A Misaligned Agenda
Higher education is not short on ambition. Institutions are chasing enrollment, brand strength, fundraising, and new audiences, often at the same time, often in separate conversations. CMOs sit at the center of every one of those goals, expected to make them add up into something coherent.
The problem is structural. Growth strategies are built in silos, funded in silos, and measured in silos. Marketing is handed a fragmented agenda and asked to deliver unified results. This chapter examines where that misalignment shows up, what the data reveals about institutional priorities, and what it takes to turn scattered ambition into a growth system that compounds over time.
Chapter Insights
Growth stalls when priorities scatter, not when ambition runs out. Institutions are pursuing enrollment, brand, and advancement simultaneously. The CMOs making progress are the ones building shared systems, not managing separate campaigns.
Fundraising is the missing link in most growth strategies. Only 6% of CMOs name it as their top priority, yet advancement campaigns expose every gap in brand clarity, CRM infrastructure, and institutional storytelling. Ignoring it does not make it go away.
Marketing leaders are fixing foundations, not chasing trends. Brand strategy, website modernization, and digital experience top the priority list across institution types. Emerging technology ranks last. CMOs understand that new tools accelerate strong systems. They do nothing for weak ones.
