Date post: | 18-Oct-2014 |
Category: |
Marketing |
View: | 399 times |
Download: | 3 times |
From Drab to
FAB: The Art of Marketing
Conversation
David WengerDirector of CommunicationsMcCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin
Why do so many people not listen to
us?
1. Too Self-
Centered
2. Too
Narrowly Focused
3. Too
Boring
1. Too Self-
Centered
“Rather than focus on being interesting, be interested.”
@MarketingSherpa
McCombs Undergraduate Program Office Website 2004
WE – THEY Page from the McCombs Undergraduate Program Offi ce Website 2004
This is our audience, why are we talking about them
in the third person?
Wow! You have a student records department, cool!
YOUPage from the McCombs Undergraduate Program Office Website, 2012
•Consider your audience in their current reality—they aren’t “your audience.”
•Talk to them as people, not third-persons.
•Don’t drone on—ditch the hard sell. You want them to come back and hear more.
2.Too
Narrowly Focused
University communications are often focused in three areas:
Athletics Alumni Pride School Brag
Case Study:
Can we break the pattern of always talking about the same topics—and invite our alumni to turn back to the university to learn and discuss things that interest them today?
A network of professional experts from a variety of fields and disciplines (primarily UT alumni) regularly contribute content to Texas Enterprise on topics of the practical application of business knowledge in the real world. They blog, participate in surveys, give webinars, comment on faculty-research articles, etc.
Articles from alumni bloggers
are promoted alongside our
staff writer contributions.
We seek to be interested, not just
interesting. In return, alumni and
other readers become interested
in the school again.
Contributors receive regular email updates with hints on
topics, blogging techniques and invitations to
participate with us in events.
We want them to feel valued and
special…because they are!
“Rather than inserting our school’s excellence into the center of every conversation, we seek to place our school in the center of
every excellent thing.”David Wenger
3.Too
Boring
“Don’t sell the steak. Sell the
sizzle.”Elmer Wheeler
Adding F-A-B to Your Brand
Translating Features to Advantages to Benefits
FEATURE
ADVANTAGE
BENEFIT
FEATURE
FEATURE
FEATURES
Features don’t answer the “So what?”
FEATURE ADVANTAGE BENEFITA professional academic advising staff
Honors and international programs
Prospective student inquiries
Student organization advising
Student records
Plan special events such as summer orientation, parents weekend and graduation
That can get you on the right track quickly.
Translate…
Graduate on time with a degree that matches your life goals.
Translate
1. Too Self-
Centered
2. Too
Narrowly Focused
3. Too
Boring
1. Outward
Focused and Interested
2. Contextual World View
3. Descriptive Story Tellers
From Drab to
FAB
David WengerDirector of CommunicationsMcCombs School of Business
The University of Texas at Austin
@davidwengerwww.iduniversity.wordpress.com