Primary Research Group has published The Survey of College Marketing Programs, 2013 Edition, ISBN 978-1-57440-215-5. 

This 157-page study looks closely at the marketing efforts and advertising spending policies of sample of 42 North American colleges. The study presents detailed data on spending on Google, YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Yahoo!, and Bing, as well as spending on radio, television, billboards, direct mail, ezines, website sponsorships, SEO strategies, opt-in email, viewbooks, magazine and newspaper space ads and other marketing vehicles. In addition, the report looks at the use of marketing, advertising, public relations and video development firms and consultancies, presenting detailing information on current and planned use and expenditure levels. Data in the report is broken out by size and type of college and by the extent that students are drawn from the local area.

The study helps college marketers to answer questions such as: How much was spent on newspaper advertising and what is the outlook for the near future? What percentage of college student recruitment spending was accounted for by online marketing and how has this percentage changed in the recent past? What percentage of colleges use a recruitment-oriented blog for marketing? How centralized are marketing efforts? Do all colleges visit high school guidance counselors? What is the average cost of print viewbooks? How have colleges altered their websites to enhance their marketing appeal in recent years?

Just a few of the many findings from this report are:

• Within the past two years, just one college in the sample spent anything at all on public relations agencies for projects relating to student recruitment or retention
• 80.95 percent of survey participants have used newspaper ads within the past year as a promotional vehicle for the college
• For those survey participants that publish a magazine for purposes of attracting new students, the mean annual budget for these magazines is $78,563
• Two-thirds of survey participants publish a print version of the college viewbook describing the college to prospective applicants
• In the past year, public schools in the sample have spent a mean of $4,925 on website sponsorships for the purpose of attracting students
• 63.64 percent of all private schools in the sample say their department handles the marketing for all departments or units of the university, as compared to just 40 percent of public schools
• For those participants that have a separate annual marketing budget, the mean budget is $232,441
• 46.15 percent of all community and junior colleges in the sample have used keyword purchases on Facebook as a promotional vehicle within the past year

The study is available in print and PDF format for $198.00. Site licenses cost $389.00. To view a table of contents, list of questions and participants, and sample data, or to order a copy of the report, please visit our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com.