David Gibson is vice president for communications and marketing at Middlebury, where he oversees public affairs, marketing, internal and crisis communications, branding, web strategy, social media, creative services, and print and mail operations. He has three decades of experience advancing the interests of mission-driven institutions and has built programs clarifying their value in the world and bringing deeper engagement with stakeholders. He has held staff positions at Hampshire, MIT, and Dartmouth and was a vice president of strategic communications for the international consulting firm Grenzebach Glier and Associates. At Cornell, he and his team won two Sibley “magazine of the year” awards. As its managing editor, he helped Yankee earn its first National Magazine Award nomination for reporting.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How David's career led to higher education marketing, and how his background in magazines has helped inform his career and given him a unique marketing perspective
• Why articulating who your institution truly is in a conversational way lies at the heart of higher education marketing's impact
• Why David sees his role as “curating and collating” an institution’s messaging as much as “creating” content
• Why getting stakeholder buy-in is really just about having conversations with people and listening to their thoughts
• How David defines "engagement", based on enabling an audience to emotionally feel something that can motivate them to do something in partnership with the institution
• Why identifying and repurposing content is a powerful way for especially small higher ed marketing teams to expand their reach
• How David learned "the business of philanthropy" through a new career change, and what key lessons about giving and communication he learned in that role
• What wisdom David has to share with higher education marketing professionals seeking to master their communications skills

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/david-gibson-6552644/ 
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/middlebury-college/ 

• Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com 
• Website: www.upandup.agency
• Email: contact@upandup.agency

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Why mastering your brand platform and getting your messaging and strategy right offers many benefits for higher education institutions
• What ten key benefits you’ll receive from a great brand strategy:
  • Greater clarity
  • Strengthens trust
  • Influencing of beliefs
  • Instilling confidence
  • Inspiring your employees
  • Rallying the community
  • Boosting recognition
  • Maintaining loyalty
  • Protecting your pricing
  • Creating value
• Why knowing the benefits of getting your brand strategy can help you get buy-in from leadership
• How to get access to a downloadable PDF of these ten key benefits in greater detail from Allison and the team at Up&Up

Resources

• Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
• Website: www.upandup.agency
• Email: contact@upandup.agency
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency

Laralee Ferrell Harkleroad partners with organizations seeking to grow and transform their culture, with an emphasis on branding, communications, and marketing. She currently serves enrollmentFUEL as a professional consultant and manager & curriculum strategist for their REV: Fuel Training Series. Dr. Harkleroad also enjoys working with tomorrow’s leaders in the classroom by serving as an adjunct professor and guest lecturer.

Previously, as the Director of Marketing and Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Co-Director for Tusculum University, the first University in the state of Tennessee, she built the institution’s first Marketing department, establishing processes and policies, creating brand awareness, and building relationships across the organization to help achieve challenging goals.

Joining TU in 2014, her role covered a wide range of responsibilities including strategic planning and developing integrated marketing campaigns in support of student recruitment and retention, as well as alumni engagement and fundraising support. Dr. Harkleroad recently spearheaded the University’s transition from College to University and its efforts to unify and realign the institution's brand. Dr. Harkleroad led the team responsible for all aspects and execution of the institution’s brand strategy including communication flows, social media management, and the phased redesign of the University’s website using only existing internal resources. Dr. Harkleroad continues to serve as an adjunct professor for the University’s College of Business and College of Civic & Liberal Arts.

A career change in 2012 led Dr. Harkleroad to discover her passion for higher education. Prior to 2012, she spent eight years managing the marketing and recruiting efforts for the TriCities, TN/VA office of Baker Donelson Law Firm. She obtained an EdD in leadership and learning in organizations from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, an MBA with a concentration in human resources from King University, and a Bachelor’s in business administration with a concentration in legal studies from East Tennessee State University.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How Laralee found her way to #HigherEd marketing and discovered that it was her true "calling"
• How Tusculum University is actually the second institution Laralee has worked at during a transition from college to university
• What steps Laralee and her team took to ease the transition and reframe their marketing around the university transition
• How changing lamppost banners to feature Tusculum University was the single biggest community impact that excited people for the transition
• What tools and resources Laralee's team used that made the biggest difference throughout the process
• How a clear, aspirational mission statement helped unify everyone and served as a focal point to get all parties involved on the same page
• Why Tusculum University chose the "pioneer" as their mascot, and how it reflects the many ways the institution has served as a pioneer in Tennessee
• How the outbreak of the global pandemic shaped the direction of some of the rebrand marketing
• How all the hard work, strategic thinking, careful planning and implementation paid off in a hugely successful transition and rebrand

Resources:

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/laralee-harkleroad/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/laralee.f.harkleroad
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/laraleeharkleroad/
• Twitter: @lfharkleroad

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• What a “brand strategy” is, and how it is comprised of three key parts: the “why”, the “what” and the “how”
• How your “why”, your brand platform, includes the 4-5 key points that make up your brand pillars, brand proof, persona, brand story and brand promise
• How research, focus groups and other insight generators can help you develop your brand platform
• How your “what”, the visual indicators of your brand such as your logo and colors, don’t have to change unless they need to be refreshed
• Why your “how”, your brand awareness, is divided into four key buckets: distinction, relevance, consistency, and frequency
• Why your messaging needs to reach your target audience where they are and needs to be consistent across all the ways your audience engages with you
• Why your message should be relevant to your target audience and spark intrigue and interest

Resources

• Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
• Website: www.upandup.agency
• Email: contact@upandup.agency
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency

Laura H. Jack is vice president for communications and acting chief diversity officer at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. At Colgate, Jack leads all internal and external communications efforts to steward Colgate’s reputation and identity; build awareness of the University, the excellence of its faculty, and its strong academic programs; and support the University’s core mission, goals, and priorities.

Prior to arriving at Colgate, Jack was vice president at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she oversaw all fundraising, alumni relations, communications, and university events operations.

Outside of higher education, Jack spent nearly 10 years managing marketing and advertising initiatives and multimillion-dollar campaigns with international marketing and advertising firms, such as JCDecaux and Ogilvy & Mather.

Beyond Jack’s professional responsibilities, she is an active member in the community and serves on the board of directors for Community Memorial Hospital and A Better Chance Clinton. Jack earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Pace University, a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Education from Baruch College. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Higher Education at Syracuse University.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How Laura found her way to the world of #HigherEd marketing, and why she chose to take a “backward step” from her job in the corporate world to follow her passion
• How the field of higher education communications has evolved over the decades, and how Laura bridges the gap between her two roles at Colgate University
• How the outbreak of the global pandemic accelerated Colgate’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) plan
• Why DEI work touches everything the institution does, and how disparities in access to vaccines has impacted the institution’s students
• How Colgate University addressed the challenge of bringing students back to campus in a safe and conscientious way
• Why clear, strong and frequent communication has been crucial for navigating the challenges of the global pandemic
• What key lessons Laura and her team at Colgate learned through the challenges and experiences of the pandemic and lockdown
• How Colgate’s marketing during the pandemic highlighted the institution’s COVID response and shifted toward more digital, remote marketing
• What positives Laura has been able to take away from her team’s experiences through the pandemic thanks to the addition of new technologies
• Why how you engage with your team and colleagues matters, and why it is important to acknowledge differences in how people function and communicate

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Why it’s important to ask the question “what is your process?”, and how it can save you from headaches down the road
• Why a predictable, consistent, stable, uniform, repeatable and reliable process is crucial
• Why the processes your agency partners have in place are critical for your success in achieving your end goal
• Why you shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions and seek greater clarity from your agency partners
• Why asking “what is your process?” is the key to minimizing risk and ensuring that you’re happy with your relationship with your agency partner

 
Resources

• Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
• Website: www.upandup.agency
• Email: contact@upandup.agency
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier

Keith Warburg is the Director of Communications for the Florida State University Alumni Association. With more than 10 years of experience in higher ed marketing and communications, he has served as a CMO, graphic designer, and basically every role in between. Keith is focused on building partnerships across campuses through shared problem solving and treating people well.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How Keith was a first-generation college student who fell in love with the college experience, and how he transitioned into a career in higher education
• How Keith’s varied career and skillset have served him in his role as the FSU Alumni Association’s Director of Communications
• How Keith has worked to improve their video marketing game and to bring in current students to help drive the work
• Why collaboration between Admissions and Marketing has created powerful results for Keith, and what advice he has for building a relationship between teams
• What pivotal aha! moments Keith has experienced through his cross-team collaboration efforts
• What differences Keith has experienced moving over to the Alumni Association, and how his focus has shifted to different priorities and methods of engagement
• How Keith works to keep alumni engaged all year long, and how the global pandemic has changed his work
• How the realities of the global pandemic have created new opportunities to collaborate with other institutions and create new, innovative solutions
• Why the many challenges of 2020, from the global pandemic to economic recession to student protests and racial unrest, need a strong sense of community and commitment
• How to address any challenges and obstacles to collaboration you might be facing, and how going outside your campus for partnerships can help

Resources:

• Echoes: The FSU Alumni Podcast: https://alumni.fsu.edu/echoes
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fsu-alumni-association

Andy has worked in education for about 30 years, serving at various times as an admission counselor, admission director, charter school head of school and adjunct college faculty member. He began his career working at his alma mater, Oglethorpe University, before becoming director of admission at LaGrange College. He then left higher education for 11 years to run a K-8 charter school in Newnan, GA. Since July of 2015, Andy has had the privilege of serving as Vice President of Enrollment Management at Andrew College.

Andy and his wife Karen have been married for 31 years. They have two sons who are recent college graduates, and a daughter who is a high school freshman.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How Andy’s career has given him a broad perspective, having worked in many aspects of education including K-12, national and regional liberal arts institutions
• How Andy made the transition from secondary education to higher education, and what makes Andrew College, a two-year private residential institution, unique
• How the small 300-student institution serves students throughout Georgia, and what programs and opportunities they offer their student body
• How Andrew College has a high rate of graduates going on to four-year institutions, and how they prepare their students for the transition with a solid foundational education
• What sort of prospective student outreach efforts Andrew College makes, who their ideal right-fit students are, and how their outreach has changed in the pandemic
• How Andrew College sets about offering a different type of college experience than the institutions they are competing with
• How the institution stays highly price-competitive while offering the added layer of the residential experience
• How as a father, Andy helped his own sons make important choices about their college career and about which school to attend
• How the outbreak of the global pandemic has created a notable education gap, and why Andrew College may be the ideal stepping stone for struggling students

 Resources:

• Andrew College Facebook: www.facebook.com/AndrewCollegeTigers
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/andrew-college/