School Marketing Managers: 3 Ways to Rise Above the Marketing Clutter

As you work tirelessly to put your independent school or college on the map, you may find your message still falls to the bottom of the massive heap of marketing clutter manufactured every day. As a student in the Northwestern Medill Integrated Marketing Communications program, former journalist and current director of an independent school’s marketing efforts, I have found two articles which provide helpful insights on improving your marketing campaigns and helping your brand rise to the top.

The March 2015 Think With Google article Measuring the Impact of Online Video on Brand Metrics explains why video is a must. Research shows good video can move the needle on brand awareness, perception and interest. Essentially an advertorial for Google’s Brand Lift solution, the article contains some newsworthy facts. For example: Of 50 campaigns from Fortune 100 brands and category leaders running on preferred YouTube channels, 94% of the campaigns drove a significant lift -- an average of 80% -- in ad recall.  

Photographer Nicholas Nixon’s work, and a New York Times article by author Susan Minot about Nixon’s Forty Portraits in Forty Years is a memorable illustration of why there is success in video and pictures. Images are powerful when it comes to telling your story - or your school's story. Minot explains how “on a whim” photographer Nicholas Nixon asked his wife and her three sisters to take their picture. It was summer 1975, and he photographed the group then and every year that followed. Nixon's forty years worth of work packs a punch, showing the power of pictures to tell a story which will stick with the audience and evoke interest and emotion in a way that even the most compelling text cannot. His work is haunting and thought-provoking long after viewing it. That ability to have your work stay on the minds of those who see it long after that moment is what the best marketing managers are able to accomplish for their brand.

My experience over the past several years in both journalism and marketing have allowed me to see what "sticks" with an audience, and during my time in Northwestern Medill's IMC program I have learned that there's research and psychology to back up what I've observed. With these articles in mind, here are three takeaways to start creating campaigns that make a lasting impact.

• Make me care - In three sentences, tell me why people need to know and care about your brand.

•  Choose your main character - If you had to pick only one person, who illustrates the power of your brand?

• Tell their story - Through pictures or video, let that person speak to me. What would they say? How would they look and sound when they say it?

Google and others anticipate spending on desktop online video alone is projected to grow 21% every year until 2019. As competitors spend more, you want to make sure you not only justify your own ad spending but make sure you break out of the clutter and captivate your audience. To engage, connect and be remembered you must tell a story with a strong character your audience will care about.

Lisa Scullin Rashid is a journalist who took the path into public relations when her daughter was born, only to find that there was a much wider world out there beyond journalism and PR. Marketing provided the dynamic and exciting terrain which television news once did, and its ever-evolving, fast-paced rush to the head of the pack is exhilarating to this working mom who once thrived on hourly deadlines. Social media adds another dimension to the complicated maze of options for marketers – one which is sure to shift as soon as you secure your footing on the changing landscape! Find Lisa on Twitter @ScullyPR. 

CMOs: 3 Steps for an Early Holiday Campaign That Customers Actually Like

Most people are just getting used to the onslaught of all things pumpkin flavored, but CMOs and planners know the importance of championing another season that's quickly approaching: holiday shopping season. As a graduate student in Northwestern Medill's IMC program, I'm concerned with focusing in on consumer behavior and needs, and have found two great articles that show the importance of engaging your customers with early holiday campaigns, even as we're just wrapping up Halloween.

A recent Adweek article explored the results of Google’s Holiday Shopper Intentions survey and found that 26 percent of all shoppers start searching for gift deals before Halloween. That’s right, over one-quarter of your customers are already looking for gifts. So the challenge, then, is creating an early holiday campaign that doesn't feel out of place in early November.

Stuart Elliott, advertising columnist at the New York Times, tackled this challenge in a recent article, "Autumn is in the Air, but for Marketers, Christmas Has Already Begun." He cites examples of companies like Kmart and Betabrand that have proven a healthy dose of humor can go a long way in winning over consumers. For example, FCB Chicago recently produced a clever Kmart spot entitled “Not a Christmas Commercial” The ad confirms, “It’s way too early for Christmas, so just to be clear, this is not a Christmas commercial.” But Kmart jokes with the viewer that perhaps they’ll have some sort of event in late December that requires a lot of gifts. “Like maybe your entire family is having a birthday on the same day.” In that case, it’s the perfect time to visit Kmart and put your gifts on layaway.

If a brand is able to poke fun at its early campaign, customers can appreciate the humor instead of getting annoyed. Elliot refers to this as "meta" marketing — a trend in which the brand or company itself makes wry comments about its own campaigns in a self-aware manner.

From my consumer insight work at Northwestern, combined with the findings in these two articles, here are three action items you need to consider in planning your upcoming holiday campaigns:

• Start early – As pointed out in both of these articles, a large portion of consumers are already out there looking for gifts. Make sure your brand doesn’t miss out on the opportunity.

• Use humor – You better believe most people aren’t looking for Christmas music or over-the-top holiday stories in early November. Keep it light. Don’t be afraid to poke fun at your own campaign.

• Utilize extra time – Starting a holiday campaign early gives you the option for a longer campaign that could include multiple parts. It also gives you more time to build up a stronger relationship with consumers before the market is saturated with holiday ads. 

So don’t be late to the holiday party. Consumers are out there and ready to find gifts – it would be silly not to reach out to them. And if you can be silly while reaching out to them, even better.

Lizzie Bartek is pursuing her M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University, focusing on digital marketing, strategy and content. She is passionate about discovering fresh consumer insights and translating them into awesome strategies and compelling stories. After graduating in December '14, she hopes to work in planning. In her spare time, she runs, writes, explores and manages social media for Vitamin IMC. You can find her on LinkedIn or Twitter.