The Secrets of Higher Ed Marketing

Author

Carlo Palomino
November 29, 2024

Welcome back to The Friday Fortune! We’re here with your weekly dose of marketing insights—perfect if you’re sneaking away from the chaos of leftover turkey debates or your cousin’s annual political rant.

Each week, we bring you fresh wisdom from top CMOs, marketing pros, and a few genius-level minds.

From bold brand moves to practical, actionable tips, we’re here to help make your marketing a little more memorable—and yes, we keep it light because great humor pairs well with great ROI.

Here’s what’s on deck this week:

  • A sit down with Purdue Global CMO, Kati Pratt

  • How to make your BFCM & holiday SMS campaigns stand out

  • Our marketing meme of the week

📈 Marketer of the Week

If anyone knows how to evolve higher education marketing into something bold, effective, and genuinely student-centered, it’s Kati Pratt, CMO of Purdue Global.

With a background that spans banking, retail, healthcare, and manufacturing, Pratt’s approach to marketing blends a sharp analytical mindset with creative execution—a balance she honed early in her career when pivoting from accounting to communications.

Since joining Purdue Global, Pratt has spearheaded transformative initiatives, including a complete rebrand that launched in April 2023. This rebrand was more than cosmetic—it marked a strategic pivot in marketing efforts, transitioning from print-heavy campaigns to a digital-first approach.

Platforms like YouTube became the cornerstone of their strategy, allowing Purdue Global to craft emotionally resonant stories tailored to their audience of working adults.

The results speak for themselves: unaided brand awareness surged from 0% to 11% in just eight months.

Pratt’s leadership is grounded in empowering her team while aligning every marketing initiative with Purdue Global’s mission: serving non-traditional students.

A standout example of this vision is Purdue Global’s partnership with Team USA and Guild, designed to provide educational benefits to Olympic and Paralympic athletes. This five-year collaboration underscores Purdue Global’s commitment to lifelong learning by addressing a unique challenge faced by athletes: preparing for life beyond their competitive careers. With the opportunity to pursue degrees, certificates, and advanced education, these athletes are empowered to build futures that match their ambitions on and off the field.

The partnership also extends Purdue Global’s reach to new audiences, leveraging the visibility of Team USA during high-profile events like the Summer and Winter Olympics. The initiative’s rollout involved strategic planning, including a scouting trip to the Paris 2024 games, where Purdue Global observed and learned from major brands about how to engage meaningfully in such a global setting.

Kati’s Takeaway:

The moment you start feeling like you’re great is when you start to fall off, so we keep that very front of mind. We want to keep learning and bringing back new ideas to energize the team. Like after Brand Week, where we came back thinking, ‘How do we do more brand partnerships and experiential activations?’"

To hear more about how Kati Pratt transformed Purdue Global’s marketing strategy and built a brand that resonates with working adults, listen to the full episode of CMO Weekly.

Crack open a handful of the week’s best marketing links—because good fortune favors the curious.

That’s a wrap for this week’s Friday fortune.

If you enjoyed the read, pass it along to your favorite marketer who could use a little extra inspo in their inbox.

Until next time, may your marketing be memorable and your cookies always be fortunate!

— The OpenFortune team