Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

Those of us in the northeast are sitting in middle of a snow event.  Many of you may be aware that this is the first year the National Weather Service is naming winter storms, and the name for this particular storm is Nemo.  No not the little clown fish.  The winter storm.  Really.

Here is the thing - Disney has done such a good job creating a following and monopolizing on that branding that merely a name brings up a clear picture and recall of something that has nothing to do with the event.  While none of us have that level of connection nor the resources that Disney has put into marketing that product, we can certainly gain from some of the lessons.

1. What is your institution good at
2. What are you known for
3. Whom are you known for

What are you good at?  Reputation matters a great deal, particularly to your alumni.  They have a preconceived notion of who and what you are and that is usually based upon a combination of facts reality.  Be truthful but don't be modest - promote yours - nobody else will.

What are you known for - St. John's greatest reputation point is around the Men's Basketball team.  We recently did an appeal inviting folks to join the University for one of the pregame receptions and asking that they support the Athletics program.  This has raised almost as much in 2 weeks as 2 general Athletics appeals in the fall to the same audience.  The difference? We are centered around what we are known for.

Each of these can have subsets and segments - a famous Psychologist may resonate well with graduates of that department and people working in the field but unless they have crossed over into pop culture like Dr. Phil, odds are that the average Business graduate has no idea who they are.  

Utilizing those points of awareness and success is a crucial step to building a solid case for support. Once you have that case built, use it - take advantage of the ability to see who opens emails and who responds to phone calls by both segmenting and targeting them and using the folks you know to create profiles to identify who else might act the same.