Behind the Buzz: What Higher Ed Can Learn from Smart Marketing
If you’ve read any of our blogs about Pumpkin Spice Lattes in the past, you may have already picked up on the fact that we love a good marketing schtick. Even if you don’t love the products, you’ve got to admit that Wheaties’ “Breakfast of Champions,” Coca-Cola’s personalized “Share a Coke with” packaging, and Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” are herculean feats of great marketing. They make you sit up and look again and, if you’re like me, they challenge you to think differently about a product or industry. We’ve seen great campaigns take many forms: Wendy’s tearing up Twitter, the ALS ice bucket challenge that swept Facebook in 2014, Rosie the Riveter reminding working women that “We Can Do It,” or your local news chiding, “It’s 10 PM. Do you know where your children are?” Engaging and impactful messaging isn’t just for companies selling products—it’s an art that nonprofits, government agencies, and social movements have mastered to inspire action, raise awareness, and drive meaningful change.
Find Your Niche and Own It
At one point, just offering online courses or being an affordable option may have been enough for higher education institutions to stand out. But in today’s world, where nearly every school offers similar online programs, that just doesn’t cut it as differentiation.
Remember when the gym was just a room full of weights and treadmills? Now there’s SoulCycle, CrossFit, Barre, Zumba, and Bungee Fitness (for real). Industries outside of higher ed have realized that differentiation is key. They find a unique angle—whether it's solving a unique problem or catering to a specific audience; higher education needs to do the same. What are you offering that no one else is? Is there a special, underrepresented demographic you can serve? Maybe your institution has a niche program—like training esports professionals or developing programs focused on social justice leadership. The more specific your niche, the more you’ll stand out. The days of “affordable and online” being your tagline are over. It’s time to dig deeper. Get weird—it works.
Do Your Homework Before You Launch
Behind every successful initiative is a mountain of data and research. Think about your favorite marketing campaigns—Apple’s sleek product launches or Dominoes’ Emergency Pizza—none of these are happy accidents. They are all backed by data, audience research, and tested strategies that guarantee success before they even go public. And that’s exactly what higher education institutions need to do before launching any new program or initiative.
Maybe your institution is considering offering a "first semester free" promotion to attract new students. It sounds bold, it aligns to your mission, and everyone’s excited about it! But before you dive in, what does the data say? Is there enough demand to justify the cost—and what actually is the total cost? It’s tempting to jump into new ideas because they sound dynamic or innovative, but without research to back it up, those ideas fizzle fast. Data-driven decisions are crucial in higher education. You need to look at historical enrollment trends, analyze your target demographics, and understand your audience's needs. Want to try out a new admissions strategy? Test it with a smaller pilot group first. Considering a new degree program? Survey potential students and employers to ensure there’s a market for it. Just like companies wouldn’t roll out a new product without testing it, institutions shouldn’t launch marketing initiatives without doing their homework. Higher ed can’t afford to wing it when students’ futures are on the line.
Can You Support Your Brilliant Idea?
So, you’ve brainstormed a brilliant, innovative new initiative (good job!). You’ve got your niche, you’ve done the research, and you’re ready to make waves. But, and I ask this with love, can you actually deliver on it?
Remember Amazon’s ambitious attempt with its Amazon Go stores? The concept was groundbreaking—grab your groceries, walk out the door, and the store would automatically charge your account with no checkout line needed. It was supposed to be a revolution in grocery shopping. But while the idea was solid, the execution wasn’t ready for primetime. Instead of being fully automated, it required more human labor to track items, handle errors, schedule restocking, and assist confused customers. Even though the concept was exciting, Amazon had to scale back its plans and reevaluate the system before rolling it out more broadly. It wasn’t that the idea was bad—it was just too much, too soon, without the infrastructure to support it.
Imagine rolling out an exciting new “study anywhere” program, partnering with international businesses and schools so that your students can take their classes all around the world. It sounds incredible, but what happens when your support staff is overwhelmed with visa issues, housing questions, or international academic credit transfers? If the logistics don’t match the vision, your bold idea could end up causing more problems than it solves. And nothing kills a great idea (or your institution’s reputation) faster than poor execution.
Confidence in the Product
Marketing is powerful, but here’s a hard truth: all the marketing in the world can’t save a subpar product. You can launch the most exciting program, make the splashiest headlines, and generate tons of buzz, but if your product doesn’t live up to the hype, people will notice—and they won’t stick around for long.
Think back to Theranos (or revisit our blog on the topic if you need a refresher), the company promised revolutionary blood tests that could be done quickly and cheaply with just a single drop of blood. The pitch was brilliant, there was a definitive niche, the marketing looked great, and investors were excited. But there was one glaring problem: the product didn’t work. Behind all the glitz and PR, the product was fundamentally flawed.Imagine your institution rolls out a Master of Arts in Origami, promising students they’ll become experts in advanced paper-folding techniques. The marketing is top-notch, enrollment skyrockets, and the buzz is electric. But once classes start, the curriculum is a mess—filled with dense theory about the philosophical meaning of folding rather than hands-on practice. By graduation, students have mastered origami theory but can’t fold anything more complex than a paper airplane. They enter the highly competitive origami job market unprepared, frustrated, and quick to share their disappointment online.
Before you even think about marketing strategies, you need to be completely confident in the quality of your academic offerings. Everything—curriculum, faculty, and student support services—must be rock solid. If your program isn’t up to standard, it’s time to reevaluate and refine before you roll out any promotional efforts. Once students realize they’ve been sold a half-baked program, no amount of clever marketing will bring them back or repair the damage to your reputation.
At its core, successful marketing—whether for a company selling products or a higher education institution offering degrees—follows the same foundational principles: find your niche, do your research, and ensure you can deliver what you promise. But in higher ed, the stakes are much, well, higher. Unlike other industries, you’re not just dealing with competition and brand visibility. You also have to navigate a maze of federal and state regulations, comply with requirements set by accreditors and licensure boards, and uphold a higher standard of integrity because, at the end of the day, higher education holds the power to transform lives. It’s not just about making a sale—it’s about empowering students to improve their careers and their futures.
So, before you roll out your next exciting program or marketing initiative, make sure you’re not only selling it well, but delivering something that truly meets those high standards. Reputation, trust, and impact are everything. A solid, well-executed campaign and product ensures that your marketing doesn’t just attract students—it keeps them coming back and encourages them to share their positive experience with others.
