Possibilities of using a "PR stunt" in strategic communication of higher education

Abstract

"PR stunt" or „Publicity Stunt“ is a carefully planned event with the aim of drawing public attention to the organizers of the stunt or to another goal of the stunt organization. The reasons for considering the use of a promotional stunt have a great potential for a return to investment and the "earnings" from unpaid advertisements in the media which spontaneously reported that something interesting had happened. Apart from the media themselves, the general public also significantly contributes to the spread of publicity through stunts, so that today practically everyone can record the interesting thing they come across via their smartphone and share it on the Internet. Higher education, but also general education, has transformed from a traditional centuries-old approach where the focus was on teachers and institutions to a modern mass approach where the focus is on students and studying occurs through partnership and cooperation within the learning process. The emergence of mass higher education in almost all countries of the world now implies public criticism of factors such as: the quality of lifelong learning services, the success of examinations, the management of the institution, the form of funding and the student standard. Massification is accompanied by the expansion and diversification of higher education, and the result of the latter is the emergence of competition among individual higher education institutions. Therefore, the importance of effectively conveying the message of a higher education institution to a (potential) student or his sponsor of education therefore becomes the subject of professional marketing communication. The paper provides an overview of PR Stunts in Croatia and the world and proposes thematic guidelines for their organization.