Colleges go to concerts, movies to reach potential students

The St. Louis Dispatch reports:

For years, many institutions of higher education turned up their noses at the idea of marketing themselves, thinking a college education should not be packaged and pushed like a soft drink.

But the anti-marketing attitude has begun to melt away, especially as other colleges pour more money into attracting students. An April 2007 study by the marketing firm Lipman Hearne found that universities spent 50 percent more that year in marketing than they had in 2000.

This is a sign that consumer demand for higher education is weakening at these higher tuition prices: based on recent wages in the job market for new college graduates. You've got to love the irony though, some of these universities employ those who claim private health insurance companies waste money on marketing to get customers.