Before the start of the 2022-2023 school year, Widener University wanted to spruce up Freedom Hall, home to the university’s communication studies and computer science programs. The institution’s leaders wanted to redesign the 33,000-sq.ft. building’s walls so that students were surrounded by both information and inspiration. 

Widener University is a private, metropolitan university that includes six colleges and schools in the Philadelphia, PA, area, plus law schools in Harrisburg, PA, and Wilmington, DE. Like many educational institutions, its leaders prefer working with print and marketing services companies that can speak their language and understand the dynamics of their market.

More printers are discovering the key advantages of specialization, positioning themselves as thought leaders and brand consultants who fashion solutions for clients in industries such as education, banking, healthcare, retail and others.

One such printer is Dscoop member Today’s Graphics, Inc. (TGI), experts in providing digital print, wide-format print, customized e-commerce storefronts, kitting, mailing solutions and more to brands. More than a traditional print company, TGI has been one of the Philadelphia area’s premier specialty printers and marketing resources for over three decades. Today’s it’s a multi-dimensional, multi-faceted marketing services company with a wide range of print, marketing, video and logistic services.

The education market is one of TGI’s focus areas. The printer offers schools safety signage, banners, flags, event displays, posters, campus directories, direct mail, student welcome kits and more.

After Widener University approached TGI with its Freedom Hall wall project, the printer’s team met with Widener staff about its goals, then took measurements and surveyed the walls. Soon after, design ideas were ironed out and produced.

The result was beautiful collages of students and teachers enjoying campus life, along with a faculty directory display (shown below). The photos used for the faculty members can easily be removed and replaced when new faculty members are hired.

“The transformation is incredible,” said Angie Corbo, Ph.D., Chair of Communication Studies and an Associate Professor at Widener University.

How to Impress Education Clients

The pandemic made student recruitment and retention even more challenging than normal for educational institutions — and it has made savvy Dscoopers even more valuable.

Higher-education marketing is about reaching parents and students where they are, when they’re most likely to pay attention, with messages that immediately stand out. Low student enrollment and alumni engagement are major concerns of higher institutions of learning, and many of those schools are realizing that digital marketing isn’t enough. Those efforts should be created in conjunction with printed materials.

Print can evoke emotion in recipients, and often helps to leave a bigger impression on them than an email, digital banner ad or social media post. Also, when schools use high-quality printed pieces, there’s often an ancillary positive effect — people already affiliated with the institution can see the quality and feel a sense of pride in what the institution is doing.

Wilmer, a trade printer based in Dayton, OH, points out another important truth in one of its educational pieces: “As digital marketing has exploded, so too have the barriers to reaching audiences. That presents a golden opportunity to stand out with direct marketing.”

As Wilmer points out, educational institutions are using a wide variety of printed products in an effort to reach their audiences efficiently and effectively. The company provides sell sheets its distributors can use as their own, live samples that can be sent directly to prospects, website content and online demos.

For printers targeting the education market, here are six tips: 

1.    Provide pieces that speak to health and safety. Schools quickly learned that communication to students and staff is critical for establishing a safe environment. As colleges and universities have resumed on-campus activities, printers can suggest mailers outlining the institution’s ongoing safety measures along with personal health tips.

2.    Use targeted direct mail for donor connection. Donor support is critical as schools work to fill unplanned funding gaps and meet budgets. Targeted direct mail is becoming a key component of outreach efforts. A school hosting an online auction fundraiser could send mailers leading up to the event to showcase auction items, provide bidding instructions, and boost participation. They can also use self-mailers as a thank-you follow up to donors.

3.    Create a marketing mix. Today’s most effective marketing efforts employ a coordinated mix of channels, TGI’s leaders say. For example, development departments and Greek chapters in universities around the country are integrating direct mail with social media and email marketing. This marketing mix is helping schools raise funds, recruit members and promote events cohesively. By creating multiple touch points, their success rate for audience participation and response increases greatly. 

4.    Communicate critical campus information. Student support services are a big part of campus life. To ensure students and staff have the information they need to take full advantage of all that is available to them, encourage your client to offer a printed guide that list hours of operation for offices, libraries, rec centers, cafeterias and more.

5.    Boost school spirit with bookstore promotions. Schools might not want to admit this, but students love getting physical mail. They also love spirit wear… and anything that saves them money. Digital print is a great way to combine all three to help promote seasonal bookstore sales and promotions with printed coupons and scan codes, customized for individual or groups of past customers.

6.    Engage in community outreach. Fraternities and sororities have made community outreach the cornerstone of their service work. The Greek system is the largest network of volunteers in the United States, with members donating over 10 million hours of volunteer service each year, according to The Fraternity Advisor. Consider targeted ways for chapters to use digital print to connect with local charitable organizations to develop strong partnerships.

“Schools are constantly recruiting new students to come to their campus and take classes,” says Jessica L. Wenz, Wilmer’s Product Marketing Manager. “They may have silent auctions, golf outings or elaborate dinners for benefactors to donate their money to their alma mater, or local university. Universities are in a constant state of communication, and it’s not only in the classroom.”