Here, an attempt has been made to explore and study the preference pattern in regards to the usage of external media of engineering students in the private universities in Gujarat. The study also includes student’s rationale of various media usage, and also the impact on them based on the sample of 1096 respondents in the selected engineering institutes of Private Universities of Gujarat. The research is essential to evaluate how the preferences of students’ will provide inputs to private universities for selecting media for the engineering students. This research will also bring out some unexpected and severe fact of preference patterns of external media. The scope of the study comes under the selected private universities in Gujarat. Survey method has been followed to collect the data from respondents of the study in which 1500 questionnaires were distributed to 1500 students of First year B. Tech programs in engineering institutes of Gujarat. However, out of 1500 questionnaires, only 1250 responded and returned by the students. Out of those questionnaires, 1096 with appropriate responses have been accepted and statistically been analyzed.

The main goal of this research is to identify some significant trends, opportunities, and limitations regarding the usage of external media in higher education based on studying the way students use external media during their admission decision. Like a multinational corporation, a university also needs to communicate with its stakeholders. Students are prime stakeholders of the university. To study preference and consumption pattern of various media by students is of paramount importance for private universities of Gujarat. In this eon of rising competition, it is pertinent to recognize the taste of students, their preferences of media, etc. Universities have also been spending enormous amounts on external communication, advertising, and marketing in order to build their positive image, preference in the minds of prospective students, particularly during months of admissions. External Communication, an essential and intrinsic component of corporate communication, provides strategic public and media relations services. It supports various internal and external departments, colleges, and schools throughout a University. They manage the global affairs of a University through its communications. Notably, they also guarantee the value of important messages and the facts image of a University, which are presented consistently in all verbal, printed, electronic, and digital communications. Thus, looking into the importance of external communication in the promotion of a university, the paper focuses upon the preference pattern of external media by engineering students of a private university.

Keywords: Corporate Communication, External Communication, Consumption Pattern.