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The ‘Lawlor Approach' is a splendid combination of fact-based analysis, intelligent and sensitive investigatory skills, and superb power of inference, all wrapped up and tied with a very professional bow.

—Dan Lundquist
Former Vice President for Admissions and Financial Aid
Union College
Schenectady, New York

Lawlor Focus

Lawlor Focus is The Lawlor Group’s monthly e-newsletter. Each issue explores aspects of a topic relevant to marketing and communications professionals in higher education. Featuring insights from our consulting work, ideas from thought leaders, and synopses of important news, data, and trends, the Focus offers information and ideas that can be applied immediately to improve strategic marketing and communications results.

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We at The Lawlor Group pride ourselves on keeping up with, and weighing in on, the latest trends in higher education. Let us know if there is something in particular you’d like us to address in future issues of Lawlor Focus. Suggest a topic by sending an e-mail to Focus editor Amy Foster at amyf@thelawlorgroup.com.

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All Issues

July 2008: What to Emphasize During a Recession: When a recession strikes, prospective students and their families become particularly attuned to hearing how a college education can enhance one's job prospects.
June 2008: Time to Recalibrate: Our Summer Seminar presenters brought to the fore three reasons why college and university leaders must pause and take stock of their situations.
May 2008: The Summer Melt Factor: Given the uncertain economic climate, admission professionals are worrying about the reliability of deposits as a realistic indicator of fall enrollment.
April 2008: What Will May 1 Yield?: A unique confluence of marketplace realities, policy trends and economic conditions has made it particularly difficult to predict yield this year.
March 2008: Online Strategies to Engage Admitted Students: How can colleges and universities harness the power of social networking technologies to meet enrollment goals? Here are a few best practices.
February 2008: The Power of Segmentation and Targeting: The secret to direct marketing success lies in dividing your audience into groups distinct enough to allow messaging that approaches as close to one-on-one communication as possible.
January 2008: Ten Observations and Trends for 2008: Our research reveals the economic, demographic, technological and generational factors that are currently impacting college consideration and selection.
December 2007: 'Tis the Season for Giving: What could Harvard University's new financial aid program, which eliminates loans for families with up to $180,000 of income, mean for other colleges and universities?
November 2007: Joining the Conversation: How can colleges and universities utilize conversational marketing to generate brand awareness? "The Five T's" point the way.
October 2007: The Power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing: What can happen when you enlist people whose advice is sought, trusted and acted upon by consumers? Recent trends reveal the power of these influencers and how you can reach them.
September 2007: More About This Generation: How well do you know what messages appeal to today's prospective students? Recent data and trends reveal clues to the younger generation's motivations.
August 2007: Assessment and Transparency—The Role of Meaningful Measures: How do we allow prospective students and their families to make fair comparisons of different colleges and universities?
July 2007: Summer Seminar Highlights: National thought leaders had much to say about new directions for addressing some of higher education’s most pressing concerns.
June 2007: Then and Now—Revisiting Our Communications Technology Recommendations: We update our coverage from the past two years of the strategic use of RSS feeds, e-search, blogs, podcasts and Second Life.
May 2007: A Review of Recent College Admission Studies: Now that May 1 has brought an end to most colleges' admission decisions, now is a good time to review some of the data that have emerged during the past recruiting season.
April 2007: Tracking Trends to Better Understand Today's Students: Two recent surveys suggest that financial concerns are top-of-mind for college-age Americans.
March 2007: Meeting Families' Needs During Accepted Student Events: Given the time and money families must commit to attend an accepted student event, they want to know, "What's in it for me?"
February 2007: Monitoring Word of Mouth: Keeping track of what is being said about your college online is not only a good reputation management practice, it can also uncover opportunities to amplify positive buzz.
January 2007 : Online Marketing in 2007: You were Time’s "2006 Person of the Year" for contributing to and consuming social media. What will the rise of user-generated content mean for colleges and universities in 2007?
December 2006: A Variation on Holiday Greetings: Prospective students love getting something they didn’t even know they wanted, then telling all their friends about it. Could your holiday greeting be transformed into a viral campaign?
November 2005: Generating Buzz: The nation’s largest for-profit school is counting on cross-channel promotion to capitalize on the naming of the University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. Could relying on a similar (albeit smaller-scale) strategy work for your school?
October 2006: Satisfying the “Stealth Shopper” with a Virtual Tour: When it comes to narrowing their list to which schools they will visit, prospective students are often looking for a little visual help online. Read about how to meet their campus tour needs before they ever even contact you.
September 2006: The Early Decision Dilemma: Should colleges give students an admission answer when they want it, even at the risk of favoring certain demographic groups over others.
August 2006: The Consumer Mindset of Today's College Students: As savvy consumers, prospective students expect college administrators to point out the value of their educational investment.
June-July 2006: Integrating Digital and Print Media: Remember the predictions that print media would one day cease to exist? Traditional newspapers and other print publications might fade into oblivion unless they acknowledge the digital era.
May 2006: Podcasts: Given that they are free and available on demand, podcasts are particularly appealing to the prospective student market. But don't discount the potential for podcasts to reach parents, alumni and other friends of the college.
March 2006: The Importance of Customer Convenience: The Importance of Customer Convenience. Today's customers expect—and, to some extent, demand—convenience from every industry, including higher education.
February 2006: More on Word of Mouth: Satisfied customers are important, but in order for an organization to flourish it must have customer evangelists.
January 2006: Word-of-Mouth Marketing: It already happens. Do you know what people say about your institution? Learn how to tap into the WOM phenomenon for your organization's benefit.
December 2005: Blogs: Simple to set up and easy to maintain, this interactive medium is changing the way we use the web.
November 2005: Searching for Seniors: New data from ACT reveals the implications for those students who are first-time testers in the senior year-and significant opportunities for colleges that search for seniors.
October 2005: E-Search: For the price of a stamp, e-Search is a smart way to supplement a direct mail campaign, raising response rates and offering the institution significant insight into the audience who receives the message.
September 2005: Parents, Students & Colleges—Partners in Education: For better or worse, parents are more involved in their children's lives. Understanding the relationship parents have with their children, as well as their unique concerns about college life, are essential for making them your partners in education
August 2005: Microsites: Microsites are an important feature for today's strategic communications
July 2005: RSS: Maximizing Contact with Constituencies: RSS has the potential to add a new, important dimension to a strategic communications plan—and to get you back in touch with students, parents, alumni and friends.
June 2005: Great Expectations: Meet Them on the Web: Good web design begins by defining the site’s target audience—their needs, preferences and objectives—and ends by meeting their expectations.