Lisa Albert

TCU Director of Communication

The higher education world is

full of clutter and noise

All telling you why they’re the best:

Friendly

Smart students

Attractive campus

Successful professors

Personalized attention

Big time athletics

Alumni have lucrative careers

Research opportunities

How do you stand out?

Tactics

An action you take to execute the strategy

We all have training, education and experience that help us execute the tactics

But are they effective?

How effective are your tactics? Do you take orders for brochures/news releases?

Do your departments speak to one another?

Are your efforts integrated?

Do your constituents know who you are?

Do they remember anything about you?

Do you know who you are? (what’s your elevator speech?)

Tired of spinning your wheels?

Then you muststrategize

A strategy is an idea… A conceptualization of how the goal could be achieved.

Components of good strategy Thorough understanding of the brand.

A realistic assessment of the institution’s strengths & weaknesses. (market research, SWOT)

A clear picture of the competition and your place in the market.

Intimate knowledge of the consumer and the market.

A grasp of the big-picture.

A great strategy does not depend on brillianttactics for success. If the idea is strong enough,you can get by with mediocre tactical execution.However, even the best tactics can’t compensatefor a lousy strategy.

How to develop a good strategy See the big picture

Research (establish baseline and problem)

Set goals/know where you’re headed – What problem are you trying to solve?

Plan how to move the needle/affect change

Coordinate tactical efforts

Figure out how you will measure effectiveness

The pathStrategy

End Goal

A suggestion

To act strategically, set up your team like an internal ad agency

TCU’s Marketing &

Communication Division

Office of Communications

Publications

Church Relations

Editorial Services

Events & Community

Projects

Website Management

Advancement Communication

Admission Marketing

Before you begin…

Know your brand

To be effective, you must have a clear picture of who your institution is Research to establish a baseline and develop a method to

measure if results

Can’t be all things to all people

What sets you apart?

Have a branding platform – this is your roadmap

Position your team as consultants

with expertise

Identify your team members’ strengths and talents and allow those people to serve as your experts on that subject

Develop “beats”

Account Executives divide campus areas into “beats” to ensure all areas get adequate attention

AE vs Modified AE model Typical AE – serves on “front lines” meeting with

clients to establish needs, then hands project off to design team, etc.

Modified AE – serves on “front lines” meeting with clients to establish needs, but stays with the project through each piece to ensure all strategy and branding is followed and well-integrated

Account Executives meet with

areas to determine needs

Is this information reputation-defining?

How does this align TCU’s brand? The college’s brand?

Who are you trying to reach?

What do you want them to know? What are the key messages?

What is your end goal?

What is your time frame?

What is your budget?

Gather your team to discuss

needs

After a brief assessment of needs, pull together team members needed to offer expertise

Ex. You know they desire a leave behind piece. Talk to your publications team to determine what it should look like – brochure, rack card, etc.

Develop an integrated and

strategic communication plan

Outline goals/objectives

Messages – What is reputation-defining?

Tools/tactics

Timing

Budget/cost estimates

Create a work order

Paper or electronic

Should outline all details of the project for the designer/developer

Creative brief is helpful to understand direction/purpose

Assign deadlines and

responsibilities

Project management software (TCU uses Basecamp)

Help beats know which pieces they are responsible for and keeps them on track

System can easily update all milestones if one gets pushed back to see bottom line

Gather content Usually falls to the beat area, but others on the team

may help

Need to gather:

Design – text and images

Copy – who, what, when, where, why, how

Web – site map

Social media – guidelines checklist

Event - who, what, when, where

As you gather content…

Keep your end goal in mind

What stories/images are reputation-defining?

Never let design drive strategy

Execute tactics in plan All team members execute the tactics outlined in plan

AEs Coordinate timing of plan

Typical AE vs. Modified AE - the AE works with the designer/developer as it moves through their area of expertise to ensure messaging and brand stay on point strategically

Be careful not to pigeon hole a designer as an “ad maker”. They can visually bring your message to life. (same for copywriters/web developers/etc)

Evaluate

Review your baseline.

Did you reach your goal?

Did you move the needle?

Do your messages now resonate with your intended audience?

Why go to the trouble? You will prove more effective and valuable to your

administration if you are able to affect change.

By touting the expertise of your team on campus, you will be seen as valuable and they will seek your help more on projects.

You will advance the brand of your institution effectively and will be known for who you are

Questions?

Lisa Albert

TCU Director of Communication

817-257-5063

l.albert@tcu.edu

www.mkc.tcu.edu