University of Chicago Booth MBA Marketing Plan, 2011

Extract

[...] In 2011, the University of Chicago's application numbers fell 3 percent, which is a nationwide trend. However, this is not a historical trend. “Graduate school applications tend to rise when the economy slumps, as college students defer their entry into a poor job market and laid-off workers go back to school to improve their résumés and contacts. But as the economy continues to struggle to create work—on Friday the government said the jobless rate remained at 9.1% in September—fewer people are able to afford the cost of business school or see its value.” (Sweeny 2011) Because the current grave education situation in the United States is unique, the University of Chicago must take a new approach in its marketing strategy to battle a problem never seen before. [...]

[...] The cost to study at the University Booth of Chicago is extensive, making it a weakness of the university. While it is usually expected of higher education in the United States to be expensive, in some cases, the cost is too great of an obstacle for intelligent and capable students and they therefore choose not to pursue the Booth MBA, but at a school that offers more financial aid or less tuition. As a final point, although the university is often high in the MBA program rankings, its presence in the ranking is irregular. [...]

[...] University of Chicago Booth MBA Marketing Plan, 2011 Table of Contents Executive Summary ……………………………………………. 3 Introduction to Report……………………………………………4 Background………………………………………………………5 SWOT Analysis Strengths……………………………………………………6 Opportunities…………………………………….…………8 Weaknesses………………………………………………....9 Threats……………………………………………………..10 MBA Perceptional Maps………………………………………...12 Growth Strategy………………………………………………….15 Promotion Tactics………………………………………………..18 Branding Tactics…………………………………………………20 Conclusion……………………………………………………….22 Limitations to Research………………………………………….23 Works Cited……………………………………………………...24 Appendices………………………………………………………26 Executive Summary Objectives The objective of this report is to convey an updated marketing strategy for the University of Chicago MBA program in the Booth School of Business based upon the analysis of the current academic environment and the university's position within that environment. [...]

[...] The University of Chicago constantly faces tough competition. One of its greatest competitors is also a university in Chicago, the Kellogg school of Business. “The most obvious difference is that Kellogg has long been known as the business school for marketing, while Chicago has long had a reputation for finance.” Although Kellogg routinely comes in first for marketing in numerous surveys and studies, in U.S. News & World Report's latest survey of business school deans and directors, Chicago is ranked second in finance behind Wharton. [...]