Marketing has long been viewed as a support function—the department you call when you need a flyer, a social media post, or an email blast. This outdated perception and subsequent use of a marketing department is a disservice to not only your marketing team, but your organization as a whole.

Marketing is not a flyer factory. It is a strategic partner, a collaborator, and a driver of growth. If your head of marketing does not have a seat at the decision making table, they should. If you don’t have a head of marketing, rather solely an implementer, that is also a conversation to be had.

When it comes to school and camp, families don’t just want to know what they are paying, they want to know why it’s worth it. The tuition, rates + fees, investment–-whatever verbiage you use on your website to express how much it costs for a child to attend–should be accompanied not only by a value statement, but proof of concept. 

AI is everywhere and if your organization has not yet punched its ticket, now is the time to explore what tactics may/may not work. 

Marketing professionals are tasked with balancing impactful messaging, prompting engagement, raising more money, meeting the exponentially growing demand for personalized communication, all the while with limited human resources. 

To build a "look-ahead" culture, schools need to build internal systems that help parents and students envision their child's entire education at your school, not just one year at a time. 
Establishing this outlook can make a significant impact on the likelihood of families re-enrolling year after year, saving you and your team unnecessary anxiety around your enrollment numbers. 

When surveyed on which channel inspires them to give, 29% of donors chose social media. Email followed closely at 27%, with websites at 18%, print at 12%, and TV ads at just 6% (Global Trends in Giving Report). 

Social media plays a powerful role in engaging donors, but relying on it alone can limit your fundraising potential. After all, we’re all familiar with the phrase, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”— and that certainly applies here.

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” - Robert Burns 

Back to the title in a minute. For the purposes of this post, your Giving Tuesday and End of Year campaign development is well underway. You are currently:

• Taking your already-determined theme and using it as a foundation for content creation. 

• Creating a look and feel that is in alignment with your brand guide (you have a brand guide, right?) This includes an email header, social media templates, a banner for your homepage, a print solicitation (should you choose to send one). 

• Building a plan that incorporates fresh web page content, constituent stories, snack size videos, educational and call to action social media posts, scaffolded emails, and check-ins along the way. 

• Working with your marketing team (in- or out-of-house) to calendar out the plan so that ALL organization communications co-exist in harmony during this very busy time. 

The next time you see job openings for a Director of Marketing, a Director of Communications, and a Director of Marketing + Communications, acknowledge that they are three completely different roles. 

Marketing and communications are often used interchangeably. However, they are not one in the same and missing elements of either function can have a ripple effect through an organization and its outreach + promotion initiatives. 

One-third of annual giving happens in December. Twelve percent of all giving happens in the last three days of the year. Read that again. 

Even though we just traded beach towels for bleacher cushions, it’s time to start thinking about your Giving Tuesday and end-of-year campaigns. 

Why, you ask? 

The short answer is, impactful campaign messaging and accompanying marketing doesn’t appear out of thin air. The long answer: 

Learn from Last Year’s Data

Understand what worked (and what didn’t). Tailor your approach accordingly and use this information to set realistic goals. If you didn’t segment your outreach last year, explore the possibilities for this year. 

As we enjoy the last licks of summer, we reflect on yet another incredible camping season. For parents, it's the end of a season filled with memories—watching their kids form deep friendships, try new experiences, take calculated risks, and most importantly, be present in the moment, and disconnected from screens. As professionals in this space, we share both the end-of-summer sadness, but also the excitement of taking our observations and learnings and applying them to Summer 2025.

We often talk about an organization’s branding. The logo, the messaging, the colors, typography, brand manifesto, and more. But what about your personal brand? You might be a CEO, business owner, marketing director, subject matter expert, Head of School, enrollment professional, etc. When you are outward-facing, you want to communicate crystal clear values and expertise.

The digital space is crowded. Regardless of permission-based vs. interruption-based channels, there is an overwhelming amount of content and subsequent reader fatigue. How can you add to the marketing mix without another digital “thing?” Direct mail. Yes, it’s still relevant. No, you don’t need to blow your budget on a fancy, glossy brochure.

Have limited resources to invest in marketing? You are not alone, and it's feasible to have a successful marketing program on a tight budget. It is also an opportunity to maximize creativity and efficiency, and prioritize what must get done over what’s nice to have.

Social media has infiltrated our lives. From scrolling through our feeds, sharing moments of our lives with friends and family, or promoting our business, engagement is what drives the allure to social media. Just like everything else, platforms are always changing and introducing new features which means we constantly have to shift our approaches and behaviors. Aiming for likes will not yield a meaningful impact.

Content creation is a multifaceted effort. While there is time-sensitive, as well as transactional information that needs to be shared, there is also value-rich content that doesn’t have a calendar stamp assigned and has a lasting impact. Cue evergreen content–no matter when you read it, it still rings true. But how do you create content like this?

Followers and website visits only tell part of the story. You must have a pulse on how much your audience cares about what you are posting and writing about. If your content isn’t resonant, your conversion cycle will stop in its tracks. You actually remember the previous year

Sure, you can run a M+M in Q2. Or Q4. But do you have a fresh sense of your marketing activities from six months prior? Let’s assume no.

When it comes to marketing your organization, effective, differentiated, and planned marketing cannot be overstated. There are constant demands to create meaningful impact, engage the unengaged, raise more money, build more awareness, and on and on. Marketing departments at many nonprofits, schools, and small businesses are perpetually understaffed (yes, I said it).

Embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in marketing can be a game changer. That is, if it’s used correctly and, when drafting content, NOT USED VERBATIM.

An organization’s brand is multifaceted. There are visual elements and written components, the latter of which stretches from the core mission to key messages. Somewhere in between is the face of the organization–the CEO, the Executive Director, the Head of School, etc.

While it can be difficult to measure the impact of your organic social media, website analytics, traditional advertising, signage, and more beyond views and engagements, these channels are necessary to amplify the WOM message. Digital marketing yields memorable engagement opportunities that aren’t possible with human-to-human interaction. Should a crisis occur (hopefully not), your digital channels are critical for information sharing. They also allow for controlled efforts to building and maintaining brand awareness and equity.

In a noisy world, where messages need to be seen and heard multiple times, but the personal touch is of utmost importance, the confluence of word of mouth and digital/traditional marketing are complements and truly provide a well-rounded and effective experience for the customer.