THE INFLUENCE OF INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION AND BRAND POSITIONING ON STUDENT DECISIONS WITH COLLEGE IMAGE AS AN INTERVENING VARIABLE

Abstract

The implementation of IMC is realized through advertising, sponsorship, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion, while brand positioning in higher education can be achieved through reputation and prospects for future graduates. The image of the educational institution, as a mediating variable, can be measured through good quality, reliability, benefits, service, risk, cost, and popularity. The aim of this research is to analyze the influence of IMC and brand positioning on the Decision-Making Process, with College Brand Image as the intervening variable. LP3I Polytechnic has experienced fluctuations in the number of student registrations, despite implementing marketing strategies through Integrated Marketing Communication and brand positioning. The basis of this research lies in previous studies conducted by Harjadi (2017) on Integrated Marketing Communication and Febriyeni (2019) on IMC and brand positioning in relation to purchase decisions. The difference in this research lies in the dependent variable, research object, and different fields. The method used is descriptive-verificative with data collected through a questionnaire via Google Forms, and analyzed using Path Analysis. The results of the study indicate that Integrated Marketing Communication has a significant positive influence on the College Brand Image of LP3I Cirebon, Brand Positioning has a significant positive influence on the College Brand Image of LP3I Cirebon, Integrated Marketing Communication has a significant positive influence on the Decision-Making Process, Brand Positioning has a significant positive influence on the Decision-Making Process, College Brand Image of LP3I Cirebon has a significant positive influence on the Decision-Making Process, College Brand Image of LP3I Cirebon can mediate the influence of Integrated Marketing Communication on the Decision-Making Process, and College Brand Image can mediate the influence of Brand Positioning on the Decision-Making Process.