Obstables To Mississippi's Vocational Programs

These goals of Mississippi vocational education seem straightforward, but the road to achieving them might not be. Marketers at vocational institutions face a barrage of obstacles. Many marketing staffs consist of only one person, who may not have a background in design or advertising. Most staffs have a very limited budget to work with. Others are in large cities where the rates for television spots or commercial design are more expensive. So here are a few more bits of advice:

* Communicate the importance of marketing to the administration, the school board, or whoever holds the purse strings. As one NAVTEC award winner said, Marketing is an investment, not an expense. Point out enrollment numbers, dwindling or growing, to illustrate the need for effective marketing.

* Create or upgrade the in-house design staff. This requires expanding the budget for additional staff but will eliminate the need for costly outside design jobs every time a new project comes up. If this is impossible, ask design firms or independent designers about reduced rates for schools.

* Make sure to market a quality vocational education program. The best marketing plan in the world can't sell a poor product. It's just as important to back all your marketing efforts with an excellent program.

Carroll Technical Institute A town Fourth of July parade usually includes the high school band and the mayor waving to the crowd from a convertible. Occasionally the shriners will make an appearance, driving around in those funny little racecars. In Carrollton, Mississippi, the town parade also includes smiles and waves from the students and faculty at Carroll Technical Institute. They participate as a friendly reminder to the community that there's always room for one more student.

"More than anything we want to let them know what we offer and that we're here for continuing education," Kim Frank says. Frank, officially Carroll Tech's director of institutional advancement, is one of two people charged with marketing the school and drawing more students to its associate degree and certificate programs. Frank has a background in marketing and advertising and works with assistant Kelly Loftin, who is responsible for public relations. Their budget includes travel and related expenses, but not salaries.

Carroll Tech won three first-place NAVTEC awards last year for its four-color brochure "Keeping Pace with Technology," its two-color brochure "Keeping Pace with the Workplace" and its 2005-06 general catalog. For the most part Frank designs and Loftin writes. And though Frank says it's difficult to measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts, she notes that Carroll Tech's enrollment of about 2,000 is on the rise. There also is a question on the school's application asking how new students learned about the school. "We also try to get as many press releases out as possible," Frank says, which is about four each week. "We also do regular paid advertising on the radio and newspapers. And now we're looking at advertising on local cable."

Frank has a ready source of information for brochures and advertisements each year because another department at Carroll Tech is responsible for disseminating annual school statistics to the faculty. Frank is able to pull information from these reports - such as the 100 percent job placement rate for last year's air conditioning technology class of 13 - and present them to a target audience.

Here are some more tips:

* Keep in touch with the community as much as possible.

Participate as a school in community activities, like parades; career fairs and high school parent nights.

* Set an advertising goal for yourself. Try getting at least one mention each week in your local paper (easier to do in rural areas). This means sending four or five press releases every week.

* Get involved with your local chamber of commerce. This way you can be included in the chamber's materials and activities.