Recruiting Intelligence

How many cooks are in your international-marketing-kitchen? Many universities work with a dizzying array of partners in their efforts to reach international prospects—an endless stream of specialized contractors all working in separate silos and in different regions.

We’ve seen universities that have hired many vendors under separate contracts:

• A partner to build their international microsite
• A freelancer to write the blog copy on that microsite
• A partner to run a Facebook ad campaign in India
• A partner to run Weibo accounts in China
• A partner to run webinars in Vietnam
• A videographer to shoot student testimonials
• A graphic design firm to design brochures
• A social media manager to run their WeChat account
• A market research company to provide yearly research reports
• An SEO specialist to help with paid search in Latin America
• An agency to create the annual viewbook
  
  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…sorry, we dozed off there. It makes us tired just to write out this list. And we didn't even include the many agent contracts most universities sign in their primary target countries.

Does international student recruitment have to be this distracting and exhausting ?

Read on for our advice on streamlining and helping you get back to your real job...

You know your organization needs to do a better job of recruiting in key markets, but how do you find the "right" marketing team? This is a complex question, but from our experience, there is one clear answer. 

Exploring an array of works by strategic thought-leaders including Brene Brown, Jocko Willink, Reid Hoffman, Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, comparing and contrasting a range of theories and approaches, strategic and tactical advice about creating effective teams – a pattern begins to emerge.

The answer: When you are evaluating vendors, consider team culture carefully. With global marketing, there’s a lot that can go sideways quickly, and you want the right group of people by your side to launch effectively and adjust when needed.

Will your agency adapt to change with grace and thoughtful expertise, and still deliver results given the new reality on the ground? Will they have the global network that identifies the need to change and share it with you on the spot? Or will it become apparent later, after the campaign funds are long gone?

The "right" team is hard to find. We know that truth from experience. Read on for a bit of wisdom from one of our clients about choosing the team that will move your institution forward. 

But before you click on: Last Chance for a free pass to today's Intead Plus webinar, "What's A Muslim Student to Think?" with my guest, Wajahat Ali, Journalist, CNN Talking Head, NYT Op Ed Contributor and all around thoughtful, analytical, humorous guy. Starts at 11AM DST. You won't be disappointed.

Student enrollment research just took a huge flying leap forward.

We are proud and humbled to announce the formation of the new Intead Research Advisory Board. 

For over a decade, we have produced industry research reports that are trusted by student recruitment professionals across the country and around the world. Now, we are partnering directly with some of the strongest voices in the industry to bring you even more cutting-edge insights. 

Our in-house team is stacked with talented market and data analysts, content developers and designers who unearth valuable industry insights and bring our reports to life. Having this additional layer of industry expertise will take our industry perspective to a new level.

Market insights, yeah, we got those!

“I've long admired the range of student recruitment and enrollment marketing research that Intead conducts and disseminates,” shared Jessica Sandberg, Dean of Enrollment at Duke Kunshan University, and one of our founding members of the Research Advisory Board. “Being a part of this work with Intead keeps me on the cutting edge of where student enrollment is going. I'm delighted to be working with this great group of people.”

Who else is involved and what research will emerge? Read on...

How many cooks are in your international-marketing-kitchen? Many universities work with a dizzying array of partners in their efforts to reach international prospects—an endless stream of specialized contractors all working in separate silos and in different regions.

We’ve seen universities that have hired many vendors under separate contracts:

• A partner to build their international microsites
• A freelancer to write the blog copy on that microsite
• A partner to run a Facebook ad campaign in India
• A partner to run a Weibo account in China
• A partner to run webinars in Vietnam
• A videographer to shoot student testimonials
• A graphic design firm to design brochures
• A social media manager to run their WeChat account
• A market research company to provide yearly research reports
• An SEO specialist to help with paid search
  
  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…sorry, we dozed off there. It makes us tired just to write out this list. And we didn't even include the many agent contracts most universities sign in their primary target countries.

Does international student recruitment have to be this distracting and exhausting ?

Read on for our advice on streamlining and helping you get back to your real job...