Essential Marketing and Recruitment Tools: Print Materials for the 21st Century

by Rebecca Smith-Murdock

Overview

Print promotion and print advertising continue to be essential marketing tools for international student recruitment. Print is an old and useful approach; it is recorded that as far back as the year 1900, Charles W. Eliot, the president of Harvard, “engaged the services of the Publicity Bureau, the nation’s first public relations firm, to obtain national recognition for Harvard.” (Hugh Jenkins, ed., Foreign Student Recruitment: Realities and Recommendations, New York: College Board, 1980) Now a marketer/recruiter must necessarily customize the rationale for print pieces and print advertising, and customize the program or institution’s approach to print media in order to accommodate the variety of student information needs in targeted regions of the world and maximize blending with electronic promotion and other vehicles. This section addresses print pieces and print advertising in the context of multiple recruitment vehicles and the 21st century’s information-access generation, considering what is most effective and how to decide what works.

Introduction

Why discuss paper/print recruitment materials in an electronically connected world?

Print Materials

Print materials are specialized, collateral materials for international student recruitment. Collateral materials are ancillary items used to support and reinforce an undertaking. (Miller, B. (1997). Marketing principles for the language program administrator. In Christinson, M. A. and Stoller, F. (Eds.). A handbook for language program administrators. Alta: Burlingam, CA, 1997)

Why create specialized pieces for international student recruitment?

It is a mistake to assume that materials, letters, brochures, advertisements, and public relations efforts developed for one’s United States market will be effective with international students.

“The U.S. emphasis on extracurricular and ‘environmental’ experiences may be interpreted by internationals as a smokescreen for an inadequate academic program. The U.S. approach is based on a philosophy of equal access to diverse educational opportunities and also stresses ‘experience’ -- including the social aspects of learning as well as classroom learning. In many other countries, education is a luxury, follows an almost immutable curriculum, and places value only on hard work within the academic program. Public relations efforts should reflect the values of the audiences abroad, and it is a mistake to adopt an ethnocentric approach or to assume international students appreciate and prefer the U.S. system.” (See Noronha, J. (1987). Avoid these mistakes in international recruitment!” The Admissions Strategist. New York, NY: The College Board, p. 49)

Types of and uses for collateral materials

• Brochures, booklets and inserts
• Application, including financial guarantee information
• Scholarship and financial aid information
• Follow-up correspondence
• I-20 enclosures
• Special recruitment items

The primary international print piece: The brochure/booklet

• Basic four-color piece—no dates, prices, date-related verbage; reviewed/revised bi-annually
• Inserts—Reviewed/revised quarterly for current dates, prices, dated material
• Who “owns” it?
• Who designs it?

• What is the format?

• What does it cost?

• Who is/are the audience(s)?

• Design considerations

• Cultural

• Distribution: In addition to mail-outs to individuals requesting information

• Overseas

• Tracking effectiveness: inquiries, applications, admissions, enrollment, retention

Brochure/Booklet Contents

• Distinguishing features, comparative advantages, ranking, institutional reputation
• General information

• Location (city/state), proximity to international airport, population of city/town, descriptive characteristics of location (population, urban/suburban/rural/etc.), climate and temperature range in centigrade, general cost of living, availability of banks, hospitals and shopping, town/gown relationship, safety considerations, local/regional “personality”

• Accreditations: if possible, list all university, college/school, and departmental accreditations,
• Academic majors and degrees: specify associate, bachelor, masters, doctoral Number of years to complete undergraduate degrees
• Number of years to complete each degree
• Facilities: size of campus and number of buildings, library holdings, student health center, recreational opportunities, distinctive facilities
• Faculty: qualifications, ratio to students, availability to students, average class size
• Student body: number of men and women, number of undergraduate and graduate students, geographic distribution of domestic and international students,
• Housing

• Admissions procedures, fees, deadlines, and contacts; forms, documents, and tests required; minimum academic and English proficiency requirements for admissibility
• Costs: enumerate prices for (1) undergraduate, graduate, in-state and out-of-state tuition, (2) fees, (3) residence hall room and board, (4) health insurance, (5) books and supplies, (6) clothing, (7) off-campus housing/utilities/groceries, (8) transportation, (9) estimated expenses when school is not in session, etc.
• Financial aid: indicate if and when it is available for international students; process to apply for grants, loans, scholarships, jobs; availability of on-campus employment and range of pay
• Academic calendar: type of calendar, dates of classes, length of vacations, availability of classes during the summer. When using “seasonal” terms, indicate the months that constitute the season. Indicate on- and off-campus housing and job availability during vacations and the summer.
• English as a second language courses: (1) availability and relationship of ESL program to the university, (2) costs, (3) “conditional” admission possibility, (4) conditions under which a student may attend ESL and university classes at the same time, and (5) if a student can enter the university or college directly from the ESL program, without another test score. Indicate the availability of on-campus housing, identification cards, and other university access for ESL students.
• Student Life attractions: international student organizations, other student organizations, athletic, social, and cultural events on campus, recreational sports facilities and opportunities, distinctive campus events, traditions, or activities.
• Married student considerations: programs for spouses and children; childcare, pre-school, and elementary and secondary school availability and special services.
• Arrival information: nearest international airport and transportation from the airport to the school, accommodations available upon arrival—hotels and other temporary housing, dates for residence hall check-in, details of the contact and check-in person/office on campus, emergency contact information.
• Orientation and registration information: dates, times, locations, procedures, things to bring, contact person. Indicate what parts of orientation are mandatory.
• International student advisor: Name, address, telephone number, email address, fax number, office hours, and emergency contact number. Explain the role of the international student advisor in the student’s life as a student in the United States.

(Adapted from Raftus, K. L. (1987). Information recommended for prospective international students. The Admissions Strategist. New York: College Board, p. 27.)

Print Advertisements: Why, Where, When, How, and How Much?

Why: Market issues

Comparative availability of computer-based information and print information
Portability, visibility, accessibility, and ease of distribution
Responses from students

Where: Marketing plan

• Geographic coverage: Targeted world regions and/or worldwide
• Categories of print advertisements
• Directories e.g., Peterson’s Guide to Four-Year Colleges, Peterson’s Guide to Two-Year Colleges, The Princeton Review, The Fiske Guide to Colleges, International Education System’s Guide to American Schools, Colleges & Universities, Whitehall Press’s Asian, European, and Middle East Education Yearbook, and IIE’s Intensive English USA.
• Advertisement and information magazines, free or for sale
• Study in the USA (Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East editions), Hobsons Guides (Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Worldwide), International Student Guide to the USA, ALC Press (Japan), Al-Muftah (Middle East)
• Organizational publications: NAFSA.news, AMIDEAST, AACRAO, IIE
• International newspapers (esp. Educational Supplements)
• Educational fair publications
• University publications for overseas distribution—Alumni newsletters, university magazine
• Domestic metropolitan newspapers, foreign language newspapers

When: Marketing schedule and budget

• Print advertisement is far too expensive to be haphazard or reactive to economic and political events
• Inclusion of print advertisements as part of strategic market plan
• Annual to weekly deadlines
• Frequency and duration for effectiveness
• Importance of residual print effect—re-surfacing of print years later

How: Creation of effective print advertisements

• Design considerations
• University or school’s existing effort at “Branding”
• Branding = “building and eventually owning a position” as a result of insuring the target audience’s awareness of and their belief in the relevance of your product.
• Aesthetic
• Linguistic

• Cultural

• Content—balancing thoroughness and accessibility
• Emphasis on comparative advantages, distinguishing characteristics

How Much: Cost of print advertisements

• Design
• Translation
• Insertions
• Staff time for responses, tracking, and processing
• Some current cost sheets

Considerations for print advertisement placements

• Number of copies printed--verify
• Distribution targets (students, advising centers, universities, etc.)--verify
• Translations—verify accuracy
• Ethical behavior—verify track record in all areas

Assessment Activity