Note: All times listed are in the Eastern Time Zone.
View the Online Program
Part 1: Laying the Groundwork
12:00–12:30
Welcome & Setting the Stage
12:30–1:30
Bedrock
Speaker: David Gibson
Are there a few principles we should keep top of mind before we make a move? Before we produce that case for support, admissions view book, media pitch, dean's speech, annual fund appeal, lecture poster, all-campus announcement, grant proposal, event invitation, campus-store t-shirt ... refrigerator magnet? There are. And you probably know them already or follow them intuitively. But let's name them. Discuss them. And ensure we're reaching our constituents, both head and heart.
1:30–2:00
Stretch Break
2:00–3:00
Divine Inspiration: Where to Find Inspiring Ideas and How to Put Them to Work
Speaker: Teresa Scalzo
Great work sprouts from a great idea. But when work is piling up and clients are grumbling, who's got time to seek inspiration? In this session, a hard-core "recycler" confesses her sins. We'll track innovative and award-winning projects back to their sources of inspiration. You'll learn where to find inspiration, how to reshape and reinterpret a great piece, and how to rekindle the creative spark in your office.
3:15–4:15
Cohort Conversations
Participants will have the opportunity to engage in small group discussions facilitated by the presenting faculty leaders to further explore concepts covered and share ideas with fellow attendees.
Part 2 : Marketing and Branding
12:00–12:30
Week 2 Check-In & Interactive Exercise
12:30–1:30
Going Mobile: Marketing to the Connected Consumer
Speaker: Mike Barzacchini
It’s the end of marketing as we know it and you’ll feel fine after this fast, deep dive into emerging strategies and trends. Explore geofencing, beacons, chatbots, voice, VR and branding in the digital age. Learn from case studies in and out of education. Brainstorm ideas and opportunities to take back to your institution.
1:30–2:00
Stretch Break
2:00–3:00
What’s the Big Idea?
Speaker: Shane Shanks
Whether for big-scale branding or targeted campaigns, the most vibrant communications always stem from a killer concept. This session shows how great concepts are generated; given life through creative content; and applied across tools (admissions materials, websites, magazines, everything).
3:00–3:15
Stretch Break
3:15–4:15
Cohort Conversations
Participants will have the opportunity to engage in small group discussions facilitated by the presenting faculty leaders to further explore concepts covered and share ideas with fellow attendees.
Recorded Webinars from CASE Annual Conference in Marketing and Branding:
Building an Effective Creative Strategy and Marketing Campaign
Speakers:Heather Colby, Assistant Director, Brand Marketing and Advertising, University of Rhode Island; Shaun Holt, Coordinator, Social Media, University of Rhode Island; Brandon J. Fuller, Digital Content Strategist, University of Rhode Island
Learn how the University of Rhode Island's marketing, social media, and web teams developed a new high-energy creative strategy and integrated marketing plan for recruitment. From concept to delivery, the team will show you how they developed a fully integrated marketing campaign, with creative execution and media placement for multiple audiences. Discover the cinematic creative concept focused on the student perspective, game-changing Instagram vertical video ads, and an app-like web experience to engage prospective students. Learn how to stay on trend with Gen Z media consumption and build an engaging digital environment for this audience. This session will also feature analytics that will help guide decisions for upcoming campaigns.
Engaging Students on Digital Platforms
Speaker: Ed Cabellon, EdD
College students throughout the world are using their devices to connect, learn, and network with one another now more than ever. How can we keep their attention to extend collegiate experiences to wherever they are? In this session, we will explore the ways institutions are engaging their students now, what they are learning through the process, and how their efforts will continue to evolve to meet student and family needs.
Part 3: Social Media and Digital Communications
11:00–12:00
Data Supporting Strategy
Speaker: Ed Layt
This session is a crossover plenary from the European track.
12:15–12:30
Week 3 Check-In & Interactive Exercise
12:30–1:30
How Social Listening Drives Communication & Marketing Strategy
Speaker: Liz Gross
50% of word-of-mouth conversation occurs online. The ubiquity of this conversation on social media and online forums has essentially created a real-time, searchable archive of human thought. Learn how your campus can leverage intelligence from online conversations to inform communication strategy in the areas of public perception, alumni engagement, crisis awareness, recruitment, and more.
1:30–2:00
Stretch Break
2:00–3:00
Digital Campaign Planning
Speaker: Ashley Budd
Coordinated campaigns can help you build communities, raise awareness, and drive people to act. In this session, you'll map out a campaign plan that will lay the foundation for your digital strategy. Find out how to leverage social, email, web, and text messaging channels for different audiences. Learn how to design a campaign roadmap and review the elements of strong engagement and fundraising campaigns. The strategies presented rely on collaboration and digital best practices. Come ready to tackle your next big campaign and create a roadmap to raise awareness, cultivate audience participation, drive engagement, and support retention.
3:00–3:15
Stretch Break
3:15–4:15
Cohort Conversations
Participants will have the opportunity to engage in small group discussions facilitated by the presenting faculty leaders to further explore concepts covered and share ideas with fellow attendees.
Recorded Webinars from CASE Social Media and Community Conference:
Higher Ed Social Media Managers and Their Mental Health
Speaker: Tony Dobies, Senior Director of Marketing, West Virginia University
Self-care for communicators that are working on the front lines of engagement, especially in the current environment. In this session from the CASE Social Media and Community conference, we share the findings from a West Virginia University survey of higher ed social media managers, which provides critical benchmarking data about staffing levels, jobs responsibilities, and mental health concerns in regard to their everyday jobs but especially in crisis situations like the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the findings, this session shares ideas from social media managers across the country on how to stay well while working in crisis mode.
Social Media is the First Line of Defense: Defusing and Managing Issues
Speaker: Rebecca Bernstein, Director, Strategy and Digital Communications, University at Buffalo
Social Media is the front line for wonderful interactions with our community, but also the very visible space where customer service problems and issues that, left unaddressed, can escalate and damage our reputation. In this session we will look at some of the strategies and practices in place at the University at Buffalo for identifying, managing and defusing the types of interactions that occur every day, as well as case studies walking us through responses in small and large issues that could very well happen at your institution.
Part 4: Where do we go from here?
11:00–12:00
Global Storytelling Panel
12:15–12:30
Week 4 Check-In & Interactive Exercise
12:30–1:30
Get stuff done: DIY project management for strategists
Speaker: Day Kibilds
In our jobs, we (rightfully) focus on meeting the needs of our constituents. But things fall apart when we are faced with logistical nightmares, bureaucracy, micromanagement, and miscommunication. So what do you do when you don't have an official project manager?
This session will focus on the basics: scheduling meetings, taking meeting notes, handling document versions, creating documentation, and writing effective emails. Anyone can do these things—but not everyone is doing them right. You'll learn:
Tips and tools to get people to do what you need them to do
The most effective way to write an email
How to make your life a little easier and get stuff done
1:30–2:00
Stretch Break
2:00–3:00
Finding Your Voice
Speaker: Matt Jennings
Each one of our institutions has a distinct voice, a personality that your constituents can recognize immediately. This interactive session will help you identify your school's voice and will show how you can bring that voice alive in the pages of your periodicals and multimedia efforts.
3:15–4:30
Closing Faculty Panel and Facilitated Conversation: Institute Insights and Next Steps
Join members of the conference faculty for an interactive closing session designed to help attendees reflect on their institute experience, answer remaining questions, discuss next steps, and close out our time together.
Recorded Webinar from CASE Editor's Forum
Lessons from a Leading Newsroom: Creating a Constellation of Content
In today’s saturated media landscape, it can be challenging for you to tell your story consistently, across digital platforms, and at scale. Through insights from The Atlantic’s newsroom and Atlantic 57’s work with leading nonprofits and universities, we’ll unpack how to create enduring value for audiences and build an effective storytelling operation. Specifically, sharing strategies for identifying the unique value you can bring to audiences, how that shared vision informs your digital strategy, and how you can do it even with a lean team.
