What do you think?
Rate this book
Three and a Tree
When it comes to branding higher education, why do so many marketers look toward other schools for inspiration? How can you look way beyond where higher education marketing is today and break free of the silly old habits that have plagued the industry for decades? And do it today, not three years from now after you convey yet another steering committee? Three and a How to Take Down Bad University Marketing One Cliché at a Time is from the staff of international branding firm 160over90. The book takes a chainsaw to tired ideas and gives you a instant leg-up over your competitive set. At over 210+ pages and featuring a forward by Mireille Grangenois, the publisher of The Chronicle of Higher Education, the book is chock full of insights why you shouldn't be advertising; ten steps to discovering and communicating what makes you unique; the biggest reason why university branding efforts fail; what's with all the stupid tag lines; and much, much, much, a lot more!
- GenresNonfictionBusiness
202 pages, Paperback
First published November 13, 2012
1 person is currently reading
29 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 13, 2013
Primarily, this book is good for recognizing bad marketing in higher education. Quite a few specific examples are provided, and I especially liked the illustrations of college taglines that were on every page. Only a few of them were even mediocre, and most were just awful. This book offers very few concrete suggestions, however, beyond hiring a professional agency. This agency makes no secret that this is exactly what they are hoping to accomplish by publishing this book. Ultimately, this book was thought provoking and gave me a better understanding of poor marketing strategies, but it would be most beneficial for those in the position to bring in an outside marketing agency.
February 19, 2018
I appreciate that the authors of Three and a Tree are upfront in stating they do not have all the answers to marketing higher education, and that they are willing to share some of the successes and failures they have experienced. The clichés the authors mention are evident everywhere in university promotional materials and online content. The fundamentals of marketing strategy often seem to be ignored in many instances. This book points out the results an institution can expect from the failure to differentiate its offering to prospective students. There are numerous pieces of great advice sprinkled throughout the book, which makes it worth reading.
Like similar books that focus on marketing higher education, however, the authors do not seem to understand the discipline of marketing. Instead, they equate marketing with communication. While both marketing and communications very often have some of the same end goal(s), they are very distinct from one another.
Marketing focuses on the 4Ps (product, place, price, and promotion). Three and a Tree focuses almost entirely on promotion. Marketing strategy always begins with an assessment of customers (e.g., prospective students, current students, prospective new faculty, donors, stakeholders), competitors, and costs (often referred to as the 3C's of marketing). When this assessment is complete, the next task is to segment the marketing, set targeting goals based on the organization resources and ability to reach the target, and then position the products/services relative to competing offerings (referred to as the STP process). In many instances the channel (place) of delivery of the academic offering (e.g., online) is crucially important to the target market (e.g., adult learners). Many prospective students are interested in the value proposition - meaning that tuition and fees (i.e., price) are reasonable relative the quality of the degree program(s) being offered. The 4Ps must be integrated into the message to be as effective as possible. Promotion will only take an institution so far with respect to connecting with potential students.
There is one section in the book that discusses agency selection; there is an assumption that an external agency must be hired to develop an effective marketing strategy for higher education. I disagree. In my experience, one group of experts almost always ignored by administrators are the marketing faculty members at their university. Most marketing faculty have real world experience, are often on retainer with major companies, and/or are working on consulting gigs while employed at the university. A benefit of using internal marketing faculty members to develop a university marketing strategy is that they are already familiar with (1) the university, (2) the students the institution is intending to target, and (3) the current processes already being used to market the university. Interestingly, I have found that many marketing and communications professionals working at a university are intimidated by marketing faculty members. Who trained the folks working at the agencies? In my opinion, universities should exploit their own internal resources before considering hiring an agency.
Like similar books that focus on marketing higher education, however, the authors do not seem to understand the discipline of marketing. Instead, they equate marketing with communication. While both marketing and communications very often have some of the same end goal(s), they are very distinct from one another.
Marketing focuses on the 4Ps (product, place, price, and promotion). Three and a Tree focuses almost entirely on promotion. Marketing strategy always begins with an assessment of customers (e.g., prospective students, current students, prospective new faculty, donors, stakeholders), competitors, and costs (often referred to as the 3C's of marketing). When this assessment is complete, the next task is to segment the marketing, set targeting goals based on the organization resources and ability to reach the target, and then position the products/services relative to competing offerings (referred to as the STP process). In many instances the channel (place) of delivery of the academic offering (e.g., online) is crucially important to the target market (e.g., adult learners). Many prospective students are interested in the value proposition - meaning that tuition and fees (i.e., price) are reasonable relative the quality of the degree program(s) being offered. The 4Ps must be integrated into the message to be as effective as possible. Promotion will only take an institution so far with respect to connecting with potential students.
There is one section in the book that discusses agency selection; there is an assumption that an external agency must be hired to develop an effective marketing strategy for higher education. I disagree. In my experience, one group of experts almost always ignored by administrators are the marketing faculty members at their university. Most marketing faculty have real world experience, are often on retainer with major companies, and/or are working on consulting gigs while employed at the university. A benefit of using internal marketing faculty members to develop a university marketing strategy is that they are already familiar with (1) the university, (2) the students the institution is intending to target, and (3) the current processes already being used to market the university. Interestingly, I have found that many marketing and communications professionals working at a university are intimidated by marketing faculty members. Who trained the folks working at the agencies? In my opinion, universities should exploit their own internal resources before considering hiring an agency.
July 10, 2019
Thoughtful, interesting, and easy to get through. What I liked most is how applicable it was to higher ed. It was a rare opportunity to feel understood about the unique struggles of higher ed marketing!
January 27, 2023
3.5 stars, witty and a fun read on higher ed marketing cliches and best practices. This book won’t answer all of your questions, but they make that clear from the beginning.
August 16, 2023
A good entry-level book about university marketing. Nothing especially earth-shattering, but it was interesting.
April 9, 2014
As new to university marketing, this was a very good book to give me a general outline of what to look for. It is not a step by step guide, but as long as you have previous marketing experience their where good insights and helpful suggestions.
June 25, 2014
This book is a clever and well thought out example of marketing in the undergraduate industry. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the marketing industry or liberal arts institutions.
March 28, 2013
to see my review, please visit http://theagencyreview.wordpress.com/...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews