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In August 1995, Studyabroad.com was still in the planning phase. We had ordered a server, learned basic HTML, started building a database, and reserved our domain name. By September, we figured out how to use the server and had hooked it up to a circuit. We also created some web pages and printed our promotional materials. Ready or not, it was time to do business.
By November 1995 we had sold advertising to a couple dozen study abroad programs. In retrospect, I am confident that many those early advertisers were doing so in the hopes that just maybe this thing called the Internet would help them recruit students and maybe these guys from Pennsylvania could make Studyabroad.com work and keep it around for a few years.
It's now back-to-school time 2000. Very soon we'll be sending out our 6th annual invoice to many of these early advertisers. I suggest that we are still around because we provide a service worth paying for! A good salesperson can sell a product or service to just about anyone, but no one can pull the wool over the eyes of hundreds of clients year after year after year. Studyabroad.com still exists 5 years later because we have created a good product, have worked hard every day to make it better, and care about the people and businesses we sell to.
Studyabroad.com now has almost 500 active advertisers. We serve pages to more than 30,000 unique visitors each week. We have developed new products and expanded the reach of our services so that we can better serve our advertisers, the study abroad professional community, and the students.
As we begin our sixth year of operations, I would like to thank those of you who use our services. I also promise to continue to develop Studyabroad.com into a better resource as we move forward. Rest assured that Studyabroad.com will be around in 2005, and we will continue to offer services worth paying for!
Studyabroad.com Partners With Away.com - Away.com recently partnered with Studyabroad.com to provide adventure travel content to the Studyabroad.com web site. The adventure travel content has been fully integrated with Studyabroad.com's new Destination Portal Pages and will add a different aspect to Studyabroad.com, which usually takes an educational view of studying abroad. Information on adventure trips such as expeditions to the North Pole, biking through Mongolia and whale watching in Newfoundland will be featured with the intent of targeting more non-traditional study abroad students. Check it out at http://www.studyabroad.com!
Creating an image for your organization and executing it properly is essential when branding. The brand image should focus on the specific mission and positive attributes of the organization or company. Quality, prestige, low price and fun are all adjectives that can be incorporated into a brand image, in addition the product or service itself. Some universities project the image of an elite, prestigious institution. Others profess a strong focus on diversity and culture.
An image should also strive to remain focused and not evolve into a generic term. For example, Band Aid, Kleenex and Xerox have all become generic terms. In other words, you can make a "Xerox" on any photocopy machine, just as you can blow your nose with a "Kleenex", using any brand name of tissue.
Once an image is established for an organization, awareness of that image must be generated. The image can be broadcast to the target market through media, advertising, sales or the actual experience a customer has with a company or organization. No matter which channel is used, however, the advertising, marketing, sales and public relations professionals of that firm must be sure the image stays consistent and positive throughout each message to, or interaction with consumers. This will help prevent the brand from becoming diluted or weak.
There is also the popular misconception that if a product, company or organization is well-known, it is well-branded. This is not true. A well-known product could have a weak or negative brand. A negative brand is usually caused by poor service, products or negative publicity. A weak brand is caused when a product, company or organization is viewed as easily substituted. The image the organization has projected has not set it apart from competition properly. Students apply to some universities without any real interest in that particular university. Another school will do just as well. Universities such as these have not properly branded themselves to reach out and make a targeted group of students see that school as the only alternative.
A strong brand requires trust and loyalty from consumers. The brand image must be consistent throughout all messages, carry a positive image and inspire repeat, loyal customers. For example, if University X brands itself to have the highest quality MBA program in a geographical region, a student searching for an MBA program, depending on his/her financial status, will see that university as the one to attend. After that same student graduates and has a family, the business-minded son will most likely attend the same school as his father.
Whichever image an organization chooses to project, there are two important points to remember for effective branding. First, make sure all messages to the target audience are consistent and reflect the brand's image. Second, make sure the customers' experience validates the image the organization worked so hard to create. Word of mouth travels fast, and repeat customers are extremely valuable! Following these two pieces of advice, an organization should be able to create a positive, strong brand.
ACTIF - Adult Cultural Term in France
British American Educational Foundation
Irish Educational Travel Ltd.
TELESTIAL
New Horizons - Great, informative, free site. This site has information for teachers and professors at all class levels. http://www.newhorizons.org/
July 2000: 94,076
July 1999: 49,774
June 2000: 108,392
June 1999: 56,408
May 2000: 99,502
May 1999: 51,974
April 2000: 93,204
April 1999: 61,277
March 2000: 108,291
March 1999: 64,205
February 2000: 121,078
February 1999: 63,855
January 2000: 95,653
January 1999: 66,263
December 1999: 68,538
December 1998: 27,121
November 1999: 98,813
November 1998: 32,156
October 1999: 99,847
October 1998: 72,774
September 1999: 80,074
September 1998: 52,416
August 1999: 70,356
August 1998: 39,209
Yahoo.com: 33,710
Altavista.com: 26,613
Google.com: 18,229
Go.com: 18,086
Msn.com: 17,362
Lycos.com: 11,313
Goto.com: 9,535
Netscape.com: 8,568
Exicte.com: 4,210
Metacrawler.com: 4,158
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