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Breaking down barriers between brand and enrolment marketing
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
7
(4),
336-344
(2023)
Abstract
There exists an ongoing debate within the higher education marketing and communications disciplines on the merits of having a centralised versus decentralised structure. At the University of Arizona, the institution's two largest marketing teams chose collaboration as a third path — embracing and combining the audience and content expertise of the decentralised model with the brand consistency and breadth of centralisation. This collaboration has effectively broken down the barriers between enrolment and brand marketing and thereby enhanced the effectiveness of each unit's individual marketing efforts, making the whole greater than the sum of the parts. This paper will reveal how the teams came together on media strategy, brand strategy and creative execution to achieve significant application and enrolment growth.
Keywords: brand strategy; media strategy; organisational structure; centralisation; creative development
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
John Denker is responsible for marketing and branding efforts at the University of Arizona. His primary measures of success include increasing brand awareness, brand affinity and brand consistency for the university. Before joining the University of Arizona in 2015, John led advertising sales, marketing and research teams at various levels within a large, publicly held media company. John earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Economics from Eastern Illinois University and a Doctor of Business Administration from St Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa.
Christie Harper leads the development and deployment of student-focused communications that keep current and prospective students informed about, inspired by and engaged with the University of Arizona throughout their educational journey. In her prior position as Associate Vice President for Enrollment Marketing and Communication, she was responsible for all undergraduate and online enrolment marketing initiatives university-wide. Previously, she served as Assistant Vice President for University Marketing at California Lutheran University. There, she led all marketing initiatives for enrolment, advancement, athletics and brand development. Prior to joining Cal Lutheran, she was founder and president of brand consulting firm Brand Endeavor and served in a senior leadership role at Siegel+Gale, a leading global brand consulting firm. Christie earned a BA from UCLA and an MA from USC.
