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

So much of the marketing discussion these days is about technology, says entertainment executive Corey Torrence. Should we be on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook or MySpace? Can we take advantage of text messaging? What can we do with the iPhone?

“Technology is quickly changing the way the game is played,” he acknowledges in a recent post on iMedia Connection. But the fundamentals of the game are no different than when Homer scratched out the Odyssey on papyrus scrolls.

Successful marketing is all about good storytelling.

“Concentrate on storyline-rich content that resonates with your audience,” says Torrence, who is CEO of Animax Entertainment. “The simplest way to gather an audience — dating back to ancient times — is good storytelling.”

So think of technology tools as merely the delivery systems. “The best content can flow from one medium to another seamlessly, captivating the audience through the emotional attraction of the story and not the technology.”

Higher education is more fortunate than most industries because it has a nearly unlimited supply of compelling stories. A college can draw from its history and traditions, its gallery of graduates, its current students, athletes, faculty and staff to weave stories that make others relate to the school and see themselves as part of the community.

Such is the power of a good, entertaining story, says Torrence. “If marketers want to survive in this evolutionary climate, they are going to have to embrace quality content creation and good storytelling techniques.”

To read more, visit:
www.imediaconnection.com/content/24020.asp

Few experiences stir up the emotions that “Move-In Day” does for me.

A true milestone in the realm of recruiting, us admissions-folk get to finally see the fruits of our labors actualize in the form of the newest members of our campus communities.

It’s equal parts nostalgic, satisfying and rewarding.  But unfortunately, it can also be a missed opportunity.

[Brief pause to allow you to put on your "marketer" hat...]

Think about it this way:  Move-In Day is the perfect time to gain insights, get feedback and gather content while the college choice is still fresh on the minds of new students and their parents.

And since you’ll all have captive audiences relatively soon, today I’d like to offer some ideas for you to make the most of move-in this year.
Read on…

This past Tuesday I was at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio conducting tour guide training on rendering authenticity and storytelling. (That’s me standing by one of their admissions Minis.)

Yesterday I got an email from Pattie Skrha, BWC’s Director of Admission, telling me how the Chairman of BWC’s Board came to campus with a prospective student and shared with Pattie how “it was the best tour he ever had.” From Pattie’s email:

“Thought you’d love this random, too-good-to-be true story!

It just so happens that our board chair was on campus today, accompanying a prospective student from his home town. He went on tour with her. Upon his return, he came in to my office and said, “I just went on the best college tour I’ve ever had.”

His tour guide was Jarvis — a new tour guide.

When I asked why the tour was so great:
· Jarvis gave honest answers; you could tell he was not trying to “sell” the school.
· It was very real and personal; Jarvis told stories about how things on campus related to him.
· He did not walk backwards! (quote from the chair: “ I HATE when they walk backwards.”)
· There were three students on the tour, and Jarvis personalized the tour to each of them.
· Jarvis gave real college advice. When I probed as to what this meant, the chair said, “he told them to find the college that was the best fit for them. He hopes it will be Baldwin-Wallace, but if we’re not the right fit, that’s okay.”

While I’d like to take credit and think that the three hours of training and lunch made the difference for Jarvis and the other guides, BWC’s students are really bright and personable. And Admissions gives them the permission and guidance to be students — not scripted “tourbots.”

Storytelling has been gaining momentum as a marketing tool in recent years, and nowhere does it make more sense than in higher education, where great stories abound.

But you need more than interesting subjects to produce effective stories, Andrea Jarrell reminds us in a post on her “School of Thought” blog. We should keep in mind the elements crucial to an effective story.

“Good stories have tension and conflict,” she writes. “Even the heroes have flaws. So how can you persuade readers of an institution’s virtues and still tell a good story?” She offers the following essentials:
Read on…

“It’s not your numbers that make you interesting,” writes Amber Naslund, as if she’s speaking directly to college marketers who still insist on including the number of library books and research grants in their institutional descriptions.

“It’s not your logo, your tagline, your brand promise,” continues the social media and marketing expert. “It’s not the colors you agonized over for your website.”

It’s your stories.
Read on…