There’s an old saying: "Advertising is what you pay for, publicity is what you pray for” (Helen Woodward, 1938). I couldn’t agree more.
Here at BlueSky Education PR, we passionately believe that getting your university or business school in the media is amazing publicity, and absolutely vital for establishing a stellar reputation. As public relations professionals, we also think that one of the best ways to do this is by promoting academic research. Here are my top three reasons why it’s important to get your schools academic research into the media.
1. Academic research promotes your institution
The appetite for academic research in the media is huge. Studies and statistics lend credibility to comment pieces and provide great insight into current trends. And the brilliant thing is, taking an interesting academic paper to the press, shines a light on how in touch the research being done at your school is.
These papers also highlight the expertise on offer to potential students, demonstrate why prospective corporate partners might want to work with you, and most fundamentally, are a way to get the brand of the school mentioned in the popular press.
2. Helps businesses and society
Academics conduct research on topics that, they think, are both academically interesting and relevant to business. In fact, many academics think it is part of their duty to produce and disseminate research. They know that the knowledge they acquire can have a really positive impact on the business world. This makes sense considering they are business academics working in business schools that teach current and future business managers and leaders.
However, there is a well-documented gap between business leaders and management researchers. Here at Bluesky Education we attempt to bridge that gap by making sure that these fantastic and interesting papers are seen by as many people as possible. We want to help your institution give good and timely answers to the real problems that we face in the world. However, you can’t solve the world’s problems if the relevant people simply aren’t seeing what you have to say. Working with the media can help translate your research into an impactful story.
3. Keeps your faculty happy
Universities sit on a gold mine of information and journalists from the best publications in the world really want a slice of that action. This means that academics are likely to have their work featured in the likes of the Financial Times, Forbes, The Economist and many more. Perhaps not surprisingly, we find that academics quite enjoy having their hard work featured in these outlets. We love turning that fascinating research into media friendly, understandable content, which can be sent directly to key journalists.
Popularising and wider dissemination of your academics’ research is very important from the business school and university point of view, because it shows you have great academics working there and that they are doing interesting research. But it is also good for the individual academic because they are getting their name in front of the people and businesses that might recruit them for consultancy work. Essentially academics want to be known, and be on the radar of companies, so that when they are thinking about getting a business school academic in to advise on a particular topic or to be on the board for a particular project, they are the first academic that comes to mind.
Additionally, if your university becomes known for fascinating research that is regularly featured in the news, there is no doubt that you will attract the world’s best academics. I probably don’t need to explain why this is beneficial.
Why academic research is the gateway to success
I genuinely believe in the transformative power of academics becoming key media spokespeople, allowing faculty to form powerful connections and reach new audiences that previously couldn't be accessed. Academic research is the gateway for this and is fundamental to a university's reputation, ranking and funding. This means that the target audience, when it comes to marketing of universities, is not only students, but investors too. So, it’s pretty essential that your institute's research is highlighted to as many people as possible! Luckily, we’re here to help with that.
We look forward to hearing from you.
