think about affordability, don’t overlook two key issues that will help make the case for affordability: time to... read more

Oct 21st 09 Posted by Bob Sevier

C+F=S – A Basic Formula for Campaign Success

Regular readers of my work will know that I really admire simplicity. With that goal in mind, I want to briefly share a basic marketing formula that I think explains a lot: C+F= S “C” represents the campaign’s concept and overall creative. C is driven by the big idea. “F” represents the frequency with which campaign elements are placed in the marketplace. F is driven by big money. “S”,... read more

Oct 2nd 09 Posted by Bob Sevier

The Many Dimensions of College Cost

At the recent NACAC meeting, I was fortunate to be one of the speakers at the iThink hosted by Brian Niles and Target X. For the 100+ enrollment and admissions officers who attended, the conversation was lively and heartfelt. Not surprisingly, the discussion centered around college cost. We talked about cost, value, affordability, and ROI. Because understanding these terms is so important, I wanted... read more

Sep 14th 09 Posted by Bob Sevier

Key Themes of Strategic Planning

In a previous post I outlined a broad definition of strategic planning (see here); there are four themes in that definition that deserve special attention. First, there is the idea that the planning process is strategic because it involves choosing how best to respond to the circumstances of a dynamic and sometimes hostile environment. This sounds easy, but it often is not. In fact, one of the greatest... read more

Aug 28th 09 Posted by Bob Sevier

Visions to See By

In this post, I want to present four visions. The first is what I believe is the best vision ever written, Dr. Martin Luther. King’s “I Have a Dream. Presented on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before a crowd of 250,000 civil rights supporters in 1963, the speech is often considered by many to be the top American speech of the 20th century. By any measure, it is a classic vision statement. To... read more

Jul 24th 09 Posted by Bob Sevier

Assessing College Vulnerability

In June 2009, Chronicle Research Services released a compelling report: The College of 2020: Students. It is an overview of student and marketplace trends that will have a dramatic impact on colleges. The report includes data for traditional, adult, and international students. The report is available for purchase from Chronicle Research Services. While all these data are valuable, it is the report’s... read more