The Pulse of Higher Ed

David Packard, one of the founders of Hewlett Packard, once said “Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.” However, the inverse could also be true—that marketing should not be done without a marketing department. Effective marketing requires a strategic, data-driven approach; a team to manage it; a budget to support it; the technology to deliver it; and a willingness to explore outsourcing or external expertise to advance it.

Source: 1999-2018 UPCEA Marketing and Enrollment Management Survey (2018 In progress)

UPCEA has monitored organizational marketing for professional, continuing and online (PCO) units and media spending since 1999. During this time, the PCO marketing department has shown signs of evolution, as the educational landscape has changed dramatically with more online degrees, alternative credentials and Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) entering the market. For-profit institutions challenging traditional institutions of higher education for market share, coupled with a changing global marketplace, shifting demographics and the emergence of new technologies further complicate the role of a marketer.

The 2018 UPCEA Marketing and Enrollment Management Survey was recently launched and a preliminary sample of forty marketing departments shows some that they too have evolved with changes in the educational programming mix. Marketing units may have shed some of their creative and production staff in favor of digital staff or outsourcing relationships. PCO marketing units report that 9% of their marketing budget goes to outsourcing relationships. A recent Blackboard/UPCEA survey shows that 15% of PCO units surveyed outsource some functions of marketing or enrollment management.

Source: 1999-2018 UPCEA Marketing and Enrollment Management Survey (2018 In progress)

In fact, in 2006, of the 8.4 marketing staff, 3.7 were creative staff (or 44% of marketing staff). In 2014, that number declined to 1.8 or just under 30% of marketing staff. 2018 numbers suggest a staffing recovery. More analysis will be provided later as additional data comes in, but the second figure suggests an increase in staffing in electronic sources, such as digital or social media, which may include video production staff which could play a part in explaining the increase in staffing from 2014 to 2018.

The survey will continue through August and can be accessed by the senior marketing decision-maker at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/UPCEAMarketing2018a

A copy of the survey instrument can be found here.

We hope that you’ll help us shed light on issues around staffing, budgets, digital media, marketing staff professional development and organizational structures.