This document provides a summary of a survey conducted by the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University to understand students' perceptions of communication as an academic field and major. The survey found that communication was perceived as too broad a field without specific career opportunities. It provides recommendations for the school to address this through a brand identity campaign emphasizing communication majors' job and career prospects, and a positioning campaign to better define the field. Tables in the document analyze survey results on factors influencing major selection and perceptions of communication majors.

1. Running head: REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BLSC !1
GROUP REPORT - REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
THE BRIAN LAMB SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION:
BRAND IDENTITY AND POSITIONING CAMPAIGN
Contributing authors:
Rahil Bharadwaj
Kaz Hidaka
Eileen Perez
Katie L. Organ
Kayla Sollars
Amanda Wilcox
Purdue University
Author Note
Contributing authors are graduate students at the Brain Lamb School of Communications,
Purdue University.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to the department chair.

2. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BLSC !2
Review and recommendations for improvements to the
Brain Lamb School of Communications research survey
The problem facing the Brian Lamb School of Communication
The College Major Survey (CMS) (2015) was conducted by the Brian Lamb School of
Communication (BLSC) at Purdue University in an attempt to collect data on the students’
perceptions of selecting the communication field of study as a major or minor, as an
undergraduate student. The intent of the study was to provide qualitative and quantitative data in
support of the School’s goal of addressing “how can the BLSC better promote itself to potential
undergraduate students”.
The evident and directional indication by the CMS results was that the respondents perceived
that the academic field of communication was not well known or respected. The field is
perceived to be too broad to envision a specific area of study and practice, and that it does not
provide job skills or career opportunities. Respondents did positively affirm that they do perceive
communications majors and/or minors to provide the opportunities to learn and acquire effective
communication skills, people skills, and professional competencies. Through as series of
questions posed to Dr. Bart Collins, Director of Online Graduate Program at the BLSC, via an e-
mail exchange (Dec 4, 2015), Dr. Collins indicated that the decreasing trend of communication
majors had been relatively clear over the last five years. Although there were more undergraduate
majors in communications than in other fields such as History, Political Science, English,
Sociology, Philosophy, and others, the decreasing trajectory of communication majors had been
going along with the decrease of overall Liberal Art majors.

3. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BLSC !3
The most fundamental problem the BLSC will need to address is the brand identity of the
school of communication, related to the academic, scientific, and industrial field of study. Kotler,
et al (2010), mentions that “brand identity is about positioning your brand in the minds of the
consumers” (p. 38). The BLSC is recommended to launch intensive branding initiatives of the
school of communication as an indispensable field of study, as well as the critical discipline of
the social science that fulfills the needs and wants of the industries.
The target publics do not have an accurate and sufficient knowledge of or information about
the linkage between the science of communication and the endeavor to make the world a better
and meaningful place to live. The first and second-year college students have little awareness
regarding the wide variety of professions and occupations the study of communication supports.
At the high school level, communication is not viewed as an independent and comprehensive
discipline of the humanities. High school seniors may have a hard time in envisioning
communication as a subject of study at university level unlike science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM) subjects and the well-known social science subjects such as
economics, politics, and business administration.
Survey instrument
A total of ninety-nine students took part in the CMS, which focused on questions related to
choosing an academic major and students’ perceptions of certain majors. Thirty-nine of the
respondents identified as current communication majors, five identified as current
communication minors and the remaining fifty-five students identified as neither majoring in or
minoring in communications.

4. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BLSC !4
The survey included both open-ended and Likert-scale questions, in addition to demographic
questions about sex, age, residency status and year in college (freshman, sophomore, junior,
senior). The first Likert-scale question asked respondents to rate the importance of the following
issues from “not at all important” to “very unimportant” to “neither important nor unimportant”
and so on, until “extremely important.”
1. It is intellectually stimulating
2. It is easy to find a job
3. Reputation of the program
4. Difficulty of the subject matter
5. Anticipated future income potential
6. Fun classes
7. Quality of the faculty
8. Quality of the other students in the major
The survey also asked students open-ended questions such as what they see as the advantages
of being a communication major and the disadvantages of being a communication major. The
open-ended data was coded on multiple rounds to reveal codes and analyzed using Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The survey continued with more Likert-scale
and open-ended questions aimed at understanding the value of school’s namesake, Brian Lamb,
founder and retired chief executive office of the C-SPAN television news network, and the
perception of the school and communication major as a whole.

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The survey results
The CMS collected both qualitative and quantitative data. Through the iterations of
qualitative analysis, particularly with use of the ‘axial coding’ technique (McDaniels & Gates,
2015), the opportunities to acquire the following skills and capabilities (in the order of higher
frequency) were identified as the perceived advantages of being a communications major:
1. Effective communication skill(s)
2. Good career development
3. Effective people skill(s)
4. Professional competency
5. Academic career development
The perceived disadvantages of being a communications major were also elicited from the
survey and are listed below:
1. Not known/respected
2. Broad/No specific field
3. No career opportunity
4. Less job skill(s)
Through both descriptive and inferential data analyses on the data from the CMS, key
observations have been determined. The correlation analysis determined that communication
major respondents tend to have a higher rate of recommendation of the major to other students
(Table 1-1).

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Table 1-1
!
A strong positive correlation was confirmed between communication majors and
‘probability’, meaning that current communication major respondents tend to have higher
approval rate of being a communication major student. Positive correlations were confirmed and
the relative t-test analysis verified the perfect p-value between ‘probability’ and
‘mentor’ (Appendix A), meaning that those students whose mentor recommends communication
as a major would feel good about being a communication major (Table 1-2).

7. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BLSC !7
Table 1-2
!
The most critical factors for picking a major and minor were “Easy to find job”, “Anticipated
future income”, “Intellectually stimulating”, and “Reputation of the program” in the order of
higher frequency (8 out 10 informants agreed or strongly agreed) (Table 1-3).

8. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BLSC !8
Table 1-3
!
Recommendations
Based on the analyses and observations discussed in the above, there are two main
initiatives to address the recommendations for BLSC promotion initiatives geared toward its
undergraduate program. The initiatives recommended are a brand identity campaign and a
positioning campaign. Dr. Collins also stated that the online graduate school program for
communications is growing rapidly and the upward trajectory will out-pace the losses seen in
undergraduate major. Based on the observations that Dr. Collins shared here, we certainly see the

9. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BLSC !9
popularity for the study of communication is steady in graduate school; the value of
communication study is recognized by the people who are closer to the profession and industry.
Table 2-1
!
Table 2-1 illustrates the codebook used for identifying the themes present in the last open-
ended survey question, “how could the BLSC at Purdue better promote itself to the potential
students” (Q25).
Brand identity campaign elements
The recommended brand identity campaign is comprised of the following elements.
1. “Easy to find a job”, “Anticipated future income”, “Intellectually stimulating and
“Reputation of the program” are key elements that should be present in all communications
and advertisements for the brand identity and positioning campaign.
2. The brand identity initiative should focus on “Financially rewarding career development” as
the strength of the undergraduate communication degree. This element should also be a
priority theme for the messages in the promotion campaign.

10. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BLSC !10
3. The brand differentiation initiative should also reflect the BLSC’s strength in “Quality of the
faculty”, with introduction and highlights of faculty members and their specialties and
achievements. The emphasis should be placed on the close connections with real societal and
professional worlds.
4. Key messages within the campaign would include:
1. Communication major or minor students will be provided with the opportunities to study
and practice communication in a variety of practical situations, which are filled with the
chances to learn and acquire capabilities and skills that can be practically applied for
numbers of professional competencies in relationship building, conflict management,
crisis management, teamwork building, global communication, and leadership
enhancement.
2. The BLSC provides constant and intensive training opportunities to enhance
communication capabilities and skills in writing, speaking, and discussing.
Positioning campaign elements
The recommended positioning campaign is comprised of the following elements.
1. Stress that the BLSC has a large and active alumni association consisting of graduates
who are practicing knowledge, skills, and professional competencies, acquired from the
study and research of communication.
2. Conduct alumni survey with an intention to compile the information on the BLSC
graduates’ companies, professions, job titles, career path plan, and income prospective.
Reflect the survey results upon the aforementioned action proposal.

11. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BLSC !11
3. The BLSC promotion campaign should be directed particularly toward the mentors or
influencers of the potential students/customers. High school teachers and counselors may be
the specific target for the campaign.
4. Strengthen the network between BLSC students and the alumni corporate members by
supporting the recruitment activities of the corporations.
5. Key messages within the campaign would include:
1. Marketing, advertising, public relations, crisis management, media control, global
communication, team building, people engagement, intra organizational communication,
presentation, research and surveys, and many other related fields are driven by the
science of communication; the communication effectiveness in these practical fields is
the lifeblood for welfare and advancement of the industries and humanity.
Communication is the salient function of human beings for the effectiveness of societal
fundamentals and infrastructures. The study and science of communication are essential
for the enhancement of both culture and civilization of humanity.
2. The study of communication is connected to the wide variety of professions in the
fields of information technology, internal communication, marketing, advertising, public
relations, crisis management, global communication, research, and business performance
efficiency with decent financial and reputable rewards.
Utilizing Social Media
To increase the number of people reached by the brand and positioning campaigns, social
media should be utilized. “In the United States and Canada, over 80 percent of the population is
online, spanning every ethnic, socioeconomic, and educational divide” (McDaniel, 2015, pg.
140). As of December 3, 2015, the BLSC has 1,047 followers on Twitter and 2,260 followers on

12. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BLSC !12
Facebook. Considering there are close to 40,000 students enrolled in Purdue University for the
fall semester of 2015, there are so many missed opportunities to share all of the wonderful
attributes the BLSC has to offer.
Social media is not only a place to share an individual’s thoughts, but also a place for
networking. Part of the brand campaign is to show that BLSC has an amazing faculty dedicated
to improving the lives of their students. One easy way to do this is highlighting the achievements
of the faculty with Facebook and Twitter posts. The BLSC is already utilizing Twitter to
highlight their seniors’ accomplishments. On December 3, 2015, senior Sutton Roach was
acknowledged by the BLSC Twitter page for making the front page of The Exponent (Purdue
University’s newspaper). The same sort of posts should be utilized to highlight professors and
their achievements.
To stress that the BLSC has a large and active alumni association, Facebook and Twitter is a
fantastic platform for students to communicate with both alumni and other students. As an
example, on October 16, 2015, Kelsey Sullivan Tweeted, “Not every school has an Olympic gold
medalist in their alumni network. Thanks, @davidboudia (David Boudia) for visiting
@LambSchool (BLSC).” David Boudia is an Olympic Champion Diver, and will be in Rio for
the 2016 Olympics.
If students were directed to the Twitter and Facebook pages of the BLSC, they would find
upcoming internships, lectures, events, and other students all at their disposal. The possibilities
are endless, and it all starts with one conversation. We are all liked together through our
“similarities, social relations, interactions, and flows” (Borgatti, 2009, pg. 893). If utilized to its
full potential, social media would greatly increase the Brian Lamb School of Communication’s

13. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BLSC !13
recognition, and spark more conversations about what a communication major or minor has to
offer.
Conclusion
After thoroughly reviewing the data provided, students interviewed on the perceptions of
the academic field of communication revealed a negative outlook on the field, showing that it
was neither well known nor respected. The field of communication was seen as too broad with
no specific area of study. However, having a major or minor in communication did provide
important and valuable skills needed in a professional setting. Fortunately, when reviewing the
data provided in response to specifically, the Brian Lamb School of Communication, higher
ratings reflected a better perception of the work being done within the school at Purdue
University.
In an effort to address the question, “how could the BLSC at Purdue better promote itself
to the potential students”, two campaigns have been designed to reinforce and project not only
the value of a major or minor in communication but to also bring awareness and recognition to
the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University. These initiatives include both a
brand identity campaign and a repositioning campaign, which target high perceptions in
communication as reported by the data collected by the College Major Survey. The brand
identity campaign focuses on projected academic and professional outcomes, such as ease in
finding a job and other focus points targeting a bright future as an outcome of having a major or
minor in communication. One example for a focal point would be highlighting the quality of
faculty, which was also reported as a strong suit, to promote a high quality learning environment.
The positioning campaign should highlight proof of success after graduating from the BLSC by
showcasing a strong, large, and active alumni base.

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Finally, diving into social media should prove to further announce and foster advocacy of
the two campaigns by reinforcing the highlighted initiatives on a public and widely used
medium. With the use of popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, a community of
prospective, current, and former students can share ideas, successes, and news within the Brian
Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University.

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References
Kotler, Philip et al. (2010). Marketing 3.0: From Products to Customers to the Human Spirit.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
McDaniel, Jr., C., & Gates, R. (2015). Marketing Research, (10th edition). Chapter 11, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Percy, Larry and Rosenbaum-Elliott, Richard (2012). Strategic Advertising Management (Fourth
Edition).
Tracy, S. J. (2013). Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis,
Communicating Impact (First Edition ed.). Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

16. Code Q11 thru Q 14
Mentor: People who's opinion you value would want you to become a
Communication Major or Minor? (Q14)
Probability: Overall, becoming a Communication Major or minor would be
good? (Q15)
Paired Samples Statistics
Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Pair 1 Q14 3.87 101 9.522 .947
Q15 4.49 101 9.547 .950
Paired Samples Correlations
N Correlation Sig.
Pair 1 Q14 & Q15 101 .996 .000
Paired Samples Test
Paired Differences
t df
Sig. (2-
tailed)Mean
Std.
Deviation
Std.
Error
Mean
95% Confidence Interval of
the Difference
Lower Upper
Pair 1 Q14
-
Q15
-.618 .847 .084 -.786 -.451 -7.337 100 .000
Appendix A