Free Digital Marketing Analysis
What Enrollment Marketing Directors Actually Need From Their Agency in 2026
July 24, 2026
TL;DR Enrollment marketing directors need agencies that understand enrollment as a revenue system. Contrary to popular misconceptions, they don't need more channels or reports in 2026. For any higher education marketing agency, what to look for includes strategic partners that operate across the ful...
What Higher Ed Marketing Leaders Are Getting Wrong About Digital in 2026
July 18, 2026
TL;DR Leaders are optimizing for how students used to discover institutions, instead of how they research and discover institutions today. That's not a good higher education digital marketing strategy in 2026. In fact, it hurts student acquisition cost optimization across the board. Enrollment marke...
Why ChatGPT Ads Are a New Opportunity for Higher Education Enrollment Marketing
July 10, 2026
TL;DR ChatGPT ads let universities show up in ChatGPT as prospective students ask relevant questions. That's a huge deal. When it comes to ChatGPT advertising, higher education institutions should know this: with students increasingly using AI tools amid considering degree options and schools, these...
How to Build a Marketing Strategy That Survives Contact With Reality
July 2, 2026
Seemingly robust marketing strategies often emerge from organizational planning rooms. Yet far too often, these same strategies fall apart once timelines, budgets, organizational complexities, and other real-world factors enter the equation. The strategy to execution gap in marketing shouldn’t be un...
The Hidden Cost of Winning Bad-Fit Clients
August 28, 2026
The hidden cost of winning bad-fit clients isn’t just churn, but also the compounding effects of internal distractions, reputational dilution, scope creep, and overservicing. For B2B businesses, simply winning more leads isn’t the goal…but rather winning the right leads is. The bottom line? When you...
What It Actually Means to Fire Your Marketing Agency (And When You Should)
August 21, 2026
Firing your marketing agency is about recognizing when the partnership no longer drives advantageous business outcomes. It’s not about reacting to just one disappointing quarter. You should fire your marketing agency if they’ve shifted from strategic advisor to task manager. Likewise, you should fir...
The Real Reason Higher Ed Marketing Budgets Get Cut (It's Not the Economy)
August 14, 2026
Higher ed marketing budgets get cut when marketing’s contribution to enrollment isn’t clear (not because the economy is weak). When it comes to higher education marketing budget justification, enrollment outcomes (not marketing activity) should be the focus of reporting. Barring visible, tangible hi...
What the Enrollment Cliff Actually Means for Your Marketing Budget in 2027
August 7, 2026
TL;DR In light of the current enrollment cliff, your 2027 marketing budget should factor in universities competing for fewer students as acquisition costs continue to rise. The best enrollment cliff marketing budget strategy in 2027 must accommodate a shrinking (and more competitive) pool. Likewise,...
How to Build a Full-Funnel Enrollment Marketing Strategy That Actually Works
August 1, 2026
A strategic higher education enrollment marketing funnel should align messaging and data across the entire student journey. Through one coordinated system (not disconnected cross-channel campaigns), this marketing strategy must drive student enrollment. This happens via connecting awareness, conside...
What Enrollment Marketing Directors Actually Need From Their Agency in 2026
July 24, 2026
TL;DR Enrollment marketing directors need agencies that understand enrollment as a revenue system. Contrary to popular misconceptions, they don't need more channels or reports in 2026. For any higher education marketing agency, what to look for includes strategic partners that operate across the ful...
What Higher Ed Marketing Leaders Are Getting Wrong About Digital in 2026
July 18, 2026
TL;DR Leaders are optimizing for how students used to discover institutions, instead of how they research and discover institutions today. That's not a good higher education digital marketing strategy in 2026. In fact, it hurts student acquisition cost optimization across the board. Enrollment marke...
Why ChatGPT Ads Are a New Opportunity for Higher Education Enrollment Marketing
July 10, 2026
TL;DR ChatGPT ads let universities show up in ChatGPT as prospective students ask relevant questions. That's a huge deal. When it comes to ChatGPT advertising, higher education institutions should know this: with students increasingly using AI tools amid considering degree options and schools, these...
How to Build a Marketing Strategy That Survives Contact With Reality
July 2, 2026
Seemingly robust marketing strategies often emerge from organizational planning rooms. Yet far too often, these same strategies fall apart once timelines, budgets, organizational complexities, and other real-world factors enter the equation. The strategy to execution gap in marketing shouldn’t be un...
The Hidden Cost of Winning Bad-Fit Clients
August 28, 2026
The hidden cost of winning bad-fit clients isn’t just churn, but also the compounding effects of internal distractions, reputational dilution, scope creep, and overservicing. For B2B businesses, simply winning more leads isn’t the goal…but rather winning the right leads is. The bottom line? When you...
What It Actually Means to Fire Your Marketing Agency (And When You Should)
August 21, 2026
Firing your marketing agency is about recognizing when the partnership no longer drives advantageous business outcomes. It’s not about reacting to just one disappointing quarter. You should fire your marketing agency if they’ve shifted from strategic advisor to task manager. Likewise, you should fir...
The Real Reason Higher Ed Marketing Budgets Get Cut (It's Not the Economy)
August 14, 2026
Higher ed marketing budgets get cut when marketing’s contribution to enrollment isn’t clear (not because the economy is weak). When it comes to higher education marketing budget justification, enrollment outcomes (not marketing activity) should be the focus of reporting. Barring visible, tangible hi...
What the Enrollment Cliff Actually Means for Your Marketing Budget in 2027
August 7, 2026
TL;DR In light of the current enrollment cliff, your 2027 marketing budget should factor in universities competing for fewer students as acquisition costs continue to rise. The best enrollment cliff marketing budget strategy in 2027 must accommodate a shrinking (and more competitive) pool. Likewise,...
How to Build a Full-Funnel Enrollment Marketing Strategy That Actually Works
August 1, 2026
A strategic higher education enrollment marketing funnel should align messaging and data across the entire student journey. Through one coordinated system (not disconnected cross-channel campaigns), this marketing strategy must drive student enrollment. This happens via connecting awareness, conside...
What Enrollment Marketing Directors Actually Need From Their Agency in 2026
July 24, 2026
TL;DR Enrollment marketing directors need agencies that understand enrollment as a revenue system. Contrary to popular misconceptions, they don't need more channels or reports in 2026. For any higher education marketing agency, what to look for includes strategic partners that operate across the ful...
What Higher Ed Marketing Leaders Are Getting Wrong About Digital in 2026
July 18, 2026
TL;DR Leaders are optimizing for how students used to discover institutions, instead of how they research and discover institutions today. That's not a good higher education digital marketing strategy in 2026. In fact, it hurts student acquisition cost optimization across the board. Enrollment marke...
Why ChatGPT Ads Are a New Opportunity for Higher Education Enrollment Marketing
July 10, 2026
TL;DR ChatGPT ads let universities show up in ChatGPT as prospective students ask relevant questions. That's a huge deal. When it comes to ChatGPT advertising, higher education institutions should know this: with students increasingly using AI tools amid considering degree options and schools, these...
How to Build a Marketing Strategy That Survives Contact With Reality
July 2, 2026
Seemingly robust marketing strategies often emerge from organizational planning rooms. Yet far too often, these same strategies fall apart once timelines, budgets, organizational complexities, and other real-world factors enter the equation. The strategy to execution gap in marketing shouldn’t be un...