Greetings from Boston!

I’m here in bean-town for this year’s American Marketing Association Higher Ed Symposium (or simply “AMA” to avoid the mouthful).

I’m excited to have an opportunity to speak again this year and rub elbows with some of the brightest marketing minds in the business.

Already I’ve had some great conversations — like my nice chat this morning with Shelley Wetzel (of eduWEB Conference fame).

Shelley wanted to know if I could point out some folks who are changing their structure to bridge the admissions/marketing gap at their institution.

It’s something I’m seeing more and more of as communication plans become increasingly complex and clients attempt to wrap their brains around social media strategy.  I guess you could say the need for a new skill set has hit the admissions scene in a big way.

I told Shelley I’ve seen some schools add a marketing professional to the admissions staff to handle prospect communication.  Others have moved a savvy admissions staffer over to the marketing office to handle admissions “stuff.”  Others have teams that operate much like a smaller “agency” within the university to support recruitment efforts.

There’s no one right way to do it — as long as we’re recognizing that these days, effective recruiting requires effective “MarCom” skills (that’s the new cool-kid term for “marketing communications” I picked up here;)

So do your best to champion change on your campus and work towards a structure that makes the most sense for your school and your enrollment goals.

And don’t forget to share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below so we can keep this thread going!

All the best,
Adrienne

P.S.  To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first AMA conference, they’ll be spinning the top tunes of 1989 at a reception this evening.  Kevin Corr and I are so excited to revisit our respective youths and walk (or dance) down memory lane.

We invite you to share in our experience and check out this list of the top 100 songs from that year.  Don’t miss TargetX faves like NKOTB, Phil Collins, U2, Janet Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, The Bangles and Paula Abdul (pre-American-Idol of course;)
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Join us for our next webcast:  “Lessons in Storytelling — A TargetX Holiday Experience.”

Learn more and register by visiting:
www.targetx.com/webcasts

Ever wondered how it’s possible for the number of people who “interacted” with an email message to be higher than the number who “viewed” it?

While it doesn’t seem to make sense, there is a technical explanation for this seemingly illogical occurrence.

Think about it this way:  Your viewed html rate only measures when the code for your message renders (or “loads” for us common folk;)  Since we know the html code rendered, we auto-magically know the message was “opened.”

But some recipients can’t receive html and others choose not to load images or graphics.  Technically, they don’t appear to have “opened” the message — but they can still interact by clicking the links in it.

Hence the answer to our campaign intelligence quandary;)

So what does this mean for you?

Well, for starters, it reinforces the benefits of creating a plain-text version of your message and checking to be sure it makes sense without pictures and logos.  And it shows how important it is to have a visible, hot-linked call to action in the body as well.

Bottom line is, if you’re only looking at “Viewed Html,” you may not be getting a full picture of your message’s effectiveness.

And that’s the truth.

You know how this time of year goes — before you can even put your Halloween costume away, department stores will be all decked-out for the holidays and radio stations will be spinning The Waitresses 24-7.*

But while the premature holiday push can be frustrating, it does remind us that the end of the year is coming on fast.

So today I’d like to remind you to start making plans for any special holiday campaigns you’d like to execute in the next few weeks — especially if they involve creative services.

I know it’s early, but you’ll need the time to brainstorm, refine your concepts and get the right people involved (before it’s too late).

Here are a few ideas to help kick your creativity into gear this season:

• Roll out a series of holiday-related questions on your Facebook page or private social network.  Think “What’s your favorite Thanksgiving side-dish and why?” “What are you grateful for this year?” or “What’s the best holiday song?”

• Consider a page on your school’s website or admissions microsite that details what’s happening on campus over the holidays.  Include dining hall menus, photos and/or video content (especially from the dorms) and a schedule of campus events.

• Create (or have us create) an html holiday email.  While I’m a huge advocate for simplicity, the holiday e-card is a nice chance to do something a bit more “festive.” Just keep it short and authentic to you!

• Try boosting engagement with a contest.  Topics like “Submit Your Favorite Thanksgiving Recipe” or “Holiday Photo Contest” can work well.

As with all campaigns, be sure you’re prioritizing storytelling and revealing your school’s traditions.  Remember the goal is to make it as easy as possible for prospects to imagine themselves as part of your community.

This year, create your plan for the holidays early and give yourself plenty of time to execute it.

Then you can relax and enjoy the parties and well-deserved treats (instead of being stuck in your office sending out emails;)

Adrienne

*P.S.  Don’t get the reference to “The Waitresses?”  Congrats — you’ve somehow been spared the cantankerous (yet highly contagious) ballad that is “Christmas Wrapping.”
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Don’t miss our “Xpert Roundtable” Webcast on November 13th.  Learn more and register at:
www.targetx.com/webcasts

If you’ve read Brian Niles’ recent post, you know he’s looking for help with writing the last chapter of our upcoming book, Overthrowing Dead Culture: The Vision to Change the World of College Admissions.

The chapter is called “The Future” and aims to use input from admissions officers to forecast the future of college admissions.

We’ve already received a number of submissions, and I’m floored by how great they are. Everything from storytelling and technology to the changing role of enrollment managers and faculty has contributed to the ongoing thread.

If you haven’t done so already, head over to the site and read about the future as seen through the eyes of your colleagues:
www.targetx.com/odc

I invite you to add your two cents as well if you’re moved to do so — we’d love to know what the future looks like from where you sit (metaphorically, of course — we already know about your ugly office and crappy computer;)

Many thanks to those of you who have already participated and shared your vision with all of us.

Don’t forget, if your entry is chosen for the book, we’ll be sending you a free copy so you can show off your publishing credit to the rest of campus (as if they need another example of your brilliance).

“Futurecasting” the world of college admissions is admittedly no easy feat. But I’m confident that with the help of smart folks like you, we have a pretty good shot at getting close.

Adrienne

P.S. You can read more about our book project and download Chapter 2 for free by visiting www.targetx.com/odc

Today I’d like to share my “10 Email Tips” from our most recent webcast.

I figured if you were there, this could be your little “post-game wrap-up.”  And if you weren’t, then hey, it’s new to you;)

Here are my “Top 10 Tips for Writing Better Email Messages:”

1.  Know your role: Email works best for invitations, reminders, confirmations, surveys, notifications and process updates.

2.  Get to the point: Skip the intro, get rid of big blocks of text and say what you need to say right up front.

3.  Make the call: Have a clear call-to-action and set it off by placing it on its own line.  Consider bold type and other ways to make it stand out.

4.  Inform your subjects: When creating a subject line, be sure to describe the content of your message clearly without trying to be too clever.  Avoid spammy words!
Read on…

Those of you who have seen me present know that I often use M.I.T. as a prime example of student-blogs-done-right.

They first caught my attention back in 2007 with their timely, honest response to the scandal that caused M.I.T.’s Dean of Admissions to resign. This was no ordinary cat blog.

For me, their call for transparency and openness during a time of scandal was a refreshing shift that exemplified what admissions blogs can and should be. Just read the “Message from Ben and Matt” post from April 2007 and you’ll understand what I mean.

And though there have been changes on staff (hey, it is admissions), it seems they haven’t let up since then.

A recent article in the New York Times entitled “M.I.T. Taking Student Blogs to the Nth Degree” proves they’ve still got it.
Read on…

Last week some 125+ Admissions VP’s, Deans, Directors and Senior Associates gathered at TargetX’s second annual iThink during NACAC in Baltimore.  Last year’s event was held at the Seattle Public Library’s Washington Mutual Foundation Room (the day WaMu was “Seized and Sold!” as the city’s newspaper headline proclaimed).

This year’s venue was the historic Oriole Park at Camden Yards.  The setting itself was a lesson on change. Once an industrial powerhouse, Baltimore lost 100,000 manufacturing jobs. Now it is a $5 billion dollar a year tourist destination, and its three “firsts” of the Inner Harbor Festival Marketplace, National Aquarium, and retro/heritage ball park have become the standard blueprint for other cities to copy as they try urban renewal.

Four of higher education’s thought leaders: Kathy Kurz of Scannell & Kurz, Bill Royall of Royal & Company, Bob Sevier of Stamats, and Brian Niles of TargetX, each gave their “declaration” followed by questions and discussions led by yours truly as moderator.

The challenge was to keep the event from turning into a huge gripe session about the economy and its impact on admissions. Our goal instead was to focus on the future of both admissions and enrollment marketing in the midst of economic turmoil (and what colleges can do about it).

Sure, a changing economic landscape could be a crisis — but it’s also an opportunity. What is that opportunity? Some said, “Be authentic to who you are!” “Articulate value!” “Don’t discount the residential experience!” “Educate the entire campus to recruit” and “Leadership isn’t about getting the team on the same bus, it’s getting them in a rowing/crew scull and getting them to work together!”

There was also intense conversation about the best practices used by proprietary schools (things like quick turnaround of applicants to admits and faster responses to inquiries).  Of course, the comment “Admissions is sales” caused a stir as well. But all agreed that financial aid and career services (outcomes) need to have stronger relationships with admissions.

At the end, each participant was asked, “Based upon our discussion today, what’s one thing you’re not doing today that you can implement or change in the office tomorrow?”

At the end of the two-hour discussion, the annual TargetX “X Awards” were given to Christopher Lydon from Providence College and to California Lutheran University for embracing change and for representing the TargetX motto of “Overthrowing Dead Culture.”

After all, change is what the iThink discussion is all about.

On the flight home from Baltimore, I was reading the September 28 BusinessWeek and found two articles relevant to the iThink discussions about authenticity and change. I hope they get you thinking:

The Great Trust Offensive
Companies are revamping their marketing to earn your trust
“Consumers are telling companies in a thousand ways, that ‘if you aren’t open with me, then I won’t trust you.’ It gets to be counterproductive to fight that.” Randall Beard, former CMO at UBS

UPMC The “New Steel” in Pittsburgh
“Eds and Meds” revitalize the city’s economy
“Pittsburgh offers lessons for other communities. Its leaders didn’t spend a lot of energy trying to save troubled steel companies, suggesting it may be more valuable to look at new opportunities than old standbys. The city’s experience also shows that persistence with new ventures is critical.”

Keep thinking! And remember, as my colleague Adrienne Bartlett says, “The Mandarin symbol for change incorporates both the symbols for opportunity and crisis.”

Under which one is your school and its leadership operating?

Just back from NACAC in Baltimore with lots of thoughts on the brain to share with you. But before I get back to work, I took a detour to a hospital to be with a family member as they go through surgery today. During the first hour I realized how important the little things are to an anxious customer and how much is applicable to higher education.

I thought I’d share one with you. Free and open wireless. You’ve heard us talk about it before but I’m still amazed that most colleges don’t provide this to their prospective students during the visit.  This one hospital not only provides free and open wireless, someone took the time to name each of the wireless ID’s.  To the anxious visitor that extra little step might also provides a sense of comfort.

Here’s a screenshot from my iPhone I was greeting with as soon as I tried to check my email. Nice!

There were a lot of BIG IDEA discussions at NACAC last week, and there was a great deal of talk about fixing the “process” (which I’ll focus on in future posts). But perhaps we need to work on a bunch of little things that might just add up to some big success. Making wireless internet available with cute names might be a good first step for some of you to consider.

These days, there’s no shortage of chatter about the effectiveness of email marketing.

Does it still work? Is it all just spam? Do teenagers even read email?

I do tend to agree that email’s status as a “star” now more closely resembles a “cash cow” — but, presently, cash cows like email are the glue that hold the marketing mix together.

Email is still one of the most successful and cost-effective ways to communicate with prospects and parents — and therefore is still a force to be reckoned with. If it’s done correctly.

In fact, email is so important that we’re devoting our next Free on Friday webcast to helping you create better messages.

On October 16th, yours truly will be going through my “10 Tips for Writing Better Email Messages” (which I’ve gathered from years of writing and reviewing messages for clients and for TargetX). Don’t be too jealous of my exciting life;)

To hold you over till then, I thought I’d offer an illustration of just how popular email is. Here are a few of my favorites from “8 email statistics to use at parties” (via email-marketing-reports.com):

• If email was a country, its 1.4 billion users would make it the largest in the world. Bigger than China, bigger than the populations of the USA and European Union combined.

• Every second, the world’s email users produce messages equivalent in size to over 16,000 copies of the Complete Works of Shakespeare.

• 13.4 billion: the number of direct marketing dollars forecast to go into email in the US in 2009.

• $583 billion: the return from that investment if you use DMA figures on email marketing ROI. That’s four times the market value of Microsoft.

Email stats to throw out at your next office soiree? Now who says reading the XpertTip doesn’t make you more fun at parties?!

I do hope you’ll join us for the webcast.

Learn more and register for “10 Tips for Writing Better Email Messages” by visiting:
www.targetx.com/webcasts

While the goal of the experience economy is to make advertising obsolete (it’s going that way) I am a fan of great advertising - that which sells products or services and makes emotional connections.

Click this link to cast your vote for your favorite advertising icon and slogan to be inducted to the Advertising Walk of Fame on Madison Avenue.