Presented at the November 2012 Georgia Education Education Advancement Council (GEAC) conference, St Simons Island, GA.

1. The
Push-­‐Pull
of
Communica2ons
and
Marke2ng:
Reduce
Spending,
Extend
Reach
Michael
Warden,
APR
VP,
Ins2tute
Communica2ons
Georgia
Ins2tute
of
Technology
Ron
Sauder
VP,
Communica2ons
and
Marke2ng
Emory
University

2. OR
ELSE
…..

3. Emory
&
Georgia
Tech
• A
rare
public-­‐private
partnership
• Top-­‐rated
Biomedical
Engineering
Dept.
• Also
a
wide
range
of
other
collabora=ons:
– Nanotechnology
research
– Georgia
Tech–Emory
Center
for
Regenera=ve
Medicine
– Emory-­‐Georgia
Tech
Predic=ve
Health
Ins=tute
– TI:GER:
patent
law
and
tech
transfer
• Both
of
us
subject
to
“pushes”
and
“pulls”

4. Do
More
With
Less,
or
The
Marketer’s
Lament
• Veteran
communicators
and
marketers
are
used
to
hearing
deeply
ambivalent
messages
from
senior
leadership.
On
the
one
hand:
“We’ve
got
to
tell
our
story
beQer.”
“This
place
is
the
best
kept
secret
in
_________
(fill
in
the
blank)."
• But
on
the
other:
“What’s
the
ROI
for
public
rela=ons?”
“We’ve
got
to
figure
out
how
to
get
smarter
and
leaner.”
• In
the
face
of
these
conflic=ng
pressures,
and
as
higher
educa=on
moves
ever
more
deeply
into
the
“new
reality”
of
the
Great
Recession,
communicators
and
marketers
cannot
expect
to
be
showered
with
money.

5. Constant
Needs,
Fickle
Media
• “We’ve
got
to
tell
our
story
beQer”
–
Trustees
o[en
say
–
envisioning
front-­‐page
profiles,
network
interviews
• But
the
Tradi=onal
Media
are
changing
rapidly
–
we
are
losing
channels
to
reach
the
mass
audience
• Just
the
latest
example:
the
incredible
shrinking
Washington
Post
– Newsroom
downsizes
from
1,000
>>
640
– Coordina=ng
cake
par=es
for
depar=ng
staffers

6. “Soundbite
University”
hRp://www.chass.illinois.edu/SoundbiteUniversity

7. Post-­‐World
War
II
Trends
• “Subject”
to
“Soundbite”
– In
1946,
53%
of
ar=cles
in
the
NY
Times
men=oning
a
research
university
were
about
that
university,
focusing
on
its
research
or
ac=vi=es.
– Today,
just
15%
of
ar=cles
men=oning
a
university
are
about
that
university
– 85%
simply
cite
high-­‐stature
faculty
for
soundbite
commentary
on
current
events.
• Sustained
Interest
– The
New
York
Times
has
shrunk
in
half,
while
the
number
of
news
ar=cles
referencing
research
universi=es
has
remained
constant.
– higher
educa=on
has
increased
nearly
linearly,
to
13%
of
all
ar=cles
and
21%
of
all
front
page
ar=cles
today.
“
…
as
a
whole,
universi:es
appear
to
have
become
news
commentators
as
opposed
to
news
makers.”
Leetaru,
Kalev
&
Magelli,
Paul.
(September
2010).
The
Soundbite
University:
60
Years
of
University
News
Coverage.

8. A
Tale
of
Two
Universi2es

9. Lessons
for
Prac22oners
• Be
relevant;
respond
to
what’s
driving
the
news
• Cul=vate
faculty
media
brands
• Media-­‐train
faculty
• Generate
media
guides
“Many
universi:es
are
rela:vely
tone-­‐deaf
in
their
press
contacts,
pouring
out
a
constant
stream
of
press
releases
on
a
preset
schedule.
The
news
media
no
longer
devotes
space
to
the
latest
university
news
and
instead
ins:tu:ons
should
look
for
:e-­‐
ins
with
current
events
and
more
strongly
promote
stories
with
the
greatest
resonance
and
relevance
to
current
events.”
Leetaru,
Kalev
&
Magelli,
Paul
The
Soundbite
University

10. Extending
Reach
We
suggest
three
keys
to
making
our
bosses
happy,
at
least
some
of
the
=me,
by
extending
reach
–
with
no
more
money
-­‐
in
the
“new
normal”
• Strategic
Alignment
• Focusing
All
the
Pieces
• New
and
Social
Media
Key
Outcomes:
repe22on
&
consistency

11. Strategic
Alignment
• Understanding
and
aligning
ourselves
and
communica=ons/marke=ng
ac=vi=es
and
programs
to
ins2tu2on’s
strategic
plan
is
cri=cal
to
delivering
value
to
leadership
– Start
with
the
lifeblood
of
higher
educa=on
–
Admissions,
Government
and
Community
Rela=ons,
and
Fundraising
• Start
with
the
ins=tu=on’s
strategic
plan
–
then
develop
a
strategic
communica2on
plan
that
supports
it
in
tangible,
measureable
ways

12. Why
a
strategic
communica2ons
plan?
• It
forces
you
to
think
and
act
strategically
• It
helps
you
to
say
“no”
• It
makes
you
look
smart
• It
will
help
you
get
a
seat
at
the
table
• It
is
expected
of
top
communica=ons
and
marke=ng
execu=ves*
*Lori
Doyle,
SVP,
University
Communica=ons,
Drexel
University

13. Focusing
All
the
Pieces
• Uncovering
and
making
use
of
all
of
the
hidden
communicators
(and
budgets)
tucked
away
throughout
our
organiza=ons
– Touch
points
you
may
overlook:
• President’s
office
• Switchboard
• Alumni
office
• Admissions
office
• Government
and
community
affairs
• Not
just
about
“news
office”
– Cri=cal
both
for
promo=on
and
advocacy
–
vital
for
crisis
communica=ons
and
issues
management

14. Skep2cism
requires
repe22on
UNITED
STATES
MAJORITY
NEEDS
TO
HEAR
INFO
3-­‐5
TIMES
TO
BELIEVE
Ten
or
more
2mes
(10+),
Once
(1),
6%
10%
Six
to
Nine
2mes
(6-­‐9),
Twice
(2),
12%
6%
Three
2mes
(3),
34%
Four
or
Five
2mes
(4
-­‐
5),
32%
3-­‐5
2mes
66%
Q148.
[TRACKING]
Think
about
everything
you
see
or
hear
every
day
about
companies,
whether
it
is
posi=ve
or
nega=ve.
How
many
=mes
in
general
do
you
need
to
be
exposed
to
something
about
a
specific
company
to
believe
that
the
informa=on
is
likely
to
be
true?
Please
enter
the
number
of
=mes
below.
(Excludes
‘Don’t
Know’
responses)
Informed
publics
ages
25-­‐64
in
the
U.S.

15. Branding
and
Iden2ty
Before…

16. Branding
and
Iden2ty
…
and
AIer

17. GT
Branding
and
Iden2ty:
Current

18. Georgia
Tech
Logo:
Evolving
The
Georgia
Ins=tute
of
®
Technology
Logo
The
Georgia
Tech
Logo
®

19. New
and
Social
Media
• Learn
from
the
Tradi=onal
Media
– Forced
march
onto
the
Web
and
new
media
– Washington
Post
–
from
front
page
to
home
page
–
and
blogs
• Reporters
required
to
flag
Google-­‐friendly
key
words
in
their
stories
before
they
can
be
edited
…
• 35
different
daily
reports
track
Web
traffic
…
• “Editors
receive
a
midday
performance
alert,
telling
them
whether
the
site
is
on
track
to
meet
its
traffic
goals
for
the
day.
If
it
appears
they
might
miss
their
goal,
editors
will
order
up
fresh
content.”
NY
Times,
Jeremy
W.
Peters,
February
12,
2012

20. Diversifica2on
of
Media
TRUST
IN
INFORMATION
SOURCES
–
UNITED
STATES
2011
Informed
Public
2012
Informed
Public
+
14
+
9
32%
25% +
10
+
6
18%
16%
12% 13%
7%
2%
TRADITIONAL
ONLINE
MULTIPLE
SOURCES
SOCIAL
MEDIA
CORPORATE
Q149-­‐160.
[TRACKING]
Below
is
a
list
of
places
where
you
might
get
informa=on
about
a
company.
For
each,
please
indicate
if
you
trust
it
a
great
deal,
somewhat,
not
too
much,
or
not
at
all
as
a
source
of
informa=on
about
a
company.
(Top
Box
-­‐
%
Trust
A
Great
Deal)
Informed
Publics
ages
25-­‐64
in
the
U.S.
20
©
Edelman,
2012.
All
rights
reserved.

21. Soundbite
vs.
Blog

22. Higher
Ed
Blogs
(2)

23. What’s
grist
for
the
blogs?
College
Inc.:
“The
business
behind
the
school”
• Much
less
‘celebra=on’
of
ins=tu=onal
• Md.
college
leaders
praise
‘Dream
Act’
milestones
and
• Professors
start
their
own
MOOCs
accomplishments
• College
voices:
The
free
online
fron=er
• Higher
ed:
The
coming
disrup=on
• Much
more
consumer-­‐
Campus
Overload:
“Juggle
everything:
Achieve.
oriented
And
s2ll
have
fun.”
• Obama’s
reelec=on
sparks
racially
charged
protest
at
Ole
Miss
• ISU
Republicans
mourn
loss
• R.J.
Kirk
resigns
from
U-­‐Va.
board
• How
do
women
up
their
salaries?

24. Leveraging
blogs:
GT
Amplifier
hRp://amplifier.gatech.edu

25. What
is
Amplifier?
• A
mul=-­‐contributor
news
blog
pairing
current
issues
with
commentary
from
Georgia
Tech
experts
and
providing
a
forum
to
spotlight,
"What
does
Georgia
Tech
think?"
• Primary
goals:
– BeQer
posi=on
Tech
as
a
research/thought
leader
– Provide
a
unique
forum
to
posi=on
Ins=tute
exper=se
in
social
media
space
– Allow
all
audiences
to
par=cipate
in
a
dialogue
associated
with
Ins=tute
researchers/experts
– Help
media
more
easily
connect
GT
experts
with
=mely
news
stories
– Create
a
flow
of
high-­‐value,
=me-­‐cri=cal
content

26. Amplifier
–
Current
Status
• Launched spring 2012
• Paired the blog with a Twitter feed where links to
commentary are shared with targeted journalists &
bloggers “followed” by Georgia Tech staff
• Built-in interactivity to allow for monitored comments
• Building momentum will take time … already
connected Georgia Tech experts with CNN,
USA
Today,
Chris`an
Science
Monitor
and
other
top tier
media outlets
• Currently “pulling” info from campus experts
– Goal is to eventually have them post their own
commentary

27. Amplifier
News
Blog
hQp://www.ragan.com/Main/Ar=cles/
44755.ashQp://www.ragan.com/Main/
Ar=cles/44755.aspxpx

28. Amplifier
News
Blog

29. Amplifier
on
TwiRer

30. Top
three
credible
spokespeople
consistent
globally
and
in
the
U.S.
U.S.
more
likely
to
say
academics,
person
like
yourself,
regular
employee
&
NGO
rep.
are
credible
CREDIBLE
SPOKESPEOPLE
–
GLOBAL
AND
UNITED
STATES
2012
2011
2012
Academic or expert 70%
Academic or expert 68%
#1
74%*
Technical expert in the company 64%
Technical expert in the company 66%
#3
68%
Financial or industry analyst 53%
A person like yourself 65%
#2
71%*
CEO 50%
Regular employee 50%
62%*
NGO representative 47%
NGO representative 50%
58%*
A person like yourself 43%
Financial or industry analyst 46%
47%
Government official or regulator 43%
CEO 38%
34%
Regular employee 34%
Government official or regulator 29%
31%
*Significant
difference
at
the
95%
confidence
level
vs.
2012
global
Q119-­‐126.
[TRACKING]
Below
is
a
list
of
people.
In
general,
when
forming
an
opinion
of
a
company,
if
you
heard
informa=on
about
a
company
from
each
person,
how
credible
would
the
informa=on
be-­‐-­‐extremely
credible,
very
credible,
somewhat
credible,
or
not
credible
at
all?
(Top
2
Box,
Credible:
Very
+
Extremely
Credible)
Informed
Publics
ages
25-­‐64
in
20
country
global
total
(excludes
Argen=na,
Hong
Kong,
Malaysia,
Singapore
and
UAE)
and
the
U.S.
30
©
Edelman,
2012.
All
rights
reserved.

31. Empowering
Our
Ins2tu2ons
• Our
best
brand
ambassadors:
faculty
and
students
• Leverage
them
with
new
media
– Student
reporters
–
put
them
on
YouTube
– All-­‐pla•orm
promo=on
of
faculty
experts
–
Galloway/AJC

37. Best
Kept
Secret
• Are
Communica=ons
&
Marke=ng
staffs
and
exper=se
the
“best
kept
secret”
on
your
campus?
• How
do
we
change
the
conversa=on?
• Doing
“PR
for
PR”
on
campuses…

38. Contact
Info
and
Therapeu2c
Counseling
Michael
L.
Warden
michael.warden@gatech.edu
Ron
Sauder
ron.sauder@emory.edu