Engineering colleges never short of new marketing ideas

Chennai: Barred from distributing pamphlets and leaflets to lure students during the government’s single window counseling at Anna University, Chennai-based private engineering colleges have come up with an innovative marketing idea. They have got juice vendors outside the University premises to sport large umbrellas with their college name and counselling code to attract students. Murugesan, a juice vendor outside Anna University, said he was approached by a person claiming to be representative of one of the private engineering colleges asking him to set up a new big umbrella in the shop.

“I accepted it without knowing the fact that this could be used for marketing purpose as I have been doing my business under scorching sun for a long time. Earlier FM radio stations and telecom companies use to give us such umbrellas, which costs about Rs 1,500, for advertisements,” he said. Colleges have chosen this kind of marketing in the hope that students may get lured and opt for them during the counselling but most students have already made up their minds about the college they want to enter.

“I had come to Anna University to select Electronics and Communication engineering (ECE) in a private college near my house, so why would I look at the umbrella and select that specific college?” S. Manikandan, an engineering aspirant from Coimbatore said.Asked about umbrella marketing, a senior Anna University official said the university could have done away with the umbrella if it was inside the campus.

However, they would try to take up the issue with the local police officials for action as this is ambush marketing. Every year private colleges come up with different ideas. Last year a private engineering college had placed several barricades with college details on them, which were later removed by the police after university officials had brought it to their notice.