The Student Has Changed. Has Your Strategy?
What private higher education marketers need to know, and do differently, before the next recruitment cycle.
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About the event
Today’s prospective students show up with sharper questions. “Is a degree worth the cost? Will it hold up in a labor market reshaped by AI? Could a shorter credential get me there faster?”
At the same time, private institutions are planning next year’s recruitment with tighter budgets and more pressure to prove value. The good news: many of the factors that influence enrollment sit inside marketers’ programs, so your team can reach and change them.
In this webinar, we inspire private higher ed marketers to rethink next year’s plan for traditional undergraduate, online, and graduate recruitment. We pair emerging research on Gen Z and adult learners with a look at the category, then translate it into marketing ideas for the cycle ahead.
The session unfolds in four parts:
- The Prospective Student Mindset draws on future-of-education insights from WGSN and Resonate to show what students value, question, and expect as they weigh their options.
- The Category Convention steps back to examine how private institutions tend to market themselves, and where that sameness creates an opening.
- The Marketing Musts brings in findings from Red Door’s Mind the Enrollment Gap study, where 15 of 20 trust breaks traced back to information the institution already owned, alongside our recommendations for a stronger enrollment plan.
- Then we open it up, taking questions and working through how the thinking applies to real programs.
Led by Stephanie Ranson, Chief Client Officer, and Mallory Collins, Director of Creative & Brand Strategy, the session covers:
- How shifting priorities, from cost and ROI to career readiness, are reshaping the decision to enroll
- How private institutions can stand apart in a category that often looks the same
- How to find and fix the places your messaging creates doubt instead of resolving it
- How to prioritize next year’s recruitment and enrollment plan for the cycle ahead
About the speakers
Stephanie has more than 15 years of marketing experience including brand strategy, digital marketing, advertising and public relations. As Red Door's Chief Client Officer, Stephanie serves as a strategic partner to successfully achieve clients’ business objectives, develop their strategic plans, manage their marketing programs, and provide proactive creative thinking. Stephanie oversees the team of Business, Program, and Project Managers who serve as the day-to-day contacts for Red Door's clients and aim to accomplish their goals every day.
Mallory focuses on identifying and executing consumer-centric marketing programs that help businesses succeed. She started her career working in market research and continues to leverage that background to apply quantitative and qualitative measurement as a tool to formulate and analyze effective marketing plans as Director, Creative & Brand Strategy. She’s been with RDI for over 10 years, and during that time, has worked with brands across varying industries, including Shea Homes, Point Loma Nazarene University, Dexcom, and Chosen Foods.
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