Just back from this year's Collegiate Information and Visitor Services Association (CIVSA) conference, Jeff Kallay joins the show to share what he heard and what campus visit professionals across the country are really struggling with right now. We talk about everything from declining visit volume and rising no-show rates to the challenge of rebuilding student ambassador programs and why some virtual tours just aren’t cutting it.
Jul 01, 2025•26 min
HEML host Jarrett Smith explores the essential elements of strategy. Learn how strategy differs from activities like planning and big-picture thinking, why strategy doesn't begin with goals, the importance of selective over-performance, and how to recognize a true strategy over something that merely sounds strategic.
Jun 13, 2025•15 min
Jaime Hunt, a veteran higher ed marketing leader, consultant, speaker, and author, joins the show to talk about the principles of empathy-driven leadership she outlines in her new book, Heart Over Hype. Jaime and Jarrett discuss: Common misconceptions about empathy and why it’s not about simply being nice How psychological safety directly impacts a team’s ability to generate innovative ideas What it does and doesn’t mean to bring “your whole self” to work Tips for understanding your own leadersh...
May 05, 2025•39 min
Alex Grodnik joins the pod to discuss storytelling, podcasting, and how universities can create one-of-a-kind content that captivates audiences.
Apr 09, 2025•35 min
Host Jarrett Smith dives into the pervasive issue of 'blah blah content' on college and university websites. He identifies two main types of ineffective content: generic content that lacks creative punch and institutionally centric content that fails to meet user needs. He offers practical solutions for identifying and eliminating blah blah content, emphasizing the importance of a student-centric approach, usability, and making institutional claims real for students.
Mar 07, 2025•24 min
Ryan Brown, EVP and Co-Head of 160over90, joins the show to talk about fostering more effective relationships between institutions and the agency partners they hire. Ryan and Jarrett discuss: How an institution’s culture can help or hinder agency partnerships Tips for finding great partners through RFPs What it takes to bring breakthrough creative work to life, and How to foster a strong, collaborative partnership with the agencies you work with....
Feb 10, 2025•44 min
W. Kent Barnds and Jeff Kallay join the show to discuss important behavioral shifts in how prospective students approach college visits and implications for the year ahead. Along the way they explore why it’s time to treat campus visits as yield events, ways to integrate digital and physical experiences, and the importance of providing more value than students can find on social media.
Jan 20, 2025•44 min
Enrollment management veteran, Laurie Koehler, joins Jarrett to talk about the challenges facing enrollment management and key ways the practice needs to evolve. They discuss: -How the practice of enrollment management has evolved over the last two decades -Why enrollment strategy can’t be separated from institutional strategy -Five ways we need to improve how we attract, retain, and develop the next generation of enrollment leaders -And why it’s time for everyone to stop talking about discount ...
Sep 17, 2024•40 min
The challenges facing small private colleges are very real—but they’re not the whole story. In this episode, we talk to Scott Novak, former CEO of Underscore and Chief Development Officer at Carnegie, about how small colleges across the nation are adapting to enrollment trends and industry changes. Explore Scott’s latest project: The Small College Movement
Sep 03, 2024•32 min
We recently conducted a nationwide survey to understand how college-bound students factor politics into their decision. We packaged it all up into a report, Politics and College Choice: How Students’ Political Views Influence Where They Enroll —and our results were informative and surprising. Today, Jarrett sits down with our research partner, Grant De Roo, to share three insights from the research they found most interesting. Download the full report: https://echodelta.co/politics/...
Jul 30, 2024•53 min
Jarrett sits down with author Ben Guttmann to discuss practical ways to simplify your marketing communication strategies. An expert on simplicity, Guttmann explains why simplicity is essential if you want to reach and move audiences—and shares plenty of tips and tactics you can use immediately to craft simpler, more effective communications. Read Ben Guttmann’s book, Simply Put: Why Clear Messages Win―and How to Design Them...
Jun 26, 2024•48 min
Student recruitment can only happen if you sell your institution well. But because higher ed typically avoids the word “sales” like the plague, admissions counselors miss out on key skills they need to succeed. In this episode, Jarrett sits down with higher ed consultant Chris Lewis to discuss how your admissions team can embrace sales during student recruitment—and steps you can take to do so.
May 16, 2024•48 min
Explore the "Performance Marketing Trap" with Jarrett as he discusses the pitfalls colleges experience when they over-rely on so-called performance marketing channels to advertise. Learn why brand marketing is crucial for long-term success and get actionable steps you can take to create a more balanced strategy.
Apr 19, 2024•18 min
TikTok is the platform of choice for many of today’s prospective students, but consistently executing relevant and engaging content is a challenge many colleges and universities are still trying to overcome. In this episode, you’ll hear from Morgan Goodwill, social media manager and producer at Flagler College, and someone who has seemingly cracked the code on TikTok content. We discuss: Details on how Flagler College’s marketing team works with student creators to generate 80% of their TikTok c...
Feb 25, 2024•42 min
Geoff Baird, CEO of EnrollML, shares pragmatic insights on how to evolve enrollment management. Discover how understanding market share, addressing foundational weaknesses, and leveraging data and technology can transform student recruitment higher education.
Jan 26, 2024•43 min
In this episode, we dig into the results of a fresh survey from Niche, exploring the campus visit from the perspective of students and parents. Joining the conversation is Will Patch, Senior Enrollment Insights leader at Niche, and Jeff Kallay, SVP of Enrollment Consulting at Echo Delta and leading campus visit expert. We explore: The experiences students want to have most and least during their campus visit Expectations parents have for the visit, and Practical ideas on how to lower barriers so...
Apr 19, 2023•45 min
Analytics expert Chris Sietsema of Teach to Fish Digital gives us an update on the current state of Google Analytics 4 (GA4). We discuss some of the most important differences between Universal Analytics and GA4, and some of the ways the switch to GA4 has already impacted higher ed marketers. We wrap up with some of Chris’s favorite GA4 resources.
Mar 27, 2023•47 min
We talk with Rod Guajardo, Senior Director for Integrated Media Communications at the University of Georgia about how the university has been using Reddit to reach new audiences with science and research content.
Feb 03, 2023•49 min
Many institutions include brand building in their strategic plans, but making those aspirations and reality is often challenging. Brand development expert, Jennifer Holland, argues the best way to build an enduring brand is to create strong alignment between organizational, marketing, and people strategies. We discuss: the vital importance of having deep internal buy-in on what your brand stands for. the right way to balance inside out versus outside in thinking when developing a brand. Jennifer...
Jan 11, 2023•33 min
The campus visit is a make-or-break moment for traditional undergrads, but as campuses have emerged from the pandemic, the return to campus tours has been anything but business as usual. In this episode, we talk with leading campus visit consultant, Jeff Kallay, about the current state of the campus visit and what's on his mind for the road ahead. We discuss: How pandemic fatigue has impacted students and the way they view the residential experience Strategies for recruiting and retaining campus...
Feb 25, 2022•29 min
Diversity, equity, and inclusion is top of mind for many higher ed marketers, but figuring out the practical side of applying DEI concepts to the actual creative work marketing teams produce is often easier said than done. In this episode, we'll hear from two marketing leaders at the University of St. Thomas - Minnesota who have a unique perspective on how to make it less intimidating and more actionable.
Feb 11, 2022•54 min
Marketing leaders at the University of Texas-San Antonio share how innovations they made during COVID ended up transforming the way their university's decentralized marketing teams work.
Jan 25, 2022•47 min
We talk with Dr. Chuck Bamford about crafting smart competitive strategies to differentiate your school in a crowded marketplace.
Oct 07, 2021•44 min
In the fourth and final episode of our VP Summer Series, we talk with Kevin Kropf, EVP of Enrollment at Drury University, about generational theory and managing teams that span multiple generations.
Sep 03, 2021•54 min
In part three of our VP Summer Series, we talk with Brad Pochard, AVP for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions at Furman University, about building collaborative relationships with colleagues across the campus.
Aug 11, 2021•48 min
As a senior leader, you need a strong working relationship with your board. Unfortunately, there’s no manual for how to do that. As a result, most leaders end up learning through experience (read: observation, hard work, and some painful mistakes). In our latest VP Summer Series podcast, we sit down with Joel Bauman, SVP of Enrollment at Duquesne University, and Karen Foust, former EVP of Enrollment at Hendrix College, to talk about the finer points of building collaborative, productive relation...
Jul 31, 2021•56 min
This is the first installment in our VP Summer Series, a podcast mini-series focusing on the unique challenges facing senior enrollment and marketing leaders. In this episode, we’ll be discussing the role of the Vice President--how it differs from other roles someone would occupy on the way to a VP-level position and what it takes to be a strong candidate if you’ve got your sights set on a VP-level job. Joining us in the conversation is Mary Napier, Principal Consultant at Napier Executive Searc...
Jul 21, 2021•56 min•Ep. 26
In this episode, we talk about financial aid leveraging—the common, but sometimes controversial, practice of using data-driven approaches to inform how schools award financial aid. Joining us in the conversation is Echo Delta data scientist and consultant, Dr. Jimmy Jung. As a higher ed veteran with over 20 years of experience, Jimmy has successfully led enrollment management at multiple institutions around the country and has consulted internationally in the areas of marketing, program evaluati...
Jun 18, 2021•24 min•Ep. 25
The quality of input you deliver on creative work can be a make or break factor that helps your team reach new creative heights or sends them spiraling into uncertain territory. Echo Delta's Creative Director, Rachel Newell, joins us to talk about how to deliver the kind of feedback your team needs to reach the full potential.
May 27, 2021•41 min•Ep. 24
Tracking and attributing marketing activities in the real world is far from straightforward. In this episode, analytics consultant and agency vet, Chris Sietsema, explains how analytics-savvy organizations get it right.
Mar 22, 2021•42 min•Ep. 23
