THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC BRANDING REPUTATION IN MEDIATING THE EFFECTS OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION ON INTEREST IN CHOOSING PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES (PTS) IN EAST JAVA

Abstract

The purpose of the study was conducted to examine and analyze the effect of marketing communication consisting of advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, public relations, direct marketing and word of mouth variables on the interest in choosing a private university in  East Java by mediating Academic Branding Reputation. The research method uses Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with testing using AMOS, a research sample of 186 people with a multi-stage random sampling method. The results of the study that marketing communication which includes advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling and direct marketing that has been carried out by Private University in  East Java cannot directly encourage interest in choosing Private University. Only the word of mouth variable has a significant effect on interest in choosing a private university. Variable advertising, public relations, personal selling and word of mouth have a significant effect on the Academic Branding Reputation of Higher Education. However, sales promotion and direct marketing have no significant effect on Academic Branding Reputation. Academic Branding Reputation plays a role in mediating the influence of Public Relations on the interest in choosing Private University in  East Java. However, it does not play a role in mediating the influence of other communication variables, namely advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing and word of mouth.