Introducing Zen and the Art of Higher Education Marketing

Zen and the Art of Higher Education Marketing exists to present reflections on the art and science of marketing and communications in higher education. This field is a fascinating study, containing aspects of service marketing and product marketing, complicated by the considerable expectations place upon higher education. Through my contributions to this blog, I hope to share some of what I have learned in over a decade in this field, toward making the job of higher education marketing a little easier for the reader.

Today’s message is brought to you by the letter Z

The Zen Writes website does a good job of describing the purpose and services offered by the company, how Zen Writes can works with higher education institutions, as well as my background in higher education marketing. Yet there is one question left unanswered on the site: why are we talking about Zen?

Of course, Z is one of those letters that is good in terms of branding and marketing, and the idea of Zen has many connections to my southern California roots. Yet neither of these reasons were involved in the selection of the name. Though the crass commercialization of all things from the East has been a trend in marketing for some time, there were deeper reasons for this choice of blog title and corporate identity.

Zen and Marketing

What does Zen have to do with the art of higher education marketing? More than you might think. To borrow a definition from Friends of the Heart, Zen is:

A style of Buddhism that evolved from the teachings of Bodhidharma, who came to China in the 6th century. Although meditation (zazen) is an important part of the practice of Zen, Zen itself includes every possible form of activity, from martial arts to flower arranging; from landscape gardening to the tea ceremony.

In fact, there are five principles of Zen that are useful with regard to the activities of marketing and communications.

Five principles of Zen applied to marketing

Constant Change: Zen includes the concept that our world is in a constant state of change. Marketing, too, is in such a flux, and as soon as we thing we have it figured out, it changes again. New technologies, new ways of communicating, shifting communication style preferences, on and on. It is only when we realize that marketing is as much a moving target as those to whom we market, that real progress can be made.

Listening: One of the goals of Zen meditation is to quiet the mind, stop listening to the noise in your head and become more aware of the world around you. Too often we have seen marketing that the college president likes, or the faculty likes, only to find that it falls flat in the marketplace. When creating and scheduling a television commercial for a college recently, a complaint from upper management was “But I never see it!” “Good,” I replied, “you’re not supposed to, unless you watch the shows that 17 year-olds watch.” Marketing must be created with the market in mind. To do that, we must drop our assumptions about what the market might want and learn to listen.

Koans: Koans are statements that create “disturbance” in thinking, allowing moments of “aha!” to occur. Some koans have become quite well-known, such as “what is the sound of one hand clapping?” If you’ve tried to figure out marketing in the higher education market, you know more about koans than many students of Zen. What will get the attention of a college-age student may often seem contradictory to common sense. Attracting the interest of adult career-changing or career-enhancing adults can seem like a brain-stretching challenge. Like koans, however, once you know a bit about the psychology of college applicants and prospects, the process of creating effective communications becomes quite a bit easier.

A Sense of Humor: Zen masters are famous for their sense of humor. They have often taught and written about the frequent absurdities of our world and of human behavior. Marketing in higher education requires the same sense of humor and play. Try new things, experiment, test, and find what works today. An early marketing teacher of mine once told me that “if you’re not having fun marketing, you’re not doing it right.” Clearly, marketing is more complicated than simply having fun, but principles of authenticity, conversational tone, and personalization can’t be forced. Smile, relax, and remember to keep your sense of humor close at hand.

Zen Mind: This is a root concept of Zen, that one should work to achieve the beginner’s mind, the mind without preconceptions, open to new things. It is the ability to see all things as if you are seeing them for the first time. Preconceptions and “that’s the way we’ve always done it” (resistance to new ideas) are common in modern business, but they are extremely damaging to effective marketing. In a world of constant change, old ideas become stale ideas very quickly. Effective marketing and communcations is not simply the best use of current theories and technologies, it’s also keeping our eyes open for what’s new, what’s changing and belongs to yesterday. That’s how we start leading the race instead of following the crowd.

And that’s what Zen and the Art of Higher Education Marketing is about.