An analysis of a direct marketing campaign for a university.

Introduction

To successfully judge the worth of this campaign it will be important to provide some parameters to work against. Direct Marketing has a number of characteristics:

(1) acquiring and retaining customers without the use of an intermediary

(2) the distribution of products, information and promotional benefits to target consumers through interactive communication in a way which allows response to be measured (Jobber, 2001)

In this critique I will be utilising the Direct Marketing Planning Process outlines by O'Malley, Patterson and Evans (1999). The first stage in the development of the programme is the clarification of what is to be achieved by the project and how that links with wider strategic goals of both the customer mission and key value mission (Piercy, 1992).

Campaign Objectives

The direct marketing campaign that was arranged was developed to promote University of Open Days with the target audience of schools and potential undergraduate students.

Auburn University students at ASAP conference

The University of Manitoba Fort Garry Plan of Camp...

University of Oregon

Sixty-five percent of undergraduate students come straight from school or college onto University courses. The Open Days are one of the key steps of the decision making process for students choosing the University they wish to attend. Customer mission focuses on the customers needs which the organisation aims to satisfy and the competitive domain in which the organisation operates. In the case of this project the need of the customer to find out about the options available in Higher Education through attendance at an Open Day and to inform key decision makers and influencers of opportunities at the University. The Key Value missions on the other hand centres on what aspects of the business the organisation deems important. This links with the business objectives identified. At the University these goals are summed up in the Vision, Mission and Strategy Document (see Appendix 1). The relevant in this relate to the...