GCC discusses marketing the college experience

IRONWOOD - Gogebic Community College is expecting to roll out its new logo in January, which is just one phase of its new marketing plan that officials hope will attract more people to the school of more than 1,100 students.

Earlier this year, GCC partnered with Interact Communications, Inc., of Onalaska, Wis., to redevelop marketing strategies.

"They have already started their process, as have I," Kim Zeckovich, director of admissions, marketing and community relations, told the board of trustees Tuesday.

The three-year contract is expected to cost about $100,000, officials said, and will provide GCC with an updated approach to recruitment and a new brand identity.

Interact is conducting a competitor review by calling other institutions and evaluating phone conversations, welcome packets, materials, websites and timeliness.

Zeckovich is conducting a communication audit of all materials sent through GCC, including advertising, letters to students, brochures and merchandise.

She is looking at a number of criteria regarding the material, such as how it's used, production costs and who the target audiences are.

Focus groups will be selected soon to help develop the marketing strategies GCC will implement, Zeckovich said, adding she recently received an online survey from Interact that will be sent out to faculty and staff to allow employees a voice in the transition.

"As (Interact) said it, we want the new brand to speak to everybody," Zeckovich said. "All groups, whether they are non-traditional, alumni, board members, faculty, staff; everybody is wrapped around this project."

A few trustees attended the Michigan Community College Association's summer conference and reported back to the full board Tuesday.

Board chair John Lupino mentioned a book, "The Experience Economy," that was presented by the author, B. Joseph Pine II, at the conference.

Pine's book explains how the economy has developed through different stages - from an agrarian/agricultural economy, to manufacturing and then a service economy.

Lupino explained the example of coffee that Pine gave.

At the agricultural level, which is nearest the natural resource, coffee may cost 1 cent, but as it moves to the manufacturing stage it jumps to 10 cents. At the service economy level, such as in a restaurant, coffee will cost more than a dollar.

"But he says, now we've gone to the next step," Lupino said. "And the fourth step is to create an experience around the natural resource. In this case, the experience gives the opportunity for Starbucks to charge $4.75 for a cup of coffee, and people will get in line at the airport when you could go across to Burger King and spend a dollar. They'll be lined up for that cup of coffee."

Lupino said Pine made that same analogy for all types of industry, including education.

"When we have students at our school, we need to think in terms of what is the full experience those students will get when they arrive at our school," Lupino said.

President Jim Lorenson presented five key areas GCC is considering to focus on to achieve the institutional experience it wants to provide students.

One of the areas is improved marketing strategies through social media and a new brand identity, which GCC is in the process of implementing.

Another area is staff development, which will include technology training, improving interpersonal relationships and communication among staff, "So that we play well in the sandbox," Lorenson said.

"We generally play well in the sandbox together, but we can improve. And also, in the sense that we don't necessarily want everyone to agree with everything. We want a divergence of opinions and of ideas."

A third focus area is redefining the institutional culture. To do so, revisiting GCC's strategic agenda, its mission, vision and values, will likely be necessary.

Program development is the fourth focus area, which would involve consideration of niche programs GCC could offer that few other schools provide. This area would also include restructuring suspended programs to make them more relevant and attractive to students.

The final area is student engagement and success, which would improve student advising, and considering ways to provide more student opportunities, outcomes and success.

Lorenson said last year was the first time GCC participated in a national community college survey of student engagement, which measures staff engagement from the student perspective.

"I would tell you, if you ask any of our staff how well we work with students individually, that's one of the hallmarks," he said. "We believe we have a high level of working together individually with students-and we do, but I would also tell you, based on the preliminary results which we're still going through, there's just a tad disconnect."

Lorenson told trustees the plan was aggressive with a lot of pieces, and they will see more of it when the administration presents GCC's official annual goals in the future.

"If we don't succeed it's our own fault," Lorenson said. "We have the wherewithal, the expertise and the staff on campus to get this work done."