Notes from the field

Higher ed loves a blurry line. And one of the blurriest is the line between brand and marketing. The two functions are deeply connected, but they do different jobs. Brand is how an institution becomes known for something. Marketing is how that meaning gets moved into the market. When the distinction gets fuzzy, voice fragments, campaigns drift, and the institution becomes harder to understand. This first post in the series makes the case for clarity before activation.

When the new vice president of enrollment arrived, she discovered there was no yield campaign in place. None at all. With admitted students already in the pipeline and a narrow window before May 1, the institution needed a full yield strategy built and deployed in weeks.