What is ‘authentic’ marketing in HE?
University marketing practices are once again under the media spotlight. Stori co-founder Trina Everall looks at what ‘authenticity’ can mean in marketing and the lessons she learnt from years of practice at the Guardian.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen universities in the headlines for so many different reasons, from vaccine research, students with Covid, food packages for students isolating, to Instagram campaigns of influencers who never attended the courses they promote...
Instagram influencer ‘outrages’ are always good for some media headlines and this one was no different as the Times picked up on some research by VICE. It was something that struck a chord with me because I’ve spent a lot of my career encouraging HE marketeers to push boundaries and experiment with channels and formats that are new to them and the sector.
To go where the audience is, talk about the sector and the experience of university as a whole are fantastic principles but these campaigns often fell down when it came to authenticity.
We spoke to several HE marketeers about the story and how they would approach using influencers on social media and beyond. In the main, they responded with a resounding - “be authentic” message, but authenticity means different things to different people. Surely these kinds of campaigns are no more or less authentic than lots of social media endorsements?
Kenon Man, head of digital marketing at Swansea University, posed the question, “In principle, isn’t the marketing tactic the same as asking a celebrity to review a set of headphones or a new fragrance that they will probably never use to reach a new audience?” Whereas another HE marketer told us that their organisation was so focused on authenticity that it meant agonising over the use of stock images for stories and videos.
As a sector, we are increasing our use of more sophisticated and commercial marketing practices. But, the perception of education marketing outside the sector is still very traditional and ripe for outraged headlines about the size of student attraction budgets and practices.
Emma Leech, director of marketing and communications at Nottingham Trent University says: “if you have homegrown influencers or students/alumni with a strong following and they are willing to support your organisation it’s a different kettle of fish. But I don’t buy the argument that it’s like promoting a fragrance or headphones given the size, scale, importance and nature of the purchase. Authenticity and honesty are crucial in our business.”
‘Living your values’ at the Guardian
Working in commercial teams at the Guardian gives you an excellent grounding in authenticity and clear lines on the rights and wrongs of media campaigns. It all starts with the organisation's values. On your first day at work, you’re given a tour and told very clearly that the Guardian’s editorial content is independent and cannot be influenced financially.
As with many media organisations, that meant we worked in a church and state set up. You don’t get involved in editorial. You sell advertising (hit your targets) and increase revenue to support the editorial product.
Advertising sales teams didn’t mix with editorial and vice versa. But the longer I worked there, the better the relationship became.
Editorial needed sales to survive and weather the transition from print to digital advertising. Advertising needed the support of editorial to partner with ethical brands who wanted to reach and engage with Guardian readers.
A weekly meeting was created for anyone working in content marketing to propose the partners we wanted to work with to an editorial steering group. As salespeople incentivised by revenue targets, it was vital to get your partner approved in the meeting.
Each week I would gather my team’s proposed partners and bring them to the table to justify why they should be lucky enough(!) to spend their money with the Guardian. The idea of it was annoying and painful. It seemed like more work for everyone and it was always a bit nerve-wracking - almost as though you were bringing in your homework to be marked.
But, it was clever. It shared accountability. It didn’t take the decision out of the hands of the people selling it, it made you (the salesperson) really think about what you were doing. It could be intimidating to have to justify your proposed client so you’d better come prepared. This meant you researched them and, more often than not, you would talk yourself out of a partner that didn’t seem quite right. And it wasn’t annoying or painful in the end. I actually used to look forward to the opportunity to shout about (with pride!) the hard work by my team.
Did this prevent anything ever going wrong? No. We had ads appear next to inappropriate content by accident, complaints from readers challenging our choice of commercial partner and articles written by the Guardian about breaking rules on political advertising. Back then, some of these ads were in print - you can’t just remove the copy - they were there forever.
Does anyone have time to go through the same process on every single advertisement? No!
Does going through this process stifle creativity? No. It doesn’t have to.
Don Draper from Mad Men said that: "people want to be told what to do so badly that they'll listen to anyone.” I don’t believe that statement can be said of students(!), but experience of working in news, media and with universities tells us that as a trusted source of information you wield great influence and that comes with responsibility. Protecting that trust is everything and once it’s gone it’s nearly impossible to replace.
What can we do in HE to maintain innovation and ‘authenticity’
James and I have worked on editorial and commercial content across a range of media organisations including the Guardian, Telegraph, TES and between us we’ve picked out some of the processes in which we think advertising can maintain authenticity.
Create an ‘authenticity’ check - it doesn’t need to be long-winded, and shouldn't get in the way of innovation. At the Guardian, we had a weekly meet for (up to) one hour (max). Our meetings used to include sales and editorial to ensure impartial feedback. You could consider involving students or members of your target audience in your catch-ups to see if the content being considered is hitting the mark.
Within your teams, it might be weekly or monthly meetings to sense check campaigns and new ideas.
Incentivise the right behaviour - whether it’s reaching a greater number of people with your advertising or beating competitor universities with open day registrations - how is that outcome being measured? How will this advert or promotional content achieve that goal?
Own your failures and acknowledge them - no one ever gets everything right. Does it mean you should stick to the same old thing to be safe? No! Senior teams can best encourage innovation by being honest with their teams about their own failures and experiences. Saying, “we tried this, it didn't work, we learnt some great lessons” is a simple and powerful way of showing leadership and encouraging innovation.
Justin Cole, director of marketing & communications at Bournemouth University, summed it up nicely: “I wouldn't wish to 'out' any of my counterparts at other institutions, many of whom were simply experimenting with a new method of comms. To that end I'd be as encouraging of them as I am with my own team - it needs to be okay for them to make mistakes of this kind.”
