Victorian unis reveal marketing spends

The messages many millions can buy

Don Drapers and Peggy Olsons love university accounts, what with the billings they bring. Last year Deakin University for example, spent $24.8m (2 per cent of total revenues) on “advertising, marketing and promotional expenses”, as revealed in its annual report, just tabled in the Victorian parliament.

This is way ahead of RMIT, ($16.8m and 1.2 per cent) and other unis’ outlays, Victoria U $12m (2.6 per cent), La Trobe U $9.9m (1.2 per cent), Swinburne U $8.2m (1.1 per cent) and Federation U $5.5m (1.7 per cent).

As to the big-two, the University of Melbourne spent $15.8m (0.6 per cent)– with Monash U ($15.12m), the lowest proportion of total revenues reported.

All these figures understate broadly defined marketing comms spending – not including staff costs which can’t be cheap. Back in 2014 a learned reader showed CMM Monash U’s central mcomms staff structure, covering – admissionscampaign managementchannel managementmarket analyticsmarketing comms and student recruitment, sales management, strategic comms and brand services. There were 130 people then (CMM June 27 2014).


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