In this episode of the Education Marketing Leader podcast, I sat down with Seth Odell, Founder & CEO of Kanahoma, to unpack the brutal truths facing higher ed marketers.

From the enrollment cliff to vanishing name buys, Seth doesn’t sugarcoat what’s ahead, and why speed, focus, and fundamentals matter now more than ever.

What You Need to Know

• The cliffs are real. Enrollment. Search. Perception. Different challenges depending on your market, but all converging fast.
• If you’re not doubling down on your best-yielding zip codes and events (like campus visits), you’re wasting budget.
• The list-buy era is over. Diversify your sources, retarget your site visitors, and prioritize parent-specific digital campaigns.
• ROI matters more than ever. Use outcome data (even LinkedIn alumni tabs) and focus on telling relatable alumni stories, not just outliers.

Practical Moves to Make This Month

• Swap your homepage video for a program finder.
• Add a CTA to your thank-you page to “start your app now.”
• Use plain-text emails with subject lines like “Chris, quick question” to re-engage admits.
• Refresh your creative. Go from 15 ads to 250. It matters.
• Rethink microcredentials—dual enrollment and B2B are the best bets.

What’s Coming

• More closures. More pressure. Less time.
• Avoid M&A unless you really know what you’re doing.
• AI isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s getting real—especially in admissions.
• Fix your fundamentals first before chasing anything shiny.

Follow Seth on LinkedIn and check out Kanahoma.

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