Ideas, insights and inspirations.

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 … Continue reading

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In my experience, if you want to put your higher education brand to a quick and dirty reality check — what engineers call “stress and failure” analysis — there are two places to look. First, review any and all content … Continue reading

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Colleges, and those charged with articulating why institutions matter, seldom lack for words… yet rarely learn to speak their school’s one true voice. Why so? In my experience, it has to do with how comfortable any of us can be … Continue reading

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Anyone involved with higher education branding and marketing has used such shorthand as “four-year liberal arts college” or “four-year degree.” Likewise, most colleges and financial aid sources will talk about a bachelor’s degree as a four-year effort. But the best … Continue reading

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Our beloved Pittsburgh Penguins may be the most brand-savvy and well-run organization in sports, with exemplary practices from free pizza for the huddled masses waiting in the student rush line, to season tickets hand-delivered by team stars each summer. The … Continue reading

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Today, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology—where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests purveying contradictory truths. Our Unification … Continue reading

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While higher education marketing professionals traditionally equate the “new year” with the turning of an academic calendar, starting in September, the approach of 2013 gives us good reason to offer 5 New Year’s Higher Education Marketing Resolutions. 1. Reach Across … Continue reading

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I saw Spielberg’s movie “Lincoln” over Thanksgiving weekend. Wonderful screenplay by Tony Kushner and amazing acting by Daniel Day Lewis, Sally Fields and Tommy Lee Jones. I was struck by the parallels between Lincoln’s strategies for consensus building and the … Continue reading

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Marketing of Christian colleges is a nuanced art. It requires a sensitive touch and storytelling that answers two big questions. The first one is a burning question that haunts all of us at some deeper level: how do we reconcile … Continue reading

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How do you know when people are really engaged with your brand? Certainly one way to tell is if they stand in line for hours on end for a chance to buy your latest product. But how do you measure it … Continue reading

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