In a landscape marked by fierce competition, multiple educational models, and profound changes in the behavior of the new Generation Z and Generation Alpha, attracting and retaining students has become one of the greatest challenges facing Brazilian higher education.

More than just filling open spots, institutions of higher education (HEIs) need to create value, offer personalized experiences, and maintain ongoing relationships with their audiences. It is in this context that marketing and relationship consultant Luciana Palhete, CEO of Bureau, outlines the paths for educational leaders to take in developing more effective and sustainable strategies.

According to Luciana, the current problem goes beyond student recruitment. “The challenge facing higher education is no longer just selling enrollment spots, but ensuring student retention. The cumulative dropout rate in the country stands at 57 percent, which makes retention the sector’s true ‘Achilles’ heel,’ especially in distance learning, where the rates are even higher,” she notes.

In this regard, institutional communication must move away from a transactional approach and build an authentic brand narrative that aligns with the career path the student is pursuing. The executive states that successful student recruitment and retention campaigns must be data-driven. “Dropout rates must be addressed before enrollment,” she emphasizes.

She notes that in one of her consulting projects, the analysis of more than 70,000 leads from a partner higher education institution made it possible to reduce the cost of acquisition by 20% by directing investments only toward profiles with the highest academic and financial fit. “Business Intelligence and CRM have become strategic pillars for identifying which students are likely to stay,” she says.

Luciana Palhete highlights strategies for attracting students to higher education. Photo: Bett Brasil

Luciana emphasizes that the student recruitment cycle is no longer seasonal: “Today, it’s a 24/7 machine focused on nurturing leads.” To win students’ trust, she says, content marketing plays a key role in explaining the institution’s unique features, methodologies, curricula, and employment statistics. Building a relationship of trust is the first step toward student retention.

Generations Z and Alpha: Hyperconnected Digital Natives

Engaging with the younger generations is another key point. For Gen Z and Gen Alpha students—who are hyperconnected and averse to traditional advertising—educational marketing needs to shift from “institutional promotion” to “dialogue and co-creation.”

The executive describes successful experiences in which the institution began engaging with elementary school students, creating lasting bonds that are perceived as authentic. It’s also necessary to transform the content, Luciana notes. “Platforms like TikTok and Instagram require authentic storytelling, giving a voice to students and teachers who act as brand ambassadors,” she said.

With the support of artificial intelligence and automation, communication shifts from being mass-based to hyper-personalized: “Students interested in medicine, for example, receive content about careers, events, and trends in the field—not just information about college entrance exams—ensuring that the message is relevant at the exact moment they make a decision,” he explains.

See also:

• Brazil Reaches 10 Million Students in Higher Education and Sees Distance Learning Surpass In-Person Courses for the First Time

This approach makes it possible to identify a variety of habits and interests, while also driving cross-selling and upselling opportunities within the framework of lifelong learning, through continuing education courses that will contribute to personal growth and the development of new skills.

To ensure lasting relationships, Luciana advocates that higher education institutions adopt the concept of community, in which the student experience (UX/CX) becomes the new branding. The expert highlights initiatives such as channels for ongoing interaction and proactive risk monitoring, analyzing absences, engagement, academic performance, and complaints to take action before students drop out.

For Luciana, student recruitment and retention are ongoing activities, not just efforts concentrated around college entrance exam periods. The expert is adamant that higher education institutions that treat educational marketing as a cost rather than as strategic intelligence tend to lose their competitive edge.

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