This fall, 319 faculty and staff shared feedback about University Communications and Marketing (UCM) via the Survey of Administrative Services. Roughly 70 percent of respondents who said they work with UCM regularly (i.e., at least every few months) reported that they are satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the department’s services.

The three highest scoring areas, and the mean for each on a five-point aggregate scale, were:
1. UCM staff are courteous—4.34
2. UCM staff are professional—4.23
3. UCM staff are knowledgeable—4.10

The lowest-scoring items were:
UCM staff respond to my inquiries in a timely manner – 3.52
UCM staff help identify solutions that I otherwise wouldn’t have considered–3.45
Communication from my area is better as a result of having worked with UCM–3.37

All survey respondents — whether they work regularly with UCM or not — are most satisfied with campus communications (4.15), including OnCampus and leadership messages, and with digital content (3.77), such as photography and videography. Respondents perceive student recruitment communications (3.19) and strategic communications planning (3.40) as the areas needing the most improvement. All other services provided by UCM scored above 3.50.

Following are some recent or current initiatives that are helping improve the work of UCM and the team’s impact on the University:

• Implemented a new project management system, to better track progress on active projects and determine capacity for new initiatives.
• Launched and expanded the UCM online toolkit, which provides campus colleagues with a number of self-service tools and resources.
• Added the role of marketing director for the University, hired an experienced senior professional (Betsy McKibbin) for that role, and reorganized UCM staff and budget to provide stronger focus on student recruitment.
• Completed customer journey mapping from the undergraduate perspective, to understand and improve communication between Drake and prospective undergraduate students as they move through the recruitment process.
• Reassigned budget to help support academic units with student recruitment, including digital marketing (see next bullet) as well as customized videos, customized print collateral, customized gifts for visiting prospects, and other tactics. Primary focus has been on CBPA and CPHS, which have the strongest need to improve undergraduate enrollment.
• Expanded digital marketing from strictly graduate student recruitment to both graduate and undergraduate student recruitment.
• Initiated development of a digital dashboard, that will allow the University to analyze consumer behavior from real-time data pulled from digital marketing, website, social media, and the Slate customer relationship management platform.
• Refreshed the University website and upgraded all academic unit websites to the new brand platform.
• Implemented a dynamic online events calendar for the University, currently funded by Student Senate, that is greatly improving awareness of the many events happening at Drake.
• Redesigned Blue alumni magazine into a more dynamic format, to better fulfill readers’ wants and to drive more alumni engagement online. (Note: The new Blue will be mailed in the next few weeks.)
• Supported the rollout of the University’s core values, including printed collateral and digital communication.
• Installed more banners around campus (Cowles Library, Ray Promenade, Sheslow Auditorium, and Law School), as well as Drake-branded banners along 3^rd Street and near Wells Fargo Arena, heading into downtown. Note: The downtown banners and a pair of digital billboards promote Drake’s online graduate programs are being funded by that office.

We appreciate the constructive feedback. To learn more about UCM, please visit the department website, as well as the online toolkit. We would also be happy to come talk with your area about our capabilities and services.

Dave Remund, Executive Director, University Communications and Marketing