Class of 2020 Wants Colleges and Universities to Ditch Email, Viewbooks and Non-Personalized Communications

Class of 2020 Wants Colleges and Universities to Ditch Email, Viewbooks and Non-Personalized Communications Survey Reveals the iGeneration Wants Personalized Communications on Multiple Platforms during the College Admissions and Enrollment Process to Make Informed Decisions  BOSTON and LOS ANGELES – November 12, 2014 – A recent study, conducted by Worldcom Public Relations Group partners Schneider Associates and The Pollack PR Marketing Group, revealed that colleges and universities need to be concerned about marketing to a decreasing crop of prospective students (enrollment rates down .8% from last year), who are significantly more critical of and less responsive to traditional marketing tactics. According to the “iGen Goes to School” study, college admissions and communications programs are not resonating with today’s new cohort of digital natives. Dubbed the “iGeneration” by Stefan Pollack, author of Disrupted, iGens are those born between 1994 and 2004 and require “information on demand” with a professed inclination to trust the advice of “friends,” or strangers, who share their opinions freely on social media platforms. According to Joan Schneider, president of Schneider Associates, “Considering the decreasing number of applicants, college admissions and communications departments are under pressure to reexamine their customary communications platforms and recruitment marketing mix. To be competitive, enrollment management strategies for the next generation of applicants will need a more personalized, multi-channel approach.” The two-part study consisted of four qualitative focus groups conducted in Boston, New York and Los Angeles, and a quantitative online survey of 130 current or recent college applicants.  Findings indicated that iGens are dissatisfied with the impersonal nature of traditional college communications outreach, signifying a serious disruption in the higher education enrollment process, which includes a barrage of emails, view books, letters and other print communiques addressed “Dear Student or Applicant,” and are often deemed irrelevant to the audience. According to Stefan Pollack, president of The Pollack PR Marketing Group, “Schools need to engage with students directly through popular social media channels, texting and video, all with personalized messages that resonate with these discerning digital natives and their parents, who are also using these new tools to research potential colleges, courses and careers.” Key findings from the study include: Students want to engage with schools on their own terms. Today’s digital natives are likely to use social media and other online resources to learn about a higher education institution, with Facebook (67%) being the top social media channel. Of those surveyed, 92% of students said they used social media at least a little during the application process and 60% of applicants felt comfortable contacting schools through social media. iGens desire authentic, personalized outreach from people similar to them. Of those surveyed, 43% stated personal contact influenced their decision to attend a college or university, such as one-on-one communication with a current student or engaging content such as videos. Applicants place importance on program specialties and digital presentation. Participants indicated that course/program...