Higher education institutions are interested in luring latin American students. That no longer is just the case for U.S. universities but also for European and Australian ones.
The advertising agencies on behalf of the University of London and the University of New South Wales turned to Miami-based US Media Consulting, a leading company specializing in media representation and placement in Latin America, to reach students in Brazil and Colombia. The goal is to educate and recruit young adults looking for an alternative educational program through online and print advertising, partnerships and sponsorships opportunities.
US Media Consulting placed online advertising in the education channels. websites of major Latin American newspapers and some online portal.
With the current economic status of the United States, including increased price tags on higher education programs, the difficulty of obtaining a U.S. visa as well as a better currency exchange for Latin America, universities in Europe and Asia Pacific are actively pursuing candidates from Brazil and Colombia to join their programs. According to the Travel Language magazine, United Kingdom ranked 2nd and Australia 5th as destinations for Brazilian students in 2007. The number one reason for studying abroad is the opportunity to find future work and develop a career abroad. Similar numbers apply for Colombian students.
According to statistics published last year, 330,080 foreign students were on degree courses in England. In 2007, almost 21,000 students graduated, gained jobs and residency in Australia, up from 8,200 in 2003. In 2005, 1,132 Brazilian students went to England and 392 to Australia while 487 Colombian students went to England and 536 to Australia according to the OECD and UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
“Several additional programs from Australia have also been successfully launched this year in Latin America from Australian entities such as The University of Technology in Sydney, Queensland University of Technology and Study in Australia” says David Hoover, ad-sales manager for US Hispanic and Latin America at US Media Consulting. “As we look to the future for these accounts, their presence in the market is for a long term reach as Latin America becomes an integral part of their marketing program.”