Everyone has their own rebellion. As higher ed marketers, we need to channel it.
I’m on a mission at this agency. All of us are.
Modern higher ed was born to battle ignorance. And today, most of our clients are carrying that flag against a very potent form of it — one that doesn’t seem to value foundational things like basic research or critical thought.
That means all marketers in this industry are now in open rebellion. And your team has an epic role to play in this existential struggle.
Get the galaxy’s attention.
Your rebellion begins the moment you summon the bravery to take a bold conceptual risk.
Your creative needs to make your brand the main event, not just the 6, 15, or 30-second breaks in between.
That means you have to contribute to the cultural conversation at least as much as you borrow or reference.
Most of all, the work has to pull people in, not … [gulp] … send them away with a swipe or a skip.
Sharpening your story to be as smart, interesting, real, and relevant as possible is the only hope, especially in what our CEO, Jason Simon, calls this industry’s messy middle.
So, where do we begin?
Build a world and a cause worth joining.
At the start of a campaign, I find it helpful to ground myself in a simple mantra:
Do the work you want to see in the world.
This reminds me to pause and see things from the audience’s point of view.
Imagine being a prospective student in 2025, uncertain about the value of a degree, craving belonging.
A donor deciding between their alma mater and global urgency.
A working professional thinking about grad school, already bombarded by 10,000 messages a day.
These are audiences we all know well. But if we want to pull them in, we need to sync up with what they envision for their lives.
If you’re watching Andor on Disney+ — an origin story of the Rebel Alliance from Star Wars — you know they masterfully explore this narrative thread. Our passionate heroes want freedom from the Empire, so they join a rebellion that’s fighting to achieve it.
“Rebellions are built on hope.”
Hope is your brand. Hope is the better world that you and your community are building together.
The strongest higher ed brands don’t just tell audiences what they stand for. They stop the scroll with an intelligent hook and create branded worlds for their prospects to immerse in. Worlds where prospective students can see a future full of purpose and belonging. Where alumni feel proud of the impact their alma mater is making. Where faculty and staff see themselves as part of the noble mission of higher ed, rather than a single department or role.
If you want everyone to understand the value of your brand, you need to make sure it can’t be ignored.
Fearlessness is now the price of winning attention.
Obviously, in order for people to see the value of your brand, they need to actually see you.
Here are a few ways our team has been thinking about this creative challenge of staying connected and staying relevant.
1. Lead with unapologetic individuality.
Don’t just say you’re bold, show it. Skip the safe shot from the photo library. What if your campaign looked and felt like a fashion editorial? Styled, art-directed, and unexpected. You’re not just trying to fill a frame, you’re trying to be remembered.
2. Act like a lifestyle brand.
Your brand isn’t just what you say, it’s how you show up, every day. What would your voice sound like in a creator’s feed? What story would your audience want to share? These are the signals that build trust and relevance. Not just launch moments—living expressions.
3. Treat your programs like products.
This is where it gets uncomfortable, but important. What if marketing had a seat at the table before the program even existed? Not to gloss it up after the fact, but to help shape it based on what audiences actually want. That’s not selling out. That’s strategy.
Call on your creative bravery for the campaign ahead.
What stops us from being brave?
The human mind is a brilliant machine. It’s evolved over millennia to be the ultimate survival engine – scanning patterns, simulating outcomes, calculating risk.
In marketing, that means our instincts often work against us. We start every project determined to be bold, original, unforgettable. But somewhere along the way, we second-guess. We imagine too many ways our idea could be misunderstood, criticized, or vetoed by leadership.
Maybe you’ve been there: your team’s biggest idea is in the room, only to be quietly shut down by a board chair or president who gets cold feet. The instinct to avoid risk overpowers the opportunity to stand out.
That brilliant machine of self-protection kicks in for everyone, at every level. The result? Work that feels safe and forgettable.
How do you socialize a bold idea to bring leadership along for the ride?
You reframe the risk. Remind decision-makers that the bigger threat isn’t doing something too bold, it’s becoming irrelevant. In a world where your institution competes not just with 5,800 other colleges but with TikTok trends, YouTube shorts, and viral narratives questioning the value of college, blending in is the fastest way to disappear.
Sometimes bold ideas don’t immediately land with the people who’ve been inside the institution for 20 years, or with those far removed from the audiences you’re trying to reach. That’s where data earns its place. In higher ed, where decisions are expected to be evidence-based, creative testing gives you proof. It helps translate the instincts of your marketing team into insight that leadership can trust.
The best creative leaders I know trust their gut and the data. They help leadership see that real traction often comes from being specific, different, and yes, occasionally divisive. Because broad appeal rarely builds deep connection.
Shake off the safe zone. Stay in rebellion. That’s where the unforgettable work lives.
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