Evidence-Based Innovation Blog

While many Americans are focused on a certain election this November, MBA admissions officers all around the world are counting down to a different kind of election. 

Whether your next intake of students is coming up in just a few months or next autumn, it’s important to remember that MBA prospective students cast their votes every day of the year. How can you influence MBA candidates to elect your business school? 

Here are five lessons from the home stretch of the 2012 presidential campaign trail to optimize your business school marketing strategy.

Around this time each year, we glance at our calendars and exclaim in surprise, “Where did the summer go?!?”  Although September arrives seemingly out of nowhere, you know it is just around the corner when yellow school buses are once again streaming down suburban streets and retail shelves are overflowing with back-to-school supplies.  For parents of school-aged children, this often signals that time to shop for new and bigger backpacks. With a dizzying array of colors, shapes and sizes, the choice becomes even more complex with the option of solar backpacks - underscoring just how connected our culture is today.

It was one of the biggest upsets of the 2012 Olympic Games and it came early.  Sixteen-time medalist Michael Phelps was defeated in the 400-meter individual medley by rival and teammate Ryan Lochte who took home the gold for Team USA. It was the first time Phelps didn’t win an Olympic medal since the 2000 Sydney Games and it didn’t take long for speculation to begin. Why did Phelps come in fourth? Did he not practice enough in the past two years? Perhaps his body was rebelling with age. Or, was he distracted by all interviews and attention since Beijing? 

July may be best associated with Independence Day parades and fireworks, but did you know that it also happens to be National Ice Cream Month?  The average American eats 48 pints of ice cream per year - more than any other nationality – and July tops the list for ice cream sales.  With record heat waves sweeping across the nation this summer, chances are consumption will be even higher this July.

It's the Triple Crown and they're off....

Amidst a spectacular parade of whimsical head wear, horse fans are cheering their favorites during each leg of the 2012 Triple Crown. 

Meanwhile, MBA admissions officers and MBA program directors are in a race of their own as they round the corner to the start of the academic year in September. The next few months can feel like a tight race to the finish line to meet enrollment targets, so what is your MBA marketing strategy in this home stretch?