Past, Future and Presents: Meeting New Online Challenges with Primal Marketing Solutions

This study approaches educational marketing from the perspective of the customers, the students. Instructors and instructional designers have designed online learning using a process that revolves around delivery. The process addresses meeting the needs of administrators and aligns well with the growing demands of the educational marketplace. But the growing failure of students to successfully complete online courses warrants further exploration than simply adding more interactivities or instructor interaction. The authors pose that advertising and marketing have addressed complex consumer relationships for almost a century and have created long term successful customer relationships which could provide insights to help with higher education student retention issues. A look at design development research and marketing semiotics could provide greater understanding and student involvement to help marketing semiotics provide a deeper understanding of the importance of inclusion of students’ life experiences and cultural histories.