Larson accepts new position in marketing and communication

Rob Larson, associate professor of management, recently took on a new role at Luther. Larson’s new title, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing, went into effect June 16.

“Many of the recommendations in the [strategic] plan focus on garnering greater visibility for Luther,” said President Torgerson. “That requires a greater amount of time and expertise be given to develop appropriate marketing and communication strategies.”

The position was announced last spring. Larson was among several applicants that underwent interviewing for the new position.

“I am pleased that Rob Larson has accepted this challenge,” said Torgerson. “His experience and expertise will be a great asset.”

As the director of communications and marketing, Larson is the newest member of Luther’s administrative cabinet. He supervises departments such as public information, publications, music organizations and tours as well as sports information.

“From a strategic standpoint, my role is to coordinate how we interface and communicate with a number of external audiences,” said Larson.

He said much of his work involves supporting development in admissions and alumni relationships.

“[The new position will] garner greater visibility for Luther, build the applicant pool, penetrate new secondary markets and develop a more dynamic Luther web presence,” said Torgerson.

But Larson’s title isn’t the only change his career move brings. He has also created a student marketing council to evaluate message and strategy implementation. Six students serve in work-study positions under Larson to bring a student perspective to Luther’s marketing strategy.

“If we’re going to communicate to a market that’s 17 or 18 years old, we have to remember that there are better eyes on this campus than the professionals,” said Larson.

Each student received a different assignment or project to work on in relation to Luther’s marketing campaign, and the group meets about once a week to report progress.

“The main reason why we’re here is to because they need students to tell the board what is appealing to students,” said group member Stephanie Lim (’09). “Using us they can ‘tap into’ [prospective student’s] minds.”

The group examines how other schools market, especially through websites, and investigates Luther’s strengths and weaknesses with the current system.

“We’re trying to increase student application and diversity of student applications, and also make Luther more marketable and competitive,” said Lim.

Lim is currently working to improve communication between students and parents on Luther’s campus. An idea for a social network connecting Luther students and their parents, particularly those of first-years, is on Lim’s agenda for the marketing group.

“We working on creating opportunities for parents to feel more connected to the institution and students’ lives,” said Larson in describing the inspiration for Lim’s assignment.

Other group members work on assignments related to communicating the Luther story to the outside world, which Larson says has proved challenging in recent years. Larson explained the difficulty of conveying Luther’s diverse characteristics within a small-town setting.

“Our story is phenomenal, but we have to tell it,” said Larson. “It’s a great place, but if we can’t tell that story then we’re going to be challenged.”

Although Luther doesn’t have a marketing campaign per se, Larson said, “Our job is to tell the Luther story so we can better attract those students for whom Luther will be a superb educational opportunity.”

Larson said his newly founded group is just one of dozens of projects he will work on this year.

“Students are among our best marketers,” said Torgerson. “We must listen to students as we craft the appropriate messages and test those messages with current students to be effective in reaching prospective students.”

Larson will serve part time as communications director and professor until the end of this school year, at which point he will transition to the full time communication position. Although he won’t be teaching full time, Larson has no intentions of terminating his teaching career at Luther. He hopes to teach at least one class per year to maintain student relationships he values.

“Teaching is an important part of who I am, and I hope to keep that connection at least on a limited basis,” said Larson.

But Larson’s title isn’t the only change his career move brings. He also created a student marketing council to evaluate message and strategy implementation. Six students serve in work study positions under Larson to bring a student perspective to Luther’s marketing strategy.

“If we’re going to communicate to a market that’s 17 or 18 years old, we have to remember that there are better eyes on this campus than the professionals,” said Larson.

Each student received a different assignment or project to work on in relation to Luther’s marketing campaign. The group meets about once a week to report progress.

“The main reason why we’re here is because they need students to tell the board what is appealing to students,” said Stephanie Lim ('09). “Using us they can ‘tap into’ [prospective students'] minds.”

The group examines how other schools market, especially through Web sites, and investigates Luther’s strengths and weaknesses with it's current system.

“We’re trying to increase student applications and diversity of student applications and also make Luther more marketable and competitive,” said Lim.

Lim is currently working to improve communication between students and parents on Luther’s campus. An idea for a social network connecting Luther students [particularly first-years] and their parents, particularly those of first-years, is on Lim’s agenda for the marketing group.

“We are working on creating opportunities for parents to feel more connected to the institution and students’ lives,” said Larson.

Other group members work on communicating the Luther story to the outside world, which Larson says has proved challenging in recent years. He explained the difficulty of conveying Luther’s diverse characteristics within a small-town setting.

“Our story is phenomenal, but we have to tell it,” said Larson. “It’s a great place, but if we can’t tell that story then we’re going to be challenged.”

“Our job is to tell the Luther story so we can better attract those students for whom Luther will be a superb educational opportunity,” Larson said.

Larson said his newly founded group is just one of dozens of projects he will work on this year.

“Students are among our best marketers,” said Torgerson. “We must listen to students as we craft the appropriate messages and test those messages with current students to be effective in reaching prospective students.”

Larson will serve part time as communications director and professor until the end of this school year, at which point he will transition to the full time communication position. Although he won’t be teaching full time, Larson has no intentions of terminating his teaching career. He hopes to teach at least one class per year to maintain the student relationships he values.

“Teaching is an important part of who I am, and I hope to keep that connection, at least on a limited basis,” said Larson.