SimpsonScarborough is the data-driven partner for higher education marketers. 

Last March, the role of the higher education marketer and communicator changed in an instant. Long-term planning went out the door, sacrificed for just keeping up with day-to-day decision-making and pandemic communications. Institutions had to shift to remote instruction overnight. Residence halls emptied. Admission offices had to enroll a class without the ability to hold in-person events for admitted students. All communication with internal and external audiences shifted to virtual. The demands on higher ed marketers became very near-term focused.

What is your brand? It’s a question we should constantly come back to, whether or not we’re being asked or making strategic and tactical decisions. A university’s brand is more than a positioning statement, and it’s more than its expression: the display ads that drive awareness and the viewbooks that help compel a prospect to apply. As we know, brands are built on institutional culture and on ownable strengths that make us relevant and distinct from peers. But for our customers — those who buy in — a brand is consumed every day based on a promise of what that experience would be.  

We're extremely proud to announce the promotion of three of our team members: Kristen Creighton, Chelsea Woodard, and Steven Lovern. At SimpsonScarborough, our core values — authenticity, confidence, high-performance, independence, enthusiasm & collaboration — shape who we are and how we work together. These individuals embody those values and help us continually challenge ourselves to set the bar higher.

In 2020, higher ed marketing and admissions teams diligently leaned into the headwinds of the digital and physical landscape at their feet. Many institutions quickly pivoted to expand their digital presence to secure and retain the relationships they foster with alumni, current students, and prospects that are so vital to conversion and engagement. The agility, time, and experience required to do this successfully leave many institutional teams drained or burnt out, not surprisingly so. Pressure to perform has rarely been higher. 

Fifteen years ago, Christopher Simpson and I took the plunge and launched SimpsonScarborough. He was the Simpson and I was the Scarborough. Like Donny and Marie, he was a little bit crisis comms and media relations, and I was a little bit market research and marketing strategy. Back then, most universities still had a news bureau. Most communications departments existed within the Advancement function. “Marketing” hadn’t been added to “communications & marketing” yet. No more than 300 people attended the annual AMA Symposium. CMOs didn’t exist in higher ed. Shoot, we were barely able to use the word “marketing," and we could still get in real trouble for using the word “branding.” And I will never forget that time circa 2007 that I referred to students as “customers” in front of a university president.

Our ongoing series about the Future of Higher Ed MarComms is focused on all of the topics that we believed were important to address in a pre-covid environment, and in a world turned upside down by the pandemic, these topics have evolved from important to urgent. After all, one of the lasting impacts of the pandemic has been the acceleration of digital disruption across all industries — higher ed notwithstanding. But, this isn't just a time to react and adapt, it's a time to innovate and think strategically about what's next.

How can institutions build and sustain trust with students and influencers in a fragile, virtual environment?  In this age of impending cookie-less environments, heightened demands for data privacy , and a widening gap between brand safety measures and inflammatory online rhetoric, brands are navigating a field of landmines in an effort to connect with their audiences. This is newer territory for most institutions who are eyeing digital channels for the majority of their FY21 and FY22 budgets as a lifeline for marketing and enrollment. W hile it may seem overwhelming, there are some fundamental approaches that institutions can use to remain strategic with their available funds and support short term enrollment and yield, all while keeping their sights set on long term brand objectives. 

In the month ahead, SimpsonScarborough will celebrate its 15th year in business, and I'll celebrate my seventh year with the agency. Time sure flies when you're doing great work (and having fun doing it). But when I think about what I'm most proud of in being a part of SimpsonScarborough, it's the unique combination of our people and the culture we've built, the impact we've been able to have with our clients and, more broadly, playing a part in moving higher ed marketing forward. For those of us that have been in this industry a long time, it's easy to point to long-held challenges—lack of budget, decentralized silos, marketing as the campus Kinko's, daily crisis dominating everything, and a constant revolving door of senior leaders. It's harder to pause and recognize just how much our industry has changed and improved. 

SimpsonScarborough is exceptionally proud to announce the promotion of Meredith Simpson to Vice President of Research. Meredith was one of SimpsonScarborough's first hires back in 2006 after she graduated from the University of Richmond, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. I sat down with her to hear how she's grown as a researcher over the past 15 years, how SimpsonScarborough's evolved in that time, and what people can expect from the research team in the next year.