How can higher education institutions remain relevant? In a rapidly changing landscape, institutions need to adopt new tactics to engage and inspire their audiences. We work with several leading academic institutions to support these efforts through branding, recruitment and fund-raising.

A more relevant institution

In higher-ed, engagement is critical. A world-class institution only stays that way if its key stakeholders remain connected and committed. When faced with a staggering range of colleges, universities, schools, and programs, people yearn to associate with what is most meaningful to them. If an institution doesn’t resonate in a personal way, it is easy for prospective students, current students, and alumni to disregard, disconnect, or find an alternative.

The climate for higher education is rapidly changing. Transparency, innovation, and consistent two-way engagement are key. Flash, buzz, glitz, and schlock don’t work.

At Brodeur, we are committed to ensuring colleges and universities remain relevant. We typically work alongside advancement/development and enrollment leadership teams. We provide a range of services that include: strategic counsel; competitive differentiation; alumni engagement; enrollment management initiatives; annual fund and capital campaign impact; attitude/opinion research; and re-branding campaigns.

One of our most popular services is Relevance M3, which discovers, develops and tests optimal messaging that will resonate across all stakeholders at high levels of statistical accuracy.

As a strategic communications company, we’ve advised our clients on a wide variety of topics, including:

“Unlocking” alumni from the 1990s whose engagement and contributions have dropped. Repositioning a nationally known business school to compete for top students, faculty and donors. Discovering the precise messages that will unquestionably resonate across all stakeholders. Attracting more global students.

Realigning board operations. Helping a smaller college rise to national attention. Serving as a sounding board on issues such as tuition, debt, divestiture, sexual assault and global recruitment. Providing strategic counsel for a mergerbetween competing colleges.

Brodeur’s reputation for results is driven by thoughtful research, proven methodologies, and continuous measurement. Content creation is a critical success element to our strategic framework; we know how to leverage it across earned, paid and owned media, on traditional and digital platforms.

Our higher education team has created successful advancement/development, enrollment, and communications programs for a wide variety of schools. We are proud that all of them are positive references.

We also have fundraising, messaging, and branding experience across traditional and digital platforms with other relevant organizations, including many nonprofits such as the American Cancer Society, Nature Conservancy, Ocean Conservancy, United Nations Foundation, and the Telluride Foundation. Lessons learned from these organizations help to complement our higher education practice.

If the challenges we’ve mentioned sound familiar (or you have a few special ones of your own), let’s begin a conversation.