Understanding parents’ view on US higher education marketing communication

In this study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 29 parents of prospective college students, a target public of university marketing efforts. We explored how university communication influenced parents’ attitudes, and reputation perception. The research findings are significant in understanding parents’ views on responding to prevalent university marketing communication campaigns. It was noted that parents internalized financial language enough to describe their college selection process as if they were purchasing consumer goods instead of selecting their children’s educational institution. However, once they passed the initial cost analysis stage, parents highlighted the institutional culture as one of the most critical dimensions of university reputation, meanwhile expressing great skepticism on university’s promotional efforts such as paid advertising. Additionally, parents expressed that personal or peer experience of universities heavily influenced their decision as the time to choose a college neared. Lastly, this study shows that a university’s strong organizational identity and culture communicated through the internal stakeholders’ experience can significantly influence prospective parents’ favorable cognitive and behavioral intentions.