This article examines domestic marketing in the Australian higher education sector, specifically, the marketing investment patterns of universities and their levels of student growth as a return on marketing investment. Marketing expenditure by universities has risen 23 per cent in the five years to 2013, with several institutions allocating in excess of AU$10 million per annum to advertising and promotions. However, few universities convert strong marketing investment into strong revenue streams or student growth returns. With government funding cuts in prospect for Australian universities and proposals to increase their exposure to market forces, it is inevitable that marketing budgets--and the outcomes of expenditure on marketing--will come under greater scrutiny in the future.