Though higher education marketers and admissions counselors work year-round to attract and retain students, one of the most impactful moments for an admissions campaign is the acceptance offer.

A well-crafted acceptance package is a door opener that sets your admissions team up for success throughout the campaign cycle. Students are becoming more discerning in their college search, and are applying to more schools than ever before. That means there’s even more pressure to deliver on their expectations.

To that end, here are some recommended best practices for getting the most out of your acceptance package. Continue Reading

Word of mouth holds a lot of sway in the college decision-making process, yet few schools have a deliberate plan for building buzz among their prospect base. Daniel Lemin, co-author of a new book titled Talk Triggers, recently stopped by the Higher Ed Marketing Lab to share some practical strategies higher ed marketers can use to generate quality word of mouth. Here are a few key takeaways from our discussion. Continue Reading

co-written by Shannon Viox

We don’t have many fears at Echo Delta, but one thing that frightens us is recycling ideas. Our phobia is a constant push to bring fresh perspective and innovative ideas to our clients and one way that is possible is through inspiration from our peers.

Late last week, we hit the road for Columbus, Georgia – one of the most beautiful cities in the south – for the annual Creative South conference. We spent a few days surrounded by other creative-doers while we recharged our creative batteries, gained perspective on our role as designers and to get inspired. Continue Reading

It’s easy! We lock ourselves away in a dark office, drain a Madison-Avenue-sized bottle of single-malt Scotch and then stumble out five minutes before the big, important client presentation with the Eureka moment in hand.

The truth is a lot less romantic and always involves 99 percent Thomas Edison-like perspiration. Big ideas are more likely to emerge when a group of passionate, fearless and creative people – focused on a common challenge – generate lots of smaller ideas that in many cases can add up to something truly unique, remarkable, relevant … and big. Continue Reading

Some people think print is dead — that fewer people are printing things and it’s all going digital. But there is still a very large portion of your brand that calls back to traditional elements.

Each month, I get a water filter in the mail from a company called Soma and the packaging is beautiful. The design of the packaging creates an elegant, quality experience. In the end, it doesn’t feel like something you regret buying.

Our sense of touch is really important. It’s one of the first impressions you make with your audience and they’ll notice when things are well thought out. At the end of the day even the smallest details are noticed – from the type of paper you choose to the size and dimension of a printed piece. Maximizing these details will ultimately connect with them. Continue Reading

The digital marketing space changes at a blindingly fast pace. And while being on the look out for the next big thing is an important part of the game, it’s always good to tap the brakes on that impulse every now and then to make sure you’re not blindly wasting your time. Continue Reading

So, what is it?

A UTM code is part of a custom URL that allows you to track a source, medium and campaign so you know exactly where your website traffic is coming from. It was originally used in conjunction with Urchin, a  web statistics analysis program developed by Urchin Software Company. Google purchased the software in 2005 to grow Urchin’s online product, which we now know as Google Analytics. Continue Reading

There are a lot of reasons why I’ve come to love advertising. I think one of the biggest might be that the majority of its principles are intuitive.

Understand how (most) humans think and feel, and you’ll understand how to sell them things.  And I’m not talking about Dr. Melfi levels of psychological proficiency here – just the basics. Remember, common sense will carry you.

Think about your ad like a friendship you’re trying to cultivate. How would you go about it?

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That’s probably because you were rewarded for it. You wrote something like this:

“Temporal and spatial distances collapse into a singular past that impregnates the present.”

(Source: a very retrospectively embarrassing English Lit paper I wrote in college.)

You smiled approvingly at the computer, took another sip of Red Bull and plodded on. But who really wants to read that? Answer: not even your future-self. Continue Reading