Aha! :: Elliance Blog

As of yesterday, August 24th, Amazon had listed 24,393 books on brand marketing ready for you to read (have fun). Al Reis has 22 Immutable Laws of Branding. Jack Trout emphasizes differential. And I recently saw a brand glossary from a nationally-known, prominent marketing firm that contained more than 50 brand terms and descriptors. Oh […]

At Elliance, we receive countless higher education request for proposals (RFPs).  Knowing that colleges and universities put together RFPs semi-annually at best, it’s no surprise that some lack clarity. However, the best way to get exactly what you want is to make your RFP crystal clear. Here, are the four most common issues as well […]

So what is an information session? Information sessions are provided by most higher education institutions to provide prospective students and their families the opportunity to see the campus, learn about the university and develop a personal connection.  They also provide program specific details and the opportunity to meet faculty, students and counselors. The target audiences […]

When I was a child, I was fascinated by the PBS show The Woodwright’s Shop. If you haven’t seen the show, the host Roy Underhill makes amazing projects out of wood using manual hand tools. A significant portion of the show featured Mr. Underhill crafting his own tool to aid him in upcoming projects. For […]

Autumn is right around the corner, which means another exciting college football season is not far from kick-off.  For many colleges, football is an integral part of the campus experience and with rabid student fan bases and celebrated traditions, it should be highly considered in higher education enrollment marketing strategy. More and more schools are fielding inaugural football teams […]

Everyone understands the importance of making a good first impression. Be on time, make eye contact, shake hands, don’t forget your manners and always send a thank you letter. While a handwritten thank you letter could help you land your dream job, personalized notes and letters can also play a significant role in higher education […]

The statistics are rather unsettling. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 1,658,370 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2015 and 589,430 people will die from the disease. I wrote about my own cancer scare years ago for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and I always thought I could only fight cancer […]

Recently a colleague asked me about the overarching tensions we hold as a Pittsburgh digital marketing company serving clients worldwide. After some reflection, I compiled a list of three that we instinctively hold: 1. Delivering on Business Strategy & Creative Outcomes. Our clients have described us as a hybrid firm, a cross between business smarts […]

In light of my yellow Elliance copywriter’s desk making its first journey around the shy Pittsburgh sun, I got to thinking about what I’d learned about higher education marketing in the last year, and if there was anything the handful of schools I’ve worked with had in common. It seems to all boil down to […]

We recently met around the conference table at Elliance to discuss the pros/cons of pursuing an RFP opportunity —  a major state research university wanting to sharpen its brand focus and tell a better capital campaign story in order to raise a nice round $1 billion dollars. Needless to say, with that kind of money […]