Higher education is quite similar to professional communication, as both try to influence what people know, feel and do. Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS’s) experience problems with teaching that might be caused by the same origins as problems that brands have when they want to influence their target groups. So, Universities and UAS’s might learn from brand communication scientists.

For example SWOCC researchers conclude that digitisation changes media behaviour, causing that relevance becomes more important. Relevance aims at effect, not at reach. (This does not seem to be such an innovative idea but still advertisers mainly pay for the frequency of publication and the number of clicks, not for the objectively measured effect.) They suggest that new models and definitions are required to gain insights into effects.

What can universities, UAS’s and their lecturers learn from SWOCC researcher’s conclusions? These researchers divide between paid media, earned media and owned media. Paid media are traditional media and these decrease in effectiveness, larger budgets are needed to maintain share of visibility. They define earned media and owned media as follows:

Earned Media
• Use of existing and own social infrastructure to expand conversations
• Focus on content likeability to stimulate conversations

Owned media:
• Use of own 24/7 access platform; a self developed ecosystem based on existing and/or own social infrastructure
• Focus on creating and controlling content within audience’s shared context and fields of interest.

SWOCC introduces three models – each related to the three categories of media – and higher education seems to have strong advantages in comparison to professional communication. But surprisingly higher education still sticks to the obsolete model belonging to paid media. Even more surprising because higher education does not use paid media in order to get their educational message across!

Awareness model and learning
The awareness model belongs to paid media and aims at attention; attention is a prerequisite for awareness and message transfer. How much effort lecturers put in attracting attention!  In many countries a lecturer still receives attention when he is teaching, but more and more he has to fight in order to get heard, especially in Netherland. This can be explained because students divide their time between – among other things – school, friends, family and work; but many lecturers still seem to think that they have the monopoly of sending messages and claiming attention and time.

Many lecturers apply the same strategy as communication professionals: use multiple media in order to deliver the message and perhaps even create an experience. Also the lecturer and the communication professional try to activate their target audience, therefore lecturers develop assignments and projects in which students can apply what they have learned. Everything in order to influence what the target audience knows, feels and does. 

Likeability model and learning
The likeability model belongs to earned media and aims at sympathy; sympathy leads to attractiveness and makes the target audience stick to the brand. There might even sprout ambassadors or brand promoters from this. At least, appealing communications and events should spark word-of-mouth and conversation. As a result, people voluntarily spread the message. (This will work best if the brand is authentic. )

Unlike most brands, a lecturer is an actual person, he does not have to create a brand personality: he has his own authentic personality. This should give a lecturer an advantage over a brand. But it takes a shift in paradigm to capitalise on this advantage. Currently, lecturers are mainly workers in a grades and diploma producing process. They can easily be replaced by another lecturer – and they are. This implies that their individual added value is considered small, comparable to a labourer at the assembly line.

In spite of all the efforts and in spite of the multiple media approach, many students do not attend classes, do not learn for their exams and fail for their assessments. Consequently, productivity (of grades and diploma’s) could be improved. Perhaps it would help if we all shift from the awareness paradigm to the likeability paradigm. Give lecturers the possibility to use their personality; let them teach something they are very interested in, instead of something that has to be taught. Aim at motivation of lecturers and let them inspire students. Attract students to the lecturer and his subject, instead of forcing students to go to class and use punish and reward in order to make them score acceptable grades. 

Relation model and learning
The relation model belongs to own media and aims at relationships; based on mutual interest. Internet and mobile makes the brand part of the audience’s social environment and meets context-specific needs. This model puts a great opportunity for universities and UAS’s in the spotlights. 

Many brands only have contact with their audiences via mass-media and internet, and if they have contact via their products, they can’t influence the context of the experience: they offer their products via a shop that they don’t control. How different works higher education! The target audience (students) comes to school in order to meet each other and their lecturers. The messages are delivered in a highly controllable context: the classroom. Students experience what it is to apply these messages in a controllable environment: in physical or virtual working-spaces or simulations, flanked by coaches/ mentors who help to create the optimum learning experience.

A school is mainly a meeting-place, a place where relationships are created and maintained. But a handicap of many lessons is that they do not meet context-specific needs. Many students miss the experience of life to comprehend the importance of what they learn. They feel that they have to learn difficult and useless things. 

Even if a lecturer can reach his students anywhere in the world at any moment – via internet and mobile – the problem remains that he does not reach them in a context where they need his information. Consequently they still are not interested and open to receive the lesson. Only when students do their internship or when they start working they understand what the theories were about or they read their books again. 

Motivated students and guiding lecturers
So, the challenge for universities, UAS’s and their lecturers is to create a context in which students need the knowledge, attitude and skills that they can learn from their lecturers. This will motivate students to learn. A blended learning environment can offer information at any moment at any place, also it can enhance social networks. The lecturer can be a motivator and guide. Some lecturers might even become strong brands.

tagged with: added value ; awareness model; likeability model; relation model ; paid media ; earned me

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