Arguments for Advertising

University ad budgets are high-risk items in times like these. They make tempting targets for CEOs checking the closets and mattresses for undefended stash.

What arguments will you bring to bear?

Rob Westervelt outlines several good ones in his Ubrander blog on the topic. As usual, he’s right the money noting that a tight economy translates into bargains in media pricing and placement, and that downturns are opportunities to improve market position.

But I’ll take issue with Rob when he asserts “advertising is selling” (although I get the real issue that advertising is an essential). Advertising, in reality, makes a poor salesman. It’s better (and more efficient) when used to build brand awareness so that the “sales force” – recruiters, alumni, and development officers – can really do their jobs.

Rob focuses on recruitment, but there’s another crucial beneficiary of advertising that is huge during a tough economy – fundraising. Make no mistake: good advertising powers the bottom line in many ways.

By building certitude among targets that you are the market leader in an important educational niche – it’s what brand campaigns do best – you create an environment ripe for giving and support. Interrupting that effort doesn’t save money, it costs you.

We see it time and time again where colleges outperform the marketplace – in fundraising, public support, and recruitment – through a balanced integrated campaign that includes image advertising to build top-of-mind, attitude, and leadership position.

So here are my arguments to add to Rob’s good ideas – use them one and all as you fight the good fight:

• Advertising makes recruitment, alumni, and fundraising teams more effective by creating awareness and a positive attitude before they knock on the door
• Advertising impact is cumulative. You see benefits over time rather than in the short term because awareness and perceptions of quality build on themselves. Start-again stop-again strategies following short-term market fluctuations undercut your investment, past and future.
• Market leaders are the last to feel a marketing downturn and the first to benefit from an expansion. The highest value of advertising is building top-of-mind awareness of and belief in your leadership market position
• Advertising isn’t just for kids. Well-crafted influencer campaigns are proven to increase public support and income from fundraising
• Advertising, as part of a strategic integrated brand campaign, is not a cost factor, it’s an investment that can provide handsome returns. If you aren’t demonstrating that ROI, something is amiss.