If your enrollment numbers are stalling, the instinct is to spend more on marketing. More ads. More campaigns. More budget.
But what if that's the wrong problem to solve?
In this episode, Ashley sits down with Ryan Morabito — brand strategist and partner to 125+ colleges and universities including NYU, Marquette, and Baylor — to talk about why so many institutions are treating the symptom instead of the cause, and what the schools that are actually thriving are doing differently.
What you'll hear in this episode:

• Why marketing is the icing and branding is the cake — and what that means for your enrollment strategy
• The difference between branding and marketing and why confusing the two is one of the most expensive mistakes in higher ed
• What silos are actually costing your institution and how thriving schools have moved from cooperation to true collaboration
• The one sentence from a real student that is the entire enrollment playbook
• Why students are the heroes of the story and what student centered storytelling actually looks like in practice
• A 3 step framework for meaningful brand change you can start applying right now

Connect with Ryan: LinkedIn: Ryan Morabito Five Degrees Branding: 5degreesbranding.com
Connect with Ashley + Onya: LinkedIn: Ashley Monk onyamark.com

In this episode, we sit down with Josh Fischer, founder of The Progressus Companies, to explore the critical connection between accreditation and marketing in higher education. Josh shares his expertise on how schools can build trust with prospective students, design field-ready programs, and communicate their value in an increasingly competitive landscape where ROI has become the loudest conversation in the room.

Key Takeaways

• Accreditation is a trust signal, not just a checkbox – In an era of declining birth rates and AI-generated content, accreditation serves as third-party validation that helps institutions stand out. Students aren't just buying education anymore—they're buying career paths and outcomes.
• Design programs with the end user in mind, not the ivory tower – Institutions need to move beyond internal assumptions and actually listen to faculty feedback, conduct market research, and understand student requirements. Field-ready programming that connects students to employers and outcomes will always outperform outdated curriculum.
• Consistency and clear outcomes are non-negotiable – Prospective students need to see straightforward connections between courses and career outcomes, faculty expertise and program goals, and accreditation and real-world results. Mixed messaging across platforms destroys trust faster than anything else.

Join Ashley as she speaks with Dan "Danchez" Sanchez, marketing leader and host of the AI Driven Marketer podcast, on how AI is reshaping the role of marketers and why creativity, thought leadership, and human wisdom matter more than ever. They dive into common AI misuse, how to train teams to use it well, and what marketing careers and teams are likely to look like in the next decade.

Join Ashley as she speaks with Khrista Boster, Chief Marketing Officer at Woodlawn Health, on why so many hospital social media strategies fall flat and how rural hospitals can build trust through human, story-driven content. Together they unpack Khrista's "baby of the month" campaign, getting buy-in from leadership and frontline staff, and turning compliance-heavy environments into powerful engines for authentic patient connection.

• If you're overseeing marketing, knowing if ads work is crucial.
• Attribution in advertising has become increasingly complex.
• Testing and measuring ads requires looking for specific indicators.
• Start by working backwards from the desired outcome.
• Measuring conversions optimized for leads is essential.
• Click-through rates indicate ad relevance and audience targeting.
• Creative quality is vital in a competitive advertising landscape.
• Cost per click should be within a reasonable range.
• Ad placements can significantly affect performance metrics.
• Ads amplify the success or failure of your business offerings.

In this episode, Ashley Monk discusses the paradox of outsourcing growth in marketing. She emphasizes that while agencies can assist in achieving growth, the core belief, ownership, and transformation must come from within the organization. The conversation explores the importance of clear expectations, the role of belief in driving growth, and the distinction between renting tactics and achieving true transformation. Ashley provides actionable strategies for organizations to effectively partner with agencies while maintaining ownership of their growth outcomes.

Takeaways

• You can't fully outsource growth; it requires internal belief.
• Partnerships thrive on clear expectations and outcomes.
• Belief in a vision is crucial for growth.
• Outsourcing ownership can lead to relinquishing outcomes.
• Tactics can be rented, but transformation is unique to the organization.
• Growth requires time, consistency, and monitoring.
• Understanding the 'why' behind growth goals is essential.
• Sharing outcomes with partners fosters collaboration.
• Creating reasonable expectations is key to successful partnerships.
• Growth is a journey that involves course correction and alignment.

• Use what feels like a disadvantage as an advantage.
• Targeted advertising is key for smaller businesses.
• Focus on local markets to stand out.
• Leverage community engagement for visibility.
• Sponsoring local events can enhance brand recognition.
• Geofencing helps in targeting specific regions.
• Identify your unique differentiator in the market.
• Creative messaging can attract more customers.
• Visibility is crucial to compete with larger companies.
• Brainstorming can help clarify your unique value proposition.

• Marketers often feel overwhelmed by content creation demands.
• Creating a compelling narrative is essential for effective content strategy.
• Repetition in content can help reach more audience members.
• Identify the key points you want to communicate consistently.
• Focus on where your audience spends the most time.
• Leverage your strengths in content creation for efficiency.
• Redistribute content across multiple platforms to maximize reach.
• AI tools can streamline content creation and distribution.
• Stagger content releases to keep it fresh and engaging.
• Understand the story you want to tell and how to tell it.

• Consider this your mid-year marketing checkup.
• It's important to assess your current results with marketing goals.
• What doesn't get measured, doesn't matter.
• Measure progress based on recent checkpoints, not competitors.
• Consumer habits and preferences are shifting, especially in an election year.
• Reevaluate your budget and resource allocation based on performance.
• Your messaging must be consistent with current consumer behavior.
• People buy based on their emotions, not just logic.
• This is the perfect time of year for a reset in your marketing strategy.
• Look at where you want to be and where you are now.

• LinkedIn is evolving into a more social platform.
• There is a significant opportunity for personal branding on LinkedIn.
• Short-form video content is becoming crucial for engagement.
• Personal stories and contrarian takes drive engagement.
• Networking is essential for building relationships on LinkedIn.
• Engagement should be reciprocal; comment on others' content.
• Identify your niche and target audience for effective branding.
• Content creation should align with your comfort level.
• Understanding the psychology of your audience can enhance content effectiveness.
• Building a personal brand is a long-term commitment.