THE BOX MODEL

There’s a lot of talk about emotion-based copywriting out there right now.  Admissions marketing can go even further.

Box Model Marketing

The goal of marketing using the Box Model is to identify and remove obstacles students face when making one of the 3 milestone decisions:

• should I apply?
• should I complete my application?
• should I enroll?

All obstacles fall under what I call the security umbrella.

The Security Umbrella

There are 4 parts to the security umbrella:

Emotional Security

If I apply, will I be rejected?  Will I fit in and make friends?  Will I have fun?  Can I handle the workload?  Will I be homesick?

Social Security

When people hear where I’ve chosen to go, will I have to convince them it’s a good school?  Will they have heard of it before?  Will my peers look down on me?

Physical Security

Will I like my dorm?  Will I be safe on and around campus?  Will I die in an earthquake or tornado or snowstorm?  Are the meal plans any good?

Financial Security

Can I afford your education?  Will I get a good job after I graduate?

Recruitment Under the Umbrella

Make sure every e-mail, web page, publication, and event relates to at least one security concern.

• “Staying safe on a city campus” (physical)
• “Going out of state was the best decision I ever made” (emotional/social)
• “Five secrets of every successful college student” (emotional/financial)

(The following story was adapted from my conference presentation.)

Enrollment Funnel Recruitment

You and I walk into a local pub hoping to relax and down a few pints.

For some bizarre reason, there’s a giant brick wall, floor-to-ceiling, halfway between us and the bar.

It looks like there’s a tiny gap in the wall, just large enough for one person to fit through.

We join the crowd of confused people milling around, waiting for someone to take our order.

Suddenly, giant hands appear out of nowhere and begin pushing everyone toward the hole in the wall.

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Via Boing Boing: Two CIA agents presented a 1944 sabotage manual at a recent business conference.

Section 11 discusses how to sabotage organizations.  Read it here.  Then read my post on Indiana Jones and compare notes.

It’s disappointing that what used to be considered sabotage is now considered standard business practice…

After presenting the Box Model at a recent conference, someone asked the inevitable question:

“That’s great in theory, but how can I make it happen in practice?”

Specifically, they cited a bad information system, a limited budget, and a preset communication plan.

I guess I have a confession to make

At the University of Rochester, even though I built our information system, it doesn’t support the Box Model.  That’s because I wrote it almost 4 years ago.

But even if your budget is small, your comm plan is a concrete slab, and your database doesn’t know the difference between a prospect and a poodle, you can still use the Box Model to recruit better.

For example, here are 4 simple ways to make your next communication as effective as possible (even in the most restrictive environment):

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Overheard at a conference:

“I don’t understand how our numbers got worse.  We didn’t change anything…”

Admissions is about conversations

Conversations should be challenging and engaging.  (Otherwise, it’s either small talk or soliloquy, neither of which convert.)

That means your communications should encourage dialogue, not avoid it.

Sometimes that means challenging students.  Even provoking them.

Unfortunately, that often means challenging the status quo, too.

You have to push to progress

Another way to say it: if you want to stand out, you have to take a step forward.

Here are some real examples of provoking students—despite campus opposition—and the subsequent results:

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Someone from a communications department at a major university once told me their president won’t let them do anything unless Harvard has done it first.

I suppose there are 2 approaches to positioning your school:

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Like a Dog to a Bone

Recently, I had the pleasure of leading one university’s admissions communications team through a process improvement exercise.  The team creates almost 100 new publications each year, not to mention hundreds of e-mails, letters, and web sites.  Needless to say, they had some very talented individuals.

What they lacked was a clear project workflow that would allow multiple levels of input and approval without sacrificing quick turnaround times.  In the past, their nebulous process led to finger-pointing, improper credit-taking, unnecessary delays, and a general sense of disaffection.

At one point, I debriefed the communication team’s clients (the admissions counselors) to identify possible improvements from that perspective.  Their questions and concerns were very insightful.

One question in particular stuck with me long after the new process was finalized:

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Here’s a snip from a recent meeting I had with one university’s senior leaders:

Person A

I agree things need to change. We should form a committee to discuss it.

Person B

But who would we invite?

Person C

Well, we definitely need X to be there.

Person B

Sure, but if we’re going to invite X, we should also invite the CIO.

Person A

Hey, I think they’ve done something similar — we should ask them to present!

Person B

Great idea! No wait, hold on, do we have a mission statement?  Before they present, we’ll need a mission statement.

Person A

Of course, a mission statement, definitely.

Person C

Whoa whoa whoa, guys. We’re getting way ahead of ourselves. Before we define a mission statement, what’s our vision?

At this point, disgusted, I shouted, “If you keep going like this, it will take at least a year to accomplish anything!”

To which one of them replied, “Hey, a year! That’s pretty good!”

And another quipped, “I hope it takes five years, ’cause I’ll be gone by then,” while the others laughed and nodded.

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How It Works Today

Institutions with predictive modeling capabilities tend to use it in two ways:

1. to help target promising demographics for list purchases
2. to determine whether an applicant would deposit if admitted

Perhaps it’s no surprise that these are the very uses of predictive modeling I find most offensive.

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