Iconic Summer Pastimes: Lemonade, Sunburns…and College Tours
“Summertime and the livin' is easy,” except if you are a backward-walkin’, crowd-wranglin’, pepped up, college tour guide! These hard working students are the true heroes of the college admission process. Whether they understand their power or not, they are the true embodiment of the school’s character, culture and brand. In heat and humidity, as well as wind and rain, these guides are fearless and dedicated to showing the crowds of often caffeinated parents and sleep-deprived students the “distinctive” elements of their campus.
When I returned home from my week of college touring, I was swimming in data and stats, but more importantly, I could articulate the VIBE of each campus. I realized that this had less to do with the scripted words the tour guides and admission counselors relayed, but in how they engaged with the families, where their eyes lit up vs when they smirked at a truism being exposed, and when they shared vulnerabilities of their own college journey.
PODs vs POPs
As a former branding strategist, this reaction can be outlined in two marketing principles: Points of Parity (POPs) and Points of Difference (PODs). POPs are dimensions of an experience or product that are true for every product in a particular category. For example, airlines prioritize safety over comfort. They all say and do this as a point of assurance and “table stakes.” In contrast, PODs are the emotional differences between brands or products in the same category. Back to our airline example, the vibe on a Southwest flight is different than a flight on Virgin Atlantic. The former is casual, fun, responsible-yet-lighthearted and communal; whereas the latter is premium, stylish and more exclusively personalized. Same product, same ultimate goal, but a completely different essence and emotion. Successful brands give a nod to the their POPs, but proudly scream their PODs.
During my college tours, I saw an abundance of POPs: study abroad availability, blue light phones, meal plan flexibility, roommate selections aligned by living styles, school spirit, and some form of a tradition where you touch some iconic statue to increase your chances of a 4-year graduation rate. From my experience, the attention on the POPs dominated the admission talks and campus tour narratives. Packs of prospectives march through grassy tree-lined quads, in and out of sterile libraries, into standard classrooms just ingesting these POPs as they are dished out. The PODs, harder to locate, came out in between planned stops as the tour guide engaged with the lucky family at the front of the pack as they turned their back to walk to the next stop. They were noticeable on the quad in the laughter and energy from small packs of students walking from building to building. They were seen on bulletin boards and in small interactions between campus staff and students. .
The Takeaway
For all of the students and families currently embarking on this grand American pastime, I urge you to seek out the PODs that matter to you. This will be different for every single applicant, but it is the most important input into your college list to help you separate the schools that are popular to those that are the right match for you. Definitely go to the official information session, take the tour, introduce yourself to the admission counselor who represents your region…but, don’t just do those three things and get in your car and head to the next stop. Take an extra hour on your own and sit on the quad, walk back to the food court and have a bite to eat, walk through an academic building and engage in a conversation with a staff or faculty member, look at the bulletin boards for events and speakers coming to campus that week. Feel the VIBE! Breathe it in. Ask about it. And, most importantly, take note of what you see and feel as those nuggets will be the details that help colleges see that you are the one that they should have on their admit list!
