ERIC Number: EJ1233527
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0884-1241
EISSN: N/A
A Day at the University Fair: 'Hot' Brands, 'House of Brands' and Promotional Tactics in Higher Education
Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, v29 n2 p153-172 2019
Research on promotional behavior within higher education has exploded over the last two decades, spurred on by the intensification of student recruitment. To date, studies have focused on mapping the content of conventional promotional texts (e.g. viewbooks, web sites), to identify how institutions depict themselves through them. By comparison, recruitment events, such as exhibitions or fairs, have received limited scholarly attention. This study aims to ameliorate this gap within the present literature, using observational methods and collaborative auto-ethnography to analyze branding strategies and broader social dynamics within a prominent Canadian university fair. Using such methods, this study identifies (i) variance in the uptake of 'house of brands' and 'branded house' strategies, (ii) diverging degrees of student interest across institutional types, along with (iii) 'niche'-oriented marketing tactics across information booths. Observed patterns are theorized from the standpoint of contemporary research within the field of organizational sociology and higher education marketing.
Descriptors: Marketing, Higher Education, Student Recruitment, Web Sites, Institutional Characteristics, Institutional Advancement, Guides, Ethnography, Universities, Reputation, Strategic Planning, Information Sources, Foreign Countries, Cooperation
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A