Marketing Communications Mix in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

In a perpetually changing society, with ever shifting technologies and web instruments, the role of marketing becomes crucial. Realizing the importance of marketing in their daily activities, universities have started using it more and more, especially emphasizing the basic marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and placement). Marketing communication is also highly important, as it has the capacity to facilitate student-university communication. For the best results, universities must apply the tried and tested methods that companies have been using for decades. The present article starts by introducing the concept of marketing communication, along with its pitfalls, uses and current misconceptions. It touches on its brand-genesis capacities` and then underscores the importance of integrated marketing communications. Afterwards the communication mix proposed by Kotler is chosen as a point of reference and analyzed from the perspective of a higher education institution, with examples of how universities are using each and every mix element. In the final part, the importance of integrated marketing communication is reiterated and further expanded upon, after which conclusions are drawn about the uses and misuses of the marketing communication mix.