Author: Rick Bailey

Presidents as Entrepreneurs: How the New Higher Ed Environment Has Transformed Leadership Skill Sets

written by Rick Bailey

We are living in a new age for American higher ed. Maybe a new era. A future history will tell us the results of this remarkable period of re-invention, re-articulation and re-negotiation of missions and purposes. In his new book Breakpoint: The Changing Marketplace for Higher Education, Jon McGee, Vice President for Planning and Public Affairs at…Read more

Finding Your One Place in the Universe: Why Being an “Only” Makes Life Better For You and Your University

written by Rick Bailey

When donors and prospective students (and their families)—your sources of income—have more than 5,000 colleges and universities from which to choose to support or attend, they need help finding the right fit. They’re asking: To whom shall I entrust my gift? Which school will provide me with the best future? Helping these important audiences find…Read more

Your Audience Identifier

written by Rick Bailey

This includes a downloadable asset. You’re working on your case statement (or alumni magazine, or viewbook, or website, or financial aid brochure, etc.) and­—good for you!—you are making great progress. You’re writing solid copy, selecting great images, designing creative layouts. But think for a moment. When you complete this project, who will be on the…Read more

Creating a Splash or Making Waves?

written by Rick Bailey

Creating a splash serves promotional needs, but that’s only one part of the marketing equation. In order to make exchange—with students, parents, donors, alumni, faculty, neighbors, the government, even the general public—you also have to consider what you’re actually delivering, how and where you’ll deliver it and how much someone will have to pay for…Read more

Should You Brand Your Core or Gen Ed Curriculum?

written by Rick Bailey

As valuable as we know your general education curriculum to be in providing the broad perspective to yield informed and productive graduates, it’s still a tough sell to students and their families. Even parents with liberal arts degrees are raising questions about the relevance and validity of course requirements outside the academic and professional interests…Read more

Beyond Branding: Coherence

written by Rick Bailey

In the advertising class I taught at the University of Notre Dame for many years, I would bring a candy bar for each student on a certain day. As you can clearly tell by that, I was a very good teacher. On the appointed day, I would make sure that every student had a different…Read more

Seeking Third Satellite

written by Rick Bailey

Some time ago, our work took me to downtown Boston. A colleague and I had flown in late in the evening and had a client meeting the next morning. The weather was poor and I was glad that we had access to GPS. As annoying as the system’s mechanized voice could be (“Right turn in…Read more

Changing the Shape of the Funnel

written by Rick Bailey

Chapter 1: A “terrific” tradition, but a terrible investment You probably don’t remember Tom Terrific, because you’re much younger than I am. Tom was the main character in a great kids’ cartoon that was shown on Captain Kangaroo in the mid-50s. Our hero Tom, who was developed by Gene Deitch, always wore a signature hat:…Read more