Marketing Leaders: Born or Made? - Join Us On February 29, 2012

written by Imelda March, CAMA Blogger

Some people believe that leaders are born with the necessary qualities that make them successful as a leader. While others believe that leadership, like many other similar characteristics, can be learned and developed through life. 

As a marketer, you are asked to define target audiences, develop a value proposition, create break-through campaigns, and deliver results for your school. A finely honed marketing and communications toolkit is essential but it is only one of the keys to success. More often, marketers are being looked to for institutional leadership.

Deborah Maue, Associate VP for Marketing Strategy, DePaul University spoke to me about her upcoming presentation as part of the Marketing Higher Education special interest group and she provided an overview of what attendees should expect by participating in this event. 

Why do you think that some higher education institutions do not embrace marketing at the 360 level? 

Deborah: I think for most higher ed institutions who aren’t doing social media, it comes down to two things: fear and lack of resources. The fear is about losing control of the message – not dissimilar to what we see most organizations grapple with when they consider social media. But it is complicated by the decentralized nature of higher education – lots of people need to overcome their fear of social media if an institution is really going to do social media in a big and integrated way.  The other reason is lack of resources. It is very difficult to get additional employees in higher ed, especially now with the focus on rising tuition costs and student debt. So it is a matter of trying to do social media in addition to all the other tasks they are already doing in their full time jobs. 

Where do you see the future of marketing in higher ed?

Deborah: For higher ed institutions to survive, they will need to differentiate themselves from other institutions and make prospective students understand why they should attend. This means understanding how to articulate a brand and communicate it in an integrated way across audiences. So marketers will need to understand branding. I also think we will see more of a shift from thinking about marketing as a separate discipline to understanding that everything we do – our programs, services, student support, etc. communicates the brand. So we will see marketing leaders informing university leadership about the brand experience, and I think that will start to shape university strategic planning – putting the brand at the center. I think that there is a need for higher ed marketers to think more strategically than they have in the past. Finally, there will be a need to prioritize what we do from a marketing standpoint. We can’t do everything for every college, program, department, etc. So we’ll have to be more disciplined about taking on projects that really affect the university’s goals (enrollment, fundraising, etc.) and saying no to those that don’t.

What will attendees learn by attending this event?

Deborah: I want this to be a practical session where people can walk away with some tips for how to be more effective leaders in higher ed, using principles that I learned in the corporate world. I am going to explain how the dynamics of higher ed often make it difficult to get things done – scope creep, lack of a clear decision maker, competing objectives - and share some specific project management/leadership tools and techniques that can help people be more effective project leaders. Tools I have implemented at DePaul University, so I know they can work in higher ed.
 

Date: February 29, 2012
Time: 5:00 - 7:00 PM
Location:
DePaul University
1 East Jackson Boulevard  
Chicago, IL 60604 

EVENT AGENDA

5:00 pm           Registration, networking and refreshments
5:30 pm           Welcome
5:45 pm           Deborah Maue, Associate VP for Marketing Strategy, DePaul University
6:15 pm           Q&A 

Complimentary food and beverage will be provided.

The Marketing Higher Education SIG is a community for marketing and communications professionals in the higher education industry to share ideas, information and practices.  This SIG is just one of Chicago AMA’s nine new Special Interest Groups: Financial Services, Digital + Social Media, Consulting & Professional Services, Integrated Marketing & Communications, Healthcare, Consumer Packaged Goods, Market Research and Nonprofit. 

Connect with the marketers in your industry who tackle the same challenges and opportunities as you.  Meet other SIG members face-to-face in uniquely collaborative, conversational, informal environments to share experiences and marketing wisdom.  Continue the conversation online through a variety of chapter communication channels.  

SIG events and activities are open to Chicago AMA members and non-members.

Click here to join a SIG and stay informed about upcoming SIG activities, or email sigs@chicagoama.org for additional information. 

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