Jarrett Smith

Jarrett Smith is the Senior Vice President of Strategy and a partner at Echo Delta, where he oversees market research, creative development, and media strategy for a nationwide roster of higher education clients. He also hosts Echo Delta's Higher Ed Marketing Lab podcast. As a small college graduate and former public school teacher, Jarrett brings a lifelong passion for education and an abiding belief in its power to change the trajectories of individuals and communities. 10 Random Things For the most part, my idea of fun involves things that are really only fun in retrospect. I've completed the Goruck Challenge twice and walked 35 miles in a day as part of Ruck Across America. I'm also a certified CrossFit instructor, which really isn't even fun in retrospect. I grew up within a mile of my wife, went to the same elementary, high school, and college, and had a ton of mutual friends, but didn't meet her until we were both teachers at the same school. I'd say I'm a pretty mediocre musician, but somehow I was a member of a couple of notable central Florida bands. It's what liberal arts majors do. As a teenager, I won state medals in road cycling for the time trial, criterium, and road race. Yes, that involved a significant amount of spandex. I've got an uncontrollable sweet tooth, and I'm an unapologetic key lime pie snob. Nellie and Joe's, folks, Nellie and Joe's… I'm an Eagle Scout, and I've got the knot-tying chops to prove it. I used to guide backpacking trips in New Mexico, and spent a month with the National Outdoor Leadership School, learning how to navigate glaciers and rock climb in the Pacific Northwest. I'm the father of two rowdy, handsome, and endlessly energetic boys that say things like, "This bird will explode your mind." Personally, I'm in favor of the Oxford comma. I'm pretty sure there's no situation in life that can't be made better by week on the Appalachian Trail. That or AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top" cranked up to 11.

Podcasting at Penn State’s McCourtney Institute for Democracy with Jenna Spinelle

Aug 12, 2022Feb 14, 2020 by Jarrett Smith

Podcasting ranks right up there with influencer marketing and AI as one of the most hyped marketing trends over the last few years. But what’s really involved in launching a podcast, what’s the potential pay-off, and is it too late for your school to jump on the podcast train? We tackle these questions and more …

How to Gracefully Sunset a Tired Social Media Account with Rebecca Stapley

Aug 12, 2022Jan 24, 2020 by Jarrett Smith

Episode 15 Cover Art - How to Sunset a Tired Social Media Account with Rebecca Stapley

Rebecca Stapley joins us to talk about social media, and specifically, what do when you suspect it’s time to sunset a social media account that’s outlived its usefulness. During her time as Assistant Director of Social Media at Nazareth College, Rebecca gained first-hand experience with this potentially touchy topic as she engaged with colleagues in …

Leading Web Accessibility Initiatives at Colorado State with David Carpenter and Jennifer Garvey

Aug 12, 2022Jan 8, 2020 by Jarrett Smith

We talk web accessibility with David Carpenter and Jennifer Garvey of Colorado State University. David is the Director of Operations and Jennifer is Assistant Director of IT for Web and Business Systems at Colorado State’s College of Health and Human Sciences. In this discussion, we shy away from the technical details surrounding accessibility, and instead …

Humanizing the Digital Experience and more from eduWeb 2019 with Jason Buzzell

Aug 12, 2022Aug 9, 2019 by Jarrett Smith

Episode cover art: Humanizing the Digital Experience

Jason Buzzell is Director of Digital Communications at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. We met up with Jason at the 2019 eduWeb conference to reflect on some of the most interesting ideas and themes we encountered at this year’s conference, including: How to humanize digital experiences (which was the topic of a talk Jason …

Leading with Compassion and Character with Major General H.D. “Jake” Polumbo

Aug 12, 2022Jul 17, 2019 by Jarrett Smith

In this episode, we diverge a bit from our usual discussion around higher ed marketing to talk about leadership, which is a topic relevant to anyone who has to work with and through others. Joining us in that conversation is retired Air Force Major General, H. D. “Jake” Polumbo. Over his 34 year career in …

People, Process & Technology with UCF’s Dr. Jennifer Sumner

Aug 12, 2022May 30, 2019 by Jarrett Smith

Episode Cover Art: People, Process, and Technology with UCF's Dr. Jennifer Sumner

We’ll be talking with Dr. Jennifer Sumner about people, process, and technology, within the University of Central Florida‘s online program. In this wide ranging conversation, we hear about UCF Connect, the university’s success coaching program for online students. We hear how the university is leveraging SalesForce and other technologies to improve the student experience. We …

A Public Relations Primer with Barbara Pierce

Aug 12, 2022May 3, 2019 by Jarrett Smith

If you’ve ever felt that public relations was a mysterious black box, then this episode is for you. We discuss public relations for higher ed with Barbara Pierce, president of Tipping Point Communications. Barbara has over 25 years experience leading global, national, and regional public relations initiatives, and she’s worked extensively in higher education.

We start by hearing Barbara’s favorite definition of public relations, and then we jump into the major shifts that have drastically changed how PR is practiced in recent years. Barbara shares her insights into how marketing and PR teams can become better aligned, and she gives actionable advice on how schools can increase the odds of getting their stories picked up by media outlets. Towards the end of our discussion, we talk about how schools can better prepare for crisis communication scenarios before they happen.

Growing Enrollment at University of the Ozarks (Part 2)

Aug 12, 2022Apr 15, 2019 by Jarrett Smith

Growing Enrollment at the University of the Ozarks

This is part two of a two-part episode in which we explore how the University of the Ozarks, a small, private, liberal arts university in rural Arkansas, has managed to consistently grow enrollment despite the challenges facing small private schools. In this episode, Reggie Hill, Vice President of Marketing and enrollment at the University of …

Turning Numbers Into Narratives With Data-Driven Marketing

Jul 22, 2022Apr 9, 2019 by Jarrett Smith

Data-driven decision making is all the rage, but despite our best intentions, many of us still struggle to turn numbers into meaningful, actionable insights.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Ken Reaves, director of research and strategic projects at Southeastern University. Ken has more than 15 years of experience in the field of institutional research, and he was eager to share his insights on how schools can make their data more compelling and actionable. Here are a couple of key takeaways from our discussion.

Growing Enrollment at University of the Ozarks (Part 1)

Aug 12, 2022Mar 22, 2019 by Jarrett Smith

Small, private liberal arts colleges face significant headwinds as they try to grow enrollment. Despite these challenges, University of the Ozarks, Arkansas’ oldest private liberal arts university, has managed to buck this trend. In part one of this two-part episode, we talk with Reggie Hill, Vice President of Marketing and Enrollment at Ozarks, and Amy …

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