Integrated Marketing Communications Program for Business School - Essay Example

Integrated Marketing Communications Programme for the Ashcroft International Business School at Cambridge and Chelmsford Total Number of Words: 2,813 (Words in Tables & Figures are not Included in the Counting) Table of Contents I. Introduction ……………………………………………………….. 3 II. Analysis of the Market and the Current Student Body …………… 4 III. Selection of Marketing Communication Methods ………………… 7 a. Advertisement ……………………………………………… 7 b. Packaging ………………………………………………….. 8 c. Sponsorship ………………………………………………… 8 d. Other Communication Methods …………………………… 9 IV. Costing of Proposed Solution(s) ……………………………………. 9 V. Effectiveness of Measuring Proposal(s) ……………………………. 12 VI. Marketing Communications Used by the University of Cambridge .. 12 VII. Conclusion …………………………………………………………... 14 References ………………………………………………………………….. 16 -17 Introduction Ashcroft International Business School (AIBS), one of the largest international business schools in the east of England, accommodates approximately a total of 3,000 full-time and part-time students with a high quality education.1 The school offers a wide range of business courses based on the requirements of a knowledge-based economy. These expanding range of contemporary courses have been designed according to the educational needs of its undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional students.2 Aiming to reach out for a wider scope of market, the university has established two main campuses at the Cambridge and Chelmsford. These campuses attract not only students from the East of England but also in mainland Europe. With its commitment in making the higher education accessible to all, the university is tapping the global market by creating an extensive network of contacts with several institutions across the world. In line with the continuously changing challenges in the market environment as well as the increasingly tight competition within the local and international school industry, the university has to put in extra effort in strengthening its existing marketing communications programme. This study will discuss about the proposed strategy for the AIBS’s market segment, the characteristics of the student body, multi-cultural issues, and the chosen cost of methods using several communication methods. Another highlighted topic is the importance of measuring the effectiveness of each marketing communications used. Comparing the proposed strategy with the ones used by a similar establishment would be useful in determining the possible outcome of the proposed strategy. Analysis of the Market and the Current Student Body The market segment of AIBS includes international students planning to enrol in business related courses. The current market of AIBS has a total of 3,000 undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional students. AIBS employs over 80 ‘full-time’ professional teachers to handle the students. The students were given the option to study on a full-time or part-time basis. Among the 3,000 students, 2,000 are foreign or international students coming from more than 100 different countries worldwide.3 Working students are composed of 20% of the total population. Based on UKCOSAi statistics regarding the international students in UK Higher Education (HE)ii, there are a total of 268,295 international students all over England; accounting for a total of 84.26% all over UK. Among the 268,295 international students, 13% or 34,878.35 students are foreigners.4 (See Table I – Number of International Students Broken Down by Country below; Figure I on page 5) Table I - Number of International Students Broken Down by Country - As of 2004 / 2005 - Country Total Number of International Students % of Foreign Student Foreign Population Total Number of Foreign Students % of Foreign Students England 268,295.00 13.00% 34,878.35 84.26% Scotland 29,905.00 14.00% 4,186.70 10.11% Wales 14,215.00 11.00% 1,563.65 237.91% Northern Ireland 5,975.00 11.00% 657.25 1.59% UK 318,395.00 13.00% 41,391.35 100.00% Note: Discrepancy in the figure is due to rounding within the HESA data Source: UKCOSA - The Council for International Education Considering the statistical figure that comes from UKCOSA, the total number of AIBS international students is roughly 1.11% of international students in England; and 0.94 or less than 1% of the total international students in the United Kingdom. This figure is relatively small as compared to the capability and potential of the university. It only means that AIBS has a lot of market opportunity to consider. According to UKCOSA statistics, the population of full-time ‘first degree’iii students is relatively bigger than those who are enrolled in postgraduate education. There are some undergraduate students who are working but they account for only 7.36% of the population. In the case of the postgraduate studies, the population of working students is much higher than the undergraduate students. Therefore, international schools that are extending their service to the working professionals need to be more flexible when it comes to class schedules. (See Table II – All International Students Enrolled in Higher Education on page 6) Table II - All international students (non-UK domicile) Enrolled in Higher Education, 2004/05 Level of Study  Mode of Study  Total    Full-time  Part-time    Postgraduate research  27,855 17,585 45,440 Postgraduate taught  78,705 28,210 106,915 Postgraduate other 6,655 6,780 13,435 First degree  115,085 8,465 123,550 Other undergraduate  11,990 17,065 29,055 Grand total  240,290 78,105 318,395 Note: Discrepancy in Figure is due to rounding within the HESA data Source: UKCOSA - The Council for International Education Most of these international students are enrolled in Business related courses (25%) followed by Engineering and Technology (13%) and Social Studies (9%). The high demand for business and administrative studies contributes a lot on AIBS’ decision to focus on offering business related courses. Considering the number of international students who were enrolled in this subject, AIBS is servicing to approximately 3.83% of the market share. . Table III - International Students in Higher Education by Subjects - As of 2004 / 2005 -   No of International  Students  % of International Students Business & administrative studies 78,270 25% Engineering & technology 40,275 13% Social studies 28,790 9% Computer science 23,000 7% Languages 20,465 6% Subjects allied to medicine 17,435 5% Creative arts & design 16,195 5% Law 15,110 5% Biological sciences 13,540 4% Education 12,705 4% Physical sciences 9,475 3% Architecture, building & planning 8,320 3% Historical & philosophical studies 8,300 3% Medicine & dentistry 7,635 2% Mass communications & documentation 6,520 2% Mathematical sciences 5,260 2% Combined 4,415 1% Agriculture & related subjects 2,130 1% Veterinary sciences  550 0% Total  318,400 100% Note: Discrepancy in the figure is due to rounding within the HESA data Source: UKCOSA - The Council for International Education Selection of Marketing Communication Methods Advertising Television and radio advertisement is not advisable in the case of AIBS because of the high cost and its market segmentation. Newspaper and magazine advertisement is less expensive. It is possible to use it as an effective mode of marketing however it may not capture the target market of the university. In this case, it is important to consider the end consumers of these tools. For example: an effective advertisement in a global business newspaper and magazine is more effective than placing an ads on social magazines. The use of the ‘internet’ is the best tool when it comes to reaching for the global markets. The combination of a lesser costs of investing in new technology and the marketing efficiency it brings to the institution makes it a good investment. It saves the university a lot of unnecessary overhead when it comes to addressing the inquiries of prospective students. Interested individuals could easily browse the website 24/7 to know more about what AIBS has to offer. For this reason, it would be best to use a website for the whole campus instead of using obsolete methods such as mailing letters or fax. Packaging Because of the high global competition on international education, AIBS should repackage the courses it offers to the public. Giving emphasize on the benefit the students would get from enrolling at AIBS would increase the chances of being able to grab a bigger market share within the industry. For instance, becoming a pioneer in offering a curriculum that requires the students to establish an actual global trading business as part of its final thesis. Perhaps, this course can be called as MA in Business Trading. This may sound a little too much for a thesis. However, this idea could encourage competent future traders to enrol in the subject. In the end, it will create a new market opportunity for AIBS. The university should come up with a new course package that could provide its current undergraduate students to extend one more year in order for them to earn a masters degree. Another strategy includes offering short courses or conducting seminars for international companies worldwide. The issue of multicultural education is of paramount importance in the twenty-first century.5 In order to promote multi-cultural issues within the campus, adding a subject related to the importance of ‘multi-cultural issue’ and ‘diversification’ could help raise the knowledge of the students regarding the global society. This will allow them to raise questions regarding the culture of other people. Thus, enabling them to change their attitude towards racism, ethnicity, class and gender divisions. The current packaging of AIBS that gives these students the opportunity to find employment is by itself a good example. However, developing new ideas could make the institution more successful in promoting its good name to the public. With regards to the facility of AIBS, the availability of a parking space should be considered. I believe that there is a market for students who drive their own car. In the absence of this facility, these prospective students could easily decide on enrolling in other universities that offers the same quality of education without sacrificing their need to drive a car. Sponsorship and Publicity Sponsorship is a part of a marketing strategy for big universities like AIBS. Highly qualified students are needed in order to establish a good reputation for AIBS. There are quite a number of ‘outstanding students’iv worldwide who could add up to good publicity of the university. However, not all of these individuals have the financial capability to enrol with the courses being offered. Locating these people and extending this opportunity to them could bring extra recognition to the university in the future. Example of courses that should be extended to ‘outstanding students’ are those that requires a board exam such as BA – Accounting. Once these students top the board exam, AIBS would then get a good publicity. Conducting global and domestic seminars is one way of getting a good publicity. This strategy could strengthen the name of AIBS directly towards the professionals coming from different small, medium and multi-national companies. It aims to develop a new market opportunity for the university. In return, AIBS professors who would conduct the seminar could determine specific needs of the professionals and learn from them in the process. Other Communication Methods Other communication methods such as sales promotion, public relations, personal selling, direct response, and merchandising and exhibitions are commonly used in selling consumer goods. These methods are considered to be the least effective method in promoting a marketing strategy for an international university. Costing of Proposed Solution(s) The cost of the proposed solution is very minimal since the university has already invested and established its own website. The option to place an advertisement in a global business magazine would vary depending on the advertisement rate of the magazine or newspaper company. This type of establishment offers a client several choices. One page advertisement in a magazine would roughly cost around £____; half page would costs around £____; etc. In line with the packaging strategies, the university staffs could collaborate with these ideas in order to come up with the best choice to offer. Again, there is not much extra cost for this solution because the university staff could make full use of the office hours. Initial group meeting should be set in order to introduce the idea of designing a new strategy for the packaging of the courses and assign them to come up with different ideas in which these people could brain storm about during the next meeting. Regarding the parking space, this future option is very costly and would take time depending on the availability of vacant lot within the vicinity of the university. In the absence of available space, these people could continue with their existing practice on travel issues. Travel expenses would be needed when conducting a seminar to international companies. Extending the seminar options with international companies that are located within the country is not a problem. However, extending seminars worldwide may be costly due to airfare charges, food and lodging. The best way to minimize the cost is to come up with a strategy by establishing a small group of talented individuals – composed of two to three persons that will be assigned to conduct an in-house seminar and several groups who will be assigned to deal with corporate seminars. Being able to establish a strong foundation for the in-house seminars will serve as the backbone in extending the service to the outside market. Outside market includes the members of the European Union (EU). EU is an easy target because of geographic reasons.6 Other international target market includes America and different countries in Asia.7 (See Figure II – World Map on page 11) Figure II – World Map Source: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2007 Sponsorship and publicity may be treated as an opportunity cost instead of expenses. Adding a few students that are fully subsidized by the university would not entail much cost because it could bring back a promising recognition as a reward for AIBS. In fact, this is the most inexpensive way of gaining a good publicity for the university. Since the budget of AIBS is limited, the proposed solutions that were presented are considered to be realistic and effective way of enhancing the capability of the university in grabbing a bigger market share. Effectiveness of Measuring Proposal(s) Quantitative measures are important in determining the success of a marketing communications strategy.8 Most of the time, sales and accounting department are used to gauge the effectiveness of a marketing strategy. This can be measured in terms of an increase in the number of daily inquiries via phone calls or the use of AIBS website; an increase in the number of enrolled students each year in comparison to the total students enrolled in UK international schools; and having a bigger Return on Investment (ROI) than the costs of implementing the strategy. Basically, the increase in the number of inquiries is only useful in determining whether the marketing communications approach is effective in winning the attention of the prospective customers. Having an increase in the number of enrolled students is not enough to conclude that the university is effective with the use of the strategy because other similar institutions might be getting an increase in the number of their enrolees too. The best method to determine an effective marketing communications strategy is to measure the market share of the university in comparison with the entire international schools that offers the same services. Another way to measure is whether the university is earning a higher profit in comparison with the years prior to the implementation of the plan. Marketing Communications Used by the University of Cambridge Based on the statistical report of UKCOSA, the total number of students enrolled at the University of Cambridge is 5,685 as of 2004 / 2005.4 A total of 18% of the population or 1,023 are foreign / international students. Considering the figure, AIBS has more international students than the said university. Similar to AIBS, the University of Cambridge also creates job opportunities for its students. Just like any other large universities, they have also invested in the development of a website as a means of increasing its market share. They use the website in spreading news such as offering new courses, seminars, or achievements of their students and school staffs globally.9 Other university sources of news and reports come from the Campus Newsletter, Reporters, and Newsgroups. External sources of information links includes: BBC News, The Guardian, The Times, Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Financial Times, The Observer, Sunday Times, Herald, Scotsman, and the International Herald Tribune. Sometimes, the university also rely on BBC News Radio.10 AIBS is not relying much on the use of this form of marketing communication tools. As a part of its marketing strategy, University of Cambridge continuously upgrade its facilities in order to meet the increasing demand of its students. In April 2007, the construction of the ‘New Studio’ has been completed.10 This building would accommodate around 120 students for workshop purposes. Aside from the new building, some of its existing buildings are being refurbished. Aside from numerous building within the campus, a multi-storey car park is also available for the students. So far, AIBS has only two major campuses located at the Cambridge and Chelmsford. The University of Cambridge is definitely much bigger in terms of owning infrastructure such as school buildings and vacant lots. Aside from the external sources of marketing communication tools, the university is active in creating events and other activities related to music, sciences, and arts.11 Another strategy they use is by actively participating in community events. These people are giving importance in creating activities designed for the community, locally and globally.12 AIBS is less active in terms of reaching out for community activities and other related events. Cambridge has invested in its own University Press many years ago. The in-house printing and publishing house publishes a wide range of academic and other educational books, journals, examination papers, and Bibles. Today, the Cambridge University Press has its own website to make a wide range of information available to the public.13 This is one possible strategy that is very costly in the case of AIBS. Conclusion Globalisation has resulted to a tight global competition among the international schools. In order to come up with a good marketing communication strategy for AIBS, internal factors such as the financial capacity as well as the market segment of the institution has to be considered. In line with establishing a proposed marketing communication plan for AIBS, I have concluded that the best method to capture the global market is achieved by investing in the IT technology. This will enhance the marketing capabilities of the institution as well as encouraging them to enrol with the university. Since there are a lot of existing competitors within the area, it would be advisable for AIBS to repackage its courses offered. Establishing a course programme that could empower and mobilize the students in engaging on an actual ‘international trading’ could create a promising reward in the future. Offering short course programmes designed for professional individuals and offering in-house and corporate seminars is another way of creating a new market for AIBS. Allowing the undergrad students to extend one-year stay in the university for a master’s degree could also create additional revenue. In line with sponsorship and publicity, this is the best strategy in establishing a good reputation for AIBS. It should be treated as an opportunity cost since it could bring the university a promising future recognition. Establishing a marketing communication strategy varies in each university. A strategic plan that works for a university may not be effective in other similar institutions. There are a lot of factors that has to be considered in making the plan work effectively for the institution. One of the major consideration is the allowable budget for the plan. *** End *** References: 1 AIBS (2007) ‘About Us’ Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ > 2 AIBS (2007) ‘Courses’ Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ > 3 AIBS (2007) ‘Ask Us for International Students’ Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ > 4 UKCOSA (2007) ‘Higher Education Statistics’ Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://www.ukcosa.org.uk/ > 5 Banks, J.A. & Banks, C.A.M. (2001) ‘Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives’ 4th Ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 6 Holt, Rinehart, and Winston (2006) ‘World Atlas’ Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://go.hrw.com/ > 7 ARU (2007) ‘The Corporate Plan: 2005 – 10’ Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ > 8 CMO Council Report (2005) ‘Measures and Metrics: The European Marketing Performance Measurement’ Assessing Marketing’s Value and Impact. July 19, 2005 Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://www.mpmforum.org/ > 9 University of Cambridge (2007) ‘Latest News’ Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/ > 10 University of Cambridge (2007) ‘Architecture New Studio’ Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/ > 11 University of Cambridge (2007) ‘All Events’ Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/ > 12 University of Cambridge (2007) ‘Cambridge in the University’ Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/ > 13 University of Cambridge (2007) ‘Cambridge University Press’ Retrieved: May 11, 2007 < http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/ > Read More