Capella University should market smarter…then fire their marketing department

This is a sensitive subject that we are addressing here today because the goal of bettering your life through education is one of the noblest pursuits we undertake as human beings, but the leadership team here at FYMD feels that the For Profit University (FPU) system consists of bottom feeding, greedy fucks who mostly take advantage of a larger cultural system of exclusionary and purposely limited educational opportunities for the vast majority of Americans…or that’s just one martini too many talking…probably both.

The FYMD Rules and Regulations Group has issued a ruling: Any educational institution that suggests “don’t just learn…learn smarter” is literally advertising there is a giant asterisk on their diploma that says “This is for display purposes only”

The For Profit University Business Model

These schools are competing for students who have many issues. From poor high school performance to financial issues to very real social struggles, the majority of their prospective student pool are facing serious uphill climbs to achieve the successes they desire. And while FYMD does not weigh in on socio/cultural issues or place blame we do feel there is something morally complicated about targeting these demographic/sociographic groups with slick, strategic marketing communications - especially when the eventual outcomes are overwhelmingly much less than what is desired by the students themselves.

They also charge more, encourage taking on debt, have opaque reputations and myriads of other red flags but this one sticks out the most: The US Government noted in 2019, the graduation rates of FPUs versus all other universities is less than half (26% vs 63%).

Hardly surprising given their line of business and target audiences. Morally complicated indeed.

Table Stakes:

While there have been some wide swings in enrollment over the last 10 years, currently, the FPUs are around 5% of the overall university enrollment, meaning there are close to 1 million students at FPUs.

The Brookings Institute says that tuition at FPUs costs 4x as much as public universities. Enrolled students take on more debt and default on that debt 4x more often than students at public universities. (Thanks internet and Mrs. Brookings!)

Lastly, the Brookings Institute notes that FPUs spend about $400 per student on advertising, which those of us in the ‘trade’ would call ‘acquisition.’ Now math is definitely not a requirement to work here at FYMD but even Stevie Wonder can see the frothing mouth of the Business Development person at whatever award winning agency they use.

Competitive Insight:

More Brookings madness (FYMD thinks Mrs. Brookings holds these folks in even less regard than we do): FPUs account for 40% of total ad spend while only educating 5% of total students - the vast majority of this being through TV advertising. And over time FPUs outspend public institutions by 20 to 1.

There’s also the Big Kahuna to deal with, the biggest spender of them all…The University of Phoenix…of University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale, Arizona home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.

A For Profit University is the title sponsor for a professional NFL franchise stadium…We’re going to consult with Mayim Bialik because we’re pretty sure the ‘science’ on this one is a bit off. Supplements! Stat!

Creative Appreciation:

OK, now that the research section of this post is over we can talk about the actual ad - because as a piece of communications for a business that has so many negative attributes targeting financially and socially sensitive audiences, it’s not truly terrible… until the last 15 seconds that is.

At FYMD, we are generally fans of using product benefits in our marketing communications and usually respond with fondness to brands who do this well. Putting a total cost and the appearance of flexibility in an advertisement for higher education is pretty ground breaking for the category. So the most tepid golf clap to you, Capella University CMO.

But…if we step back and take a holistic view of said advertisement.

Multicultural. Check. Dude doing yoga. Check. Cute Dog. Check…and then this happens, “at Capella University we thought your education should be smart too.”

Let that marinate for second. We’ll wait…

We don’t like to judge here at FYMD, except in that it’s our job, but not only did someone write this, someone approved it and then someone even let it be in an actual ad. For college.

What The FYMD Staff Has To Say:

After a really good hacky-sack session in the grassy courtyard/taco truck area of the Playa Del Rey  FYMD offices, we came up with two key thoughts (and one general thought) when it comes to the selling of overpriced and limited value higher education products: Innovation communications can help the category and honesty really is the best policy when it comes to targeting sensitive audiences.

Education is definitely stuck in the past and the policies of exclusion and elitism tend to create a more real than not separation by class, wealth, race, and more (Hat tip: The Dog) so innovation is definitely an unlock and potentially a way to right the (more than one) wrong that the FPU category lives in. Think Different my FPU marketing brothers and sisters.

Truth in advertising couldn’t be more needed in a category and it should be tightly regulated just like pharma. Instead of a ‘may cause intense pain and bleeding’ side effects and ‘contact your physician’ warnings, FPU advertising needs to show graduation rates/trends over time, average debt load and desired job placements, for example.

Finally, FYMD suggests that the Capella University business school should teach a class on marketing communications using their own communications as a case study and require their agency of record to attend.

Bonus points: If there’s a marketing deck for this mess in which the agency planner shows how “learn smarter” is the unlock for this audience/category…definitely send it our way!