Talking Stick - September/October 2008 - 24

Business Print It. Film It. Post It. by Meredith Whipple Marketers straddle the print world and the technology world to reach their audiences. balance between traditional print versus electronic sources. “Successful marketing does not rely on one medium to convey information to an audience. While most traditional college-age students appreciate electronic information via Web, text, or blogs, their parents may prefer printed materials they can hang on to.” Marketing professionals find themselves struggling between the use of traditional media practices and the relentlessly changing world of technology. Wayne Wall, CEO of Flimp Media Inc. (FMI), a Web video marketing firm, believes that the convenience and efficiency of marketing with Web 2.0 puts it ahead of traditional print marketing. “It’s clear that younger people are interacting with video and video content far more than any generation has in the past, and that’s not going away. Colleges and universities have to bridge the gap and get the message out and communicate with them using audio-visual content. They can’t rely on historic static content like print. They know this; the question they’re asking is ‘how do we do this?’” FMI surveyed 56 students via Facebook and released a report titled “Marketing to Students in the Digital Age” in June 2008. Regarding residence life, results showed that the college applicants did not feel there was adequate information about residence halls on the official Web sites of institutions, and many wanted to see online video of the residence halls, particularly bedrooms. Wall recommends video marketing on housing Web sites. “Students want to see video portray an insider view, and they want it to As blogs, wikis, video podcasts, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and other tools of Web 2.0 make their way into the world of higher education, marketing professionals are searching for ways to creatively incorporate these new tools into traditional styles of marketing and still catch the fast-moving attention of the Millennials. This new generation brings with it not only new technology but also new expectations and beliefs that factor into all their decisions, including selecting a residence hall. Where once there was simply a marketing department for the whole campus, now marketing and technology professionals are being hired specifically for the housing department, and they are faced with finding new and creative ways to promote residence life. With marketing practices changing to meet the needs of the Millennials, it is important to remember who is involved in the decision-making process now more than ever: the parents. The electronic information that students receive about residence life seems to bypass their less connected generation of parents. Marty Takimoto, director of communications and marketing “While most traditional within residence college-age students and student services appreciate electronic at the University information via Web, text, of Californiaor blogs, their parents may Berkeley, believes prefer printed materials that marketing they can hang on to.” professionals are now faced with finding a 2 Talking Stick

Talking Stick - September/October 2008

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