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 – admissions, campaign management, channel management, market analytics, marketing comms and student recruitment, sales management, strategic comms and brand services. There were 130 people then (CMM June 27 2014).