We’ve heard about the enrollment cliff and its likely impact on higher education. For her dissertation, Dr. Carrie Phillips researched how marketing strategies might help mitigate this cliff. This session shares findings from visiting with chief marketing officers about how they’re preparing. The session will begin with a high-level overview of the enrollment cliff followed by a deep dive into how marketing strategies might lessen the impact. You’ll hear about the challenges participants face, strategies they’re exploring and best practices to consider. As you’re looking to navigate change at your institution, this session is a great place to start.

This session will provide findings from survey results, provide tools to navigate conversations with dissenting opinions, and harness the power of honoring traditions and values of the past while forging a relevant and progressive future. Attendees will learn how to engage alumni and donors in a way that empowers them to join in the vision, and identify when to detach from donors who do not uphold the institution’s current mission and vision.

In this session, Carrie and Muriel will discuss the driving force behind UA Little
Rock's Affordability Campaign, illuminating its critical objectives and sharing
essential lessons learned. Discover how the campaign seamlessly melded alumni
and student messaging, forging a powerful alliance in the fight for affordable
higher education. This presentation promises to inspire and educate, offering
strategic insights for an unforgettable messaging & perception campaign that
leaves a lasting impact.

We all know that a robust donor pipeline is key to a sustainable, growth-oriented development operation. but how do we combine the relationship-building power of major gifts with the scalability of annual giving activities? The answer: Digital Experience Officers (DXOs)! In this session, you will hear how the OK State Foundation Annual Giving Team built a DXO program to engage and upgrade donors in the middle of the pyramid to identify and hand off the next generation of major gift prospects. Your presenters will share their experience building a program from the ground up, how they collaborated with peers to form a program that was right for their institution, and how the program has grown and changed in its initial two years.

In the digital age, universities must consider how a thoughtful approach to social media content strategy can leave a lasting impact across all audiences and help to achieve your goals. In a unique session, co-hosted by the Texas State University Marketing Team and University President Kelly Damphousse, attendees will delve into the transformative role that social media plays in advancing a university's stature, amplifying key messages and goals while fostering a sense of community and engagement. President Damphousse and the TXST marketing team have individually found a sweet spot between social media content and community engagement while creating space for cross collaboration on content related to the university’s broader academic, fundraising, and community goals. Together, President Damphousse and TXST marketing have fostered digital communities that have driven unprecedented levels of engagement between the students, faculty/staff, alumni and community – all on social media. Learn valuable insights on how leadership can approach social media and build engaged communities online while implementing practical strategies for cross collaboration between leadership and your university’s accounts to harness the full potential of social media for your institution's growth, community engagement, and strategic advancement.

So … you’re going into a campaign soon. Join me for a case study of the Texas Development Marketing and Communication team’s approach to the brand and marketing of The University of Texas at Austin’s $6 billion campaign. I’ll share a multimedia show-and-tell, our three-phase approach, and strategies to produce high-impact, award-winning web and video with zero budget and three team members.

We will delve into our journey of moving away from a conventional, formal award dinner to a dynamic alumni recognition program. This strategic shift not only boosted event attendance but also created a pathway (and opened up the resources) to develop captivating awardee videos that continue to engage our alumni long after the award presentation.

This session focuses on how to develop a playbook centered on integral principles of fundraising that are too often an afterthought for organizations: stewardship, marketing, and communications. Few organizations have a built-in donor base and even those who do, must stand out when cultivating gifts. Whether a small department or a large university, this session will provide practical examples and tactics for unique and meaningful stewardship that inspires donors during acquisition, cultivation and recognition events. The session will hone messaging and marketing that focuses on your organization’s mission, purpose and impact that resonates with any audience including the business community.

In the Spring of 2023, the UTSA Alumni Association had an identity crisis. It was striving to engage Roadrunner Alumni, but its brand was bland. From inconsistent design application to fickle messaging, they lacked a true marketing strategy. It was time for a REBRAND.

In working with partner and brand agency, Parallel, find out how the UTSA Alumni Association made its brand come alive, implemented it throughout its programming, and garnered alumni buy-in while capturing the unique spirit of UTSA. Plus, get the inside scoop the process start to finish, the things that worked, those that didn't, and what you should consider before taking the "rebrand" plunge.

In this highly competitive talent market, what components of the interview process and resulting offer attract new team members? What keeps high performers with your team? And, what are the distinctive differences in strategy between attracting the best professionals and retaining them? Join this panel of leaders known for building healthy, high-performing teams as they share creative ideas, challenges, and insights in talent acquisition and retention. Come for strategies, ideas, discussion and debate with this panel of CASE IV advancement leaders.