Virtual Conference: The Brave New World for Higher Ed Marketers

Opening Keynote: Challenges and Communications in Higher Ed

The coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for higher education, with institutions shifting quickly to remote instruction. Now they are facing questions about when they will shift back.

This session will consider the questions that colleges are facing, and the way they are communicating about them. There will not be a presumption that what one college is doing is necessarily right for any other. But by examining colleges and the response to their announcements — and what they have not said — the session will increase learning for all of us.

Scott Jaschik

Editor, Inside Higher Ed

Template Intervention: The 9 Most Common Templating Mistakes Universities Make (And How To Fix Them)

Imagine this: Joe from alumni relations emails you to ask a favor. He needs an invitation for an upcoming virtual event. Something simple but eye-catching and on-brand. Nothing major. 

But here’s the thing. You already made a template like this weeks ago. The trouble is you can’t get people to use it. So, what do you do — remind Joe and hope he uses the template? Right?

Not exactly.

Maintaining consistent communication Getting faculty and staff to use brand templates can feel a lot like herding cats. But it doesn’t have to! Join Garrett Jestice, Head of Marketing at Lucidpress, as he shows you how to streamline your creative team’s workload:

• The business value of creating customizable templates — instead of fielding one-off requests every time they pop up.
• How to overcome the 9 most common hurdles universities face when creating brand templates.
• Comprehensive tips on how to get your faculty and staff excited about creating new content using existing templates.

The possibilities are endless when you can finally get team members to use existing, professionally-designed templates. So, what are you waiting for?

Garrett Jestice

Head of Marketing, Lucidpress

The Future of Higher Education: Learnings from Discussions with Students and EDU Leaders

As the 2019-2020 school year comes to a close, universities continue to work tirelessly in their transition to a digital-first learning environment. Millions of students currently enrolled in university programs have been forced to leave campus and potentially explore other options for the fall. Now more than ever, higher education leaders are looking to one another and to student communities to adapt and evolve.

Pantheon recently had the opportunity to bring together current students and university administrators to discuss what the future of higher education looks like and how institutions are approaching their planning strategies.

Key Takeaways:

• The Effect of Shifting to Virtual Learning
• Lessons Learned from the Emergency Transition
• Moving Forward: How to Implement a Successful Virtual Learning Experience Leveraging Pantheon

John Sepassi

Platform Sales Executive, Pantheon

How to Advertise to High School Students without Wasting Your Media Spend

Wondering how you can build an impactful high school student advertising strategy? Discover the latest insights into this rapidly changing demographic and how you can leverage this information to amplify your internal advertising strategy. Matt will take a deep dive into Glacier’s primary research, real campaign case studies and showcase how you can deliver the right message, to the right student, at the right time and place.

• Understanding who high school students are today.
• Discover how high school students are consuming higher ed media and selecting their school.
• Get actionable strategies on how to build an impactful high school student advertising strategy.

Matt Diteljan

CEO & Founder, Glacier Marketing

Keynote: The Pursuit of Innovation

Purdue University is about the persistent pursuit of innovation, where people bring their best and learn to build a better world together, over 150 years, again and again. Purdue University is currently preparing its West Lafayette campus, and its diverse community of students, families, faculty and staff, to return to its learning, research and engagement missions this fall while placing the protection of its people at the highest priority. In this session, learn how Purdue University recently and deeply studied its brand essence, evolved its brand platform, and is using this foundation to help communicate the collective Boilermaker attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that will be critical to Protect Purdue and stop the spread of COVID-19 this fall.

R. Ethan Braden

Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Purdue University

Keynote: Pivoting with Purpose: Challenging the Status Quo of Higher Education

Over the last decade, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) has worked to extend our mission and expand the boundaries of higher education. In order to do so, we have made very intentional and purposeful pivots in how we think about and design for learning. We have redefined our understanding of where and when learning can happen and in doing so, have broadened our reach to tens of thousands of learners across the globe. Our goal has been to bring clarity in times of uncertainty.

In order to continue to challenge the higher education status quo and meet the needs of the learner of the future, we must build models and systems that have efficacy. To reach that learner, you must build with them.

Join us to learn more about our learners-first approach to both how we build and how we market. You will also hear how we created the infrastructure that allows us to strategically focus on emerging concepts, solutions and processes to escort us towards that future.

Adrian K. Haugabrook

Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Horizon Group, Southern New Hampshire University

Driving Admissions, Retention, and Donations with Personalized Text Messaging

How can innovative educational organizations break through the digital clutter of information and interact with mobile-first audiences to drive engagement? Top universities and educational institutions are turning to personalized text messaging from Attentive to directly reach students, prospects, and alumni on their mobile devices. 

In this session, learn how to effectively scale two-way text messaging conversations with subscribers to drive admissions, retention, and alumni donations. You’ll also hear from the University of Louisville as they share how text has become one of their most effective direct communications channels by engaging with prospective MBA students to drive admissions and student engagement. 

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how to build and maintain 1:1 relationships with students, prospects, and alumni through two-way text messaging conversations. 
• Discover what content subscribers want to receive via text—including campus tours and open houses, application and enrollment reminders, and opportunities for alumni donations. 
• Get actionable strategies, like quickly growing and segmenting your list of subscribers to send highly personalized content that drives immediate action. 

Sharon Handy

Director of College Communications and Marketing, University of Louisville

Brian Long

CEO & Co-Founder, Attentive

The New Strategic Imperative for Marketing: A Fireside Chat with Terry Flannery and Salesforce.org

• Understand how today’s CMOs and marketing leaders are responding to today’s challenges.
• Explore how today’s leaders can capitalize on a new “digital first imperative” and adjust their strategy and vision?
• Learn how can leaders use today’s challenges as an opportunity to raise the profile of their brand and marketing & communications profession?

Terry Flannery

Policy Fellow, Center for University Excellence at American University

Brad Schleicher

Director, Product Marketing, Salesforce.org

Driving Experiences Through Digital in Higher Education

 The COVID-19 pandemic has surfaced an urgent need for higher-education universities and programs to provide best-in-class educational services through digital experiences. However, higher-ed institutions face many barriers to digital maturity advancement, including (but not limited to) complex stakeholder journeys, siloed organizational structures and inconsistent technology. Despite these obstacles, strategic digital investment in experiences and technology has the opportunity to unlock valuable innovative experiences for prospects, students, staff and administrative teams. Adobe will answer questions around what our customers are seeing in the industry today and which investments to prioritize in order to become a digital leader in higher-ed. 

Conor Leary

Digital Strategist, Adobe

Closing Keynote: Engagement at the Epicenter: Bridging the Gap from Consideration to Conversion

Marketers are in a unique situation across all industries – especially education. A Higher Ed marketing strategy typically consists of campus tours, pamphlets, and brochures to prospective students, transit posters and billboards, and digital ads to name a few. However, among the COVID-19 pandemic, higher ed marketing teams across the country had to quickly pivot their strategy to accommodate the “new normal.” This pivot relaxed the typical marketing playbook for higher ed marketers and made room for creative license to effectively reach intended target audiences.  In this session, we will discuss best practices of engaging current and potential students to maintain retention and attract enrollment, particularly in an unprecedented environment.

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Implement effective digital transformation to drive awareness and interest
• Create on-demand virtual experiences with campus events to entice desire and attract consideration
• Craft clear communications on school planning and affairs to aid in enrollment

Tiffany K. Schreane

CEO, Optilytics Media

Virtual Conference Happy Hour

Please join us for a Virtual Conference Happy Hour in our Social Lounge today at 3:15 PM CT. Chat with your peers and members of the AMA community!