Introduction
Strategic marketing of higher education encompasses the efforts made by tertiary or higher education institutions to develop a better understanding of the needs of their prospective customers in order to design products and services to meet and exceed these needs. These marketing activities of tertiary institutions should usually be carried out through the execution of purposeful conversations with all the university brand stakeholders, and this is the function of brand marketing communications (Mogaji, 2016). Brand marketing communications seeks to integrate multiple consumer contact points that occur through the purchase of commercial messages in paid, earned, and owned media to deliver persuasive and impactful statements about higher education brands. Persuasive brand communications is a critical pillar in the successful marketing efforts of universities worldwide, and this new edited book focuses on marketing and brand communication issues from an African perspective.
Africa is the second-largest continent, both in area and population, of the seven continents in the world. The continent is vast as is its education system designed to meet the educational needs of its citizens; however, there is a dearth of insight into this vast education system, especially its higher education institutions despite the fact that higher education is known to support countriesā social, economic, and cultural progress (Alcaide-Pulido, Alves, & GutiĆ©rrez-Villar, 2017). While acknowledging the limited theoretical insight into marketing higher education in Africa (Maringe & Foskett, 2002; Ivy, 2008) research abounds on higher education in the developed countries, highlighting a gap in knowledge that needs to be filled.
Universities in Africa are continually advancing towards providing better quality education (Olaleye, Ukpabi, & Mogaji, 2020). While there is a shortage of funds for existing universities, governments are still creating more universities, private institutions are also establishing universities to meet these growing demands, and likewise, universities in the developed countries are opening international branch campuses in Africa (Chee, Butt, Wilkins, & Ong, 2016; Maringe, 2009). The changing demographics of prospective students in Africa is also changing ā they are more demanding, mobile, and tech-savvy and take time to search for information (Michael, 2004). These dynamics within the sector is necessitating the need for strategic marketing of higher education as universities are becoming more business-oriented in the competitive higher education market (Ndofirepi, Farinloye, & Mogaji, 2020).
Marketing of higher education is necessitated based on the need to deliver a service to the market to those who can afford it (Mogaji & Yoon, 2019). In other words, some prospective students want to acquire tertiary education, and likewise, some universities need more students in order to remain commercially viable. Universities need to be strategic to portray how different and unique they are as this becomes a competitive advantage (Mackelo & DrÅ«teikienÄ, 2010) and building this unique brand image as a university means more significant advantages are possible (Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka, 2006). The African context with these marketing dynamics, however, needs to be acknowledged.
A significant challenge that colleges and universities in Africa face apart from the state and standards of the campuses is that they are not deemed to be competitive enough for consumers to perceive them as offering better products and services than their competitors. Besides, there are external challenges, often not in control of the university. There are challenges with the countries in terms of safety, security, and opportunities, as well as the macroeconomic stability living standards, inflation, and unemployment.
The challenges of African universities are multifaceted. They face unique developmental challenges located in narratives of poverty, postcolonialism, coloniality, and more recently, decolonisation (Maringe, 2020). There is a gap in knowledge with regards to the marketing of higher education on the continent as the strategies adopted in the developed countries with a developed educational sector may not necessarily work in Africa (Mogaji, Farinloye, & Aririguzoh, 2017). Even though there are some developed higher education systems in Africa, such as in South Africa and Egypt, there is still a gap in knowledge about the African higher education market. Thus, there is need for better understanding of the higher education market and importantly their marketing challenges which informs the marketing communications strategies to be adopted.
This book fills that gap in knowledge. It addresses one of the many sectors involved in developing the capacity of universities in Africa. While there are challenges with the administration of the universities, funding structure, curriculum, and quality of education (Maringe, 2005; Mogaji, 2019), this book focuses on the strategic marketing communications of the universities as they engage with various stakeholders and enhances managersā decision-making capacity. This book offers empirical insight into the higher education market across the continent. It offers significant theoretical and marketing practice implications for academics, higher education administrators, and practitioners on how best to reach out to prospective students in the competitive higher education market using digital media and creating a brand that stands out. Likewise, international practitioners aiming to market to prospective African students or wishing to start partnerships with existing African universities will also find this relevant in understanding the dynamics of the African higher education market. We hope that this book meaningfully advances our comprehension of marketing higher education in Africa and that it will stimulate further research.
Coverage and content of the book
Following a process of double-blind refereeing, 12 articles were selected that reflect some of the main challenges and themes of higher education marketing in Africa which represent a relevant area of research, both for scholars and practitioners. The chapters are grouped into four different themes. Part I has four chapters with a focus on the marketisation in African universities. There are four chapters in Part II that explore digital marketing in African universities. Part III is branding and reputation management explored over three chapters. Part IV is moving from research to practice explained in one chapter.
This first chapter provides a background to the study and introduced the coverage and contents of the book, highlighting the different themes and chapters.
Felix Maringe and Otilia Chiramba open with the second chapter titled āMarketisation in African universities in an era of decolonisation: Continuities and discontinuitiesā. The chapter argues that marketisation in higher education had become a widespread phenomenon across the world. Driven by neo-liberalism, and the strengthening of global capitalism, marketisation has influenced higher education sectors across the world to adopt business and profit-motivated strategies. In the process, the language and practices of business have become endemic in higher education sectors. The chapter calls for marketisation, which seeks to mitigate these effects in higher education sectors of the Global South. With the increasing pace of decolonisation, the chapter notes the potential this has to increase and widen inequalities between higher education sectors of the global North and South and identifies ways in which global imperatives could speak to the imperatives of decolonisation in new marketisation arrangements.
The third chapter, āAn integrative model for marketing higher education in Africa: Branding beyond survival for posterityā by Christine Mwebesa and Felix Maringe, further builds on the marketisation of higher education in Africa. These two chapters set the pace for understanding the sector before developing marketing strategies. The authors recognise the impact of globalisation and commercialisation on the higher education market in Africa. The chapter noted that African universities are failing to engage the appropriate marketing practices to preserve the future and remain viable through enhanced student recruitment strategies. Qualitative interviews with senior executives of universities in Uganda gave insight into the changing higher education value system in Africa. The chapter concludes by developing an integrative model for marketing higher education in Africa.
The fourth chapter presents a more focused idea of exploring the challenges of marketing tools adopted by universities in Africa. The chapter titled āDigital marketing of higher education marketing in Africa: Challenges, prospects, and opportunitiesā recognises that while some higher education institutions still report success in some traditional marketing techniques, such as open days, there are still challenges in adopting digital marketing communications in marketing African universities. This chapter identifies and explores the critical challenges of higher education marketing in Africa and provide recommendation for university marketing managers and administrators and policymakers, which addresses the identified challenges.
With a specific focus on Morocco, Sebti Hicham and Sandrine Simon present their research which focuses on student recruitment on a new programme. The chapter titled āMissing a trick: Challenging the harmful effect of informational dissonance on new programmes studentsā recruitment: A Moroccan case studyā acknowledges that theoretical knowledge about marketing strategies to influence prospective studentsā choice in Africa remains weak. In this chapter, they attempted to understand studentsā recruitment in the context of a young North African university. The study explored rational and emotional issues that influence studentsā choice for a higher education institution, distinguished studentsā self-centric criteria referring to social and self-esteem motivations, and university centric issues related to the perceived value the university offers. The chapter also identified three āinformational cognitive dissonanceā situations where university messages mismatch with prospective studentsā representations. The chapter concludes with a set of strategic and operational marketing recommendations for managers and practitioners.
Mark Camilleriās chapter titled āHigher education marketing communications in the digital eraā examines the global marketing environment of todayās higher education institutions (HEIs). The chapter recognises that universities are increasingly behaving like for-profit organisations as they seek new opportunities and resources to prioritise revenue creation. The chapter further deliberates on contemporary integrated marketing communications that are intended to support HEIs to promote their quality, a student-centred education, as well as their high-impact and meaningful research in global markets. It concludes on the need for universities to keep investing inadequate resources, competences, and capabilities to leverage themselves amid intensifying competition in challenging socio-economic environments.
The seventh chapter provides a holistic view of social media as strategic communication for universities. The chapter titled āSocial media marketing: A strategy to reach university stakeholdersā by Temitope Farinloye, Emmanuel Mogaji, and JosuĆ© Kuika Watat notes that social media have transformed how consumers interact with brands and how brand-related content is consumed. The advent of readily available social media applications has created opportunities for dialogic, and more interactive engagement between brands and consumers and universities are not excluded from this use of social media to engage with their stakeholders. Unlike most other brands, universities do have a diverse range of stakeholders which inadvertently influence their communication strategies, suggesting the need to recognise and embraces the benefits and opportunities that social media can bring as a tool. This chapter briefly discusses seven social media networks that are often used by universities and also recognises the African context that makes strategic communications on social media unique. The chapter concludes with recommendations on how African universities can adopt social media for strategic communication.
With a specific focus on social media in a specific country, Sunday Olaleye, Dandison Ukpabi, and Emmanuel Mogaji presented how Nigerian universities are using Facebook to communicate with their stakeholders in Chapter 7. The chapter, titled āSocial media for universitiesā strategic communication: How Nigerian universities uses Facebookā, notes that while several studies have examined modes and methods of HEIs communication with stakeholders, there is a shortage of knowledge about how universities in the developing countries are using social media. The study employed stakeholder theory to give new understanding to social media marketing as a strategy to reach university stakeholders in Nigeria. The study utilised an inductive, generic, qualitative approach in a netnography context to achieve the aim of this study. The study adopts a unique methodology to capture the usage of social media by the universities and explored their level of activity and analysed stakeholder responses.
Chapter 9 by Omolola Oluwasola provided insight into digital marketing strategies by private universities. The chapter, titled āDigital marketing communication strategies for private universities in south western Nigeriaā, investigates the digital marketing tools private universities in Nigeria deploys to promote their institutions. The study interviews universitiesā public relations officers who disclose the digital marketing tools they are using and the challenges they are facing in fully adopting and integrating digital marketing in their student recruitment process. The study concludes by recommending the continuous integration of both offline and online channels for integrated marketing communication.
The third part of the book focuses on branding and reputation management strategies of African universities. Chapter 10, āUniversity reputation managementā by Ruth Kiraka, focuses on the Kenyan higher education market. The chapter interviews senior university administrators of both public and private universities to understand reputation management strategies. The chapter further presents strategies for managing reputation, dealing with reputation crisis, and challenges in sustaining university reputation. The chapter concludes that reputation is an asset that must be managed like any other assets of the university. Importantly, all employees in the university have a stake in building and sustaining a good reputation. Where challenges are experienced, or in case of a reputation-damaging event, the university must face them head-on with speed, clarity, and focus.
Universities are making efforts to present themselves as unique brands as they reach out to their stakeholders. Branding in universities has become an increasingly topical issue among practitioners, as universities invest a huge amount of money in repositioning themselves. In Chapter 11, āAnalysis of African universitiesā corporate visual identitiesā by Temitope Farinloye and Emmanuel Mogaji, presents the result of the analysis of the brand identities of the top 200 universities in Africa. The study seeks understand the creative elements adopted in creating visual brand identities for African universities. While there are many forms of visual brand identifies, this chapter focuses primarily on logos. The study finds that overall there appears to be a lack of understanding with regards to creative design of brand identities by African universities, though with some exceptions as illustrated in the top 20 logos selected in the chapter. The chapter concludes with some suggestions to extend the current body of knowledge in the literature on the corporate logo and corporate visual identity, especially with focus on HEI brand and in the African context. This study presents a theoretical framework of universitiesā brand identities which focuses on the shape, colour, and typeface of the logo.
āLeveraging universityās value through brandingā by Abina Babatunde, Ajayi, Oluseyi, and Lawal Azeez Tunbosun is presented in Chapter 12. They...
