Roadmap for Niche Marketing

PANEL PRESENTORS• Meredith Amburn

Student Development Specialist, College of Lake County

• Michele BrownDirector of Recruitment & Outreach, Oakton Community College

• Kendra ChartsCareer Program Recruiter, College of Lake County

• Shani GarzaTransfer Coordinator, Northeastern Illinois University

Barriers for Community College Students

• Time • Academic Preparedness• Money• Confidence• Schedules• “Red Tape”• Childcare• Transportation

Community College Marketing • Focused, targeted appeal

– Know your niche– Know your market

Key Marketing Messages

• Convenience– Location, location, location– Class schedule vs. life schedule

• Curriculum– Relevance– Just in time, just right for current

application• Cost

How to Reach Adults?

• Research indicates adults need to see the same message six times before responding!

• “Magic formula” for enrolling adults– Need– Motivation– Resources

Adult Students are:

• Autonomous, self-directed• Foundation of life experiences• Goal-oriented• Relevancy-oriented• Practical

Key Messages to Promote to Adults:• Special Services

– Counseling and Advising• Adult learners’ orientation• Experiential learning credit• Designated Adult Advisor• Extended learning opportunities

– Job Fairs– Clubs with career focus

Adult Marketing Initiatives

– Adult search piece– Bilingual pieces– Targeted radio spots

“Just in time, just right for current application”

How to Reach Special Populations?• Special Events for different

markets – Black Teen Summit– La Via– High School Registration/Advising

Workshops– STEM Open House– FUTURES Unlimited– Special Needs Program

How to Reach Influencers/Parents?

• Through their newspapers – they still read!– Chicago Tribune Local Inserts– Evanston Sentinel– India Tribune– Philippine Weekly– Polish Daily News – Reflejos

How to Reach High School Students? • Electronic Media/Website Banner

Advertising – ChicagoSunTimes.com– Google– Facebook– Pandora – Alloy– Ringleader Digital

Electronic Media

• All Ads targeted based on:– Geography– Demographics– Behaviors

Home School Students

• Independent

• Appreciate a Challenge

• Motivated

Investigate

• Home School Web-Sites

• Attend Home School Conferences

• Interview Former Students

Network/Collaborate

• Faculty and Staff: Institution• Students • Parents

Create / Implement

• Home School link on your home page

What makes your institution home

school friendly ? What are the necessary steps that

home school students need to take?

* Work closely with Admissions and PR

Host Home School Events

• Plan AccordinglyFormat : Open House or Formal Lecture?Time of Year: Spring, Summer, or Fall?Time of Day: Morning or Evening?Location: In House or Off Campus?Invite: Everyone or Select Few?Promote Via: Home Site, Newspaper Ads,

Flyers, or Kiosk?Details: Catering, Decorations, Signage?

Home School Event Follow-Up• Use the Sign in Sheet Put contacts into data baseThank the families for coming out via e-mail or

phone call

• Surveys/FeedbackWhat went right? What can be done differently?

Honors Students

• “Thirsty”

• Driven

• Dedicated

Identify and Contact Honors Students • Collaborate with :Honors Program CoordinatorHigh School CounselorsHonors students on your campus• Promote Honors Program at:Local High SchoolsLibrariesVarious Community Events

Identify and Contact Potential Honors Students Continued….• Purchase ACT list

• Create mailings to promote honors coursework (from Honors Program Coordinator)

• Invite select students to future event

What do Potential Honors Students Need to Know?• Communicate / Share:

Eligibility Requirements

Benefits

Testimonials

Host Honors Event

• Plan AccordinglyFormat : Open House or Formal Lecture?Time of Year: Spring, Summer, or Fall?Time of Day: Morning or Evening?Location: In House or Off Campus?Invite: Everyone or Select Few?Promote Via: Home Site, Newspaper Ads,

Flyers, or Kiosk?Details: Catering, Decorations, Signage?

Follow-Up from Honors Events• Sign in Sheet Put contacts into data baseThank the families for coming out via e-

mail or phone call

• Surveys/FeedbackWhat went right? What can be done differently?

Who are Middle School Students?• 6th - 8th grade• Short attention span• Curious

How to reach Middle School Students?• Noncredit programs, events, the

arts, etc.• Introduce career clusters• College campus visits – hands on

experiences and college preparation

How to Reach Audiences for Career Programs?• Audiences:

– Adults (already on campus and not on campus)

– High School Students (current and traditional students)

• Where can you find these audiences?– Adults

• On campus: GED, ESL, developmental, undecided

• Off campus: Job Centers, CBO’s, Faith based organizations

– High School Students• Undecided, Tech Campus (vocational

programs)

Career Program Focuses:

• Nontraditional careers for males and females

• STEM programs– Midwest Girls Collaborative– Perform outreach to high schools– National Science Foundation grant– Hands on STEM event

Key Messages to Promote Nontraditional Career Programs:• Describe potential jobs, emphasize

potential earnings, career advancement and required training

• Break down stereotypes• Send inclusive messages• Promote support services at your

institution

Career Program Initiatives

– Career booklet – Strong collaborative relationship

with Lake County Technology Campus. Offer grants, scholarships and dual enrollment credit.

Career Program Initiatives

– Career booklet – Strong collaborative relationship

with Lake County Technology Campus. Offer grants, scholarships and dual enrollment credit.

My Role at NEIU and CLC

As the NEIU Coordinator of Transfer Enrollment I serve CLC and Lake County area students:

• Provide pre-admission advising to disseminate academic program requirements, major options, admissions requirements, financial aid options, and academic support programs;

• provide registration and academic advisement information to newly accepted transfer students;

NEIU Staff hired through the grant:

Karen Davidson, M.A.– Title V Activity Dir. / Asst. Dir. for Transfer & Retention

Tiffani Robertson, MBA - Title V Coordinator of Articulation & Degree Audit

Matthew Sawicki, BA – Veterans Admissions Outreach Specialist

What is the Title V Grant?

Title V grants are awarded to eligible Hispanic-Serving Institutions seeking to enhance and expand the institution’s capacity to serve Hispanic and low-income students. These grants provide funds to improve and strengthen the academic quality, institutional stability, management, and fiscal capabilities of the institution.It is a great honor to be awarded only one of five cooperative Title V Grants in the US. What makes this grant unique is its collaborative quality. The College of Lake County is an emerging Hispanic Serving Institute and Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), is the only four-year public Hispanic Serving Institution in the Midwest. The demographics of students served and the proximity of our campuses made it a great fit for both institutions.

How will it impact Lake County students?The cooperative project, titled “Partnership for

Lasting Impact on Retention, Transfer and Graduation,” will include several initiatives:

• Streamlining student transfer from CLC to NEIU by creating student friendly transfer tools;

• establishing a NEIU Transfer Center at CLC and at NEIU to improve mentoring, advising, orientation, and financial literacy workshops for students and their families;

• expanding the number of B.A. completion programs offered by NEIU on-site in Lake County;

• providing comprehensive services to students who are military, veterans and their families; and

• creating a transfer and veteran peer mentoring program

Who is our target audience?

• Lake County residents• College of Lake County students• Hispanic, first generation and low-

income students• Student Veterans

Things to consider….

• Suburban student• Few options to complete

Bachelor’s degree• Location• Affordability• Access to information• Simplifying the transition

Responding to our new market….

Smoother transition

• Strong presence in Lake County newspapers and media

• Building strong relationships with the College of Lake County, Lake County high schools, and community agencies

• Offering Information Sessions at the College of Lake County and at the University Center

Hispanics in the US

• 1 out of 2 people born in the US since 2000 is Hispanic

• 25% are English dominant• 47% are Spanish dominant• 28% are bilingual

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Report 2007

What’s important?

• Understanding the family as a unit• Understanding group decision

making• Alleviating the conflict between

individual needs and family group expectations

• Offering strategies to maintain harmony even in conflict

• Beware of translation choose transcreation

Marketing efforts…

• Making the message more personal

• Send the message that Higher Ed is a family decision to:– Get closer to your dreams– Give them a better life– Be a good example for the rest of the

family

Questions?