Purpose Driven Marketing Through Brand Storytelling

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:06.280 The High Red Marketering podcast is sponsored by the ZEMI APP enabling colleges and universities 2 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:15.160 to engage interested students before they even apply. You're listening to the Higher Ed 3 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:20.480 Marketer, a podcast geared towards marketing professionals in higher education. This show will 4 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:25.399 tackle all sorts of questions related to student recruitment, donor relations, marketing trends, 5 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:30.160 new technologies and so much more. If you're looking for conversations centered around 6 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:34.359 where the industry is going, this podcast is for you. Let's get into 7 00:00:34.359 --> 00:00:45.399 the show. Welcome to the High Red Marketer podcast. I'm troy singer and 8 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:52.159 yes here with Bart Taylor and for this episode. I commit to you if 9 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:55.920 you listen to it to the very end, you will be moved, you 10 00:00:55.960 --> 00:01:03.320 will be inspired and you will learn things about high ad marketing that you just 11 00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:07.319 did not know. Today we are talking with Chad Wilson, the vice president 12 00:01:07.319 --> 00:01:12.879 and executive creative director of marketing at Grand Canyon Education. I'm sure that you 13 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:19.040 are familiar with some of him and his team's work and that's why we invited 14 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:23.400 him to be on the podcast. But, as you'll see within this episode, 15 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:27.439 he is a leader. He exudes it, he lives at. Higher 16 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:34.040 Education is his calling and I can't say enough of the feelings you get while 17 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:38.040 listening to this conversation. Yeah, Chad does such a good job of articulating 18 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:42.799 so many great things about higher education marketing. Um, you know, he 19 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:47.439 he also exudes his own faith and a lot of what he is his own 20 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:51.159 purpose driven and what he does in his marketing and how that comes out through 21 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:55.799 through the through the work of Grand Canyon Education and Grand Canyon University. He 22 00:01:55.879 --> 00:01:57.040 just has so many good things to talk about. I mean we talk about 23 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:00.480 storytelling, we talked about Um brand, we talked about, you know, 24 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:06.239 mission alignment and and really understanding your consumers and their DNA and how that aligns 25 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:08.719 with your school. So a lot of great things and, as Troy said, 26 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:12.960 I mean stick around the whole episode. You might even want to listen 27 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:15.080 to this episode a couple of times. There's just so, so packed full 28 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:20.840 of good conversation and good information, a lot of practical things. Um. 29 00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:23.000 And and again, if I always say this, you know some of the 30 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:27.680 smaller schools. If you're listening, don't don't tune out and say, oh 31 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:30.520 well, we're talking about Grand Cannon University. There pound guerilla. That's not 32 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:35.520 gonna apply to me. It does. We make sure that it's practical and 33 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:38.840 it's going to apply to just the smallest schools. He's got so many good 34 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:40.719 things to say about that. So I really think you're in for a treat. 35 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:46.639 Today we're talking to Chad Wilson about purpose driven marketing through brand storytelling. 36 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:55.919 Here's our conversation Chad, although Bart and I are very excited about speaking your 37 00:02:55.960 --> 00:03:00.719 truth around purpose driven marketing. But before we get into the conversation, is 38 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:07.400 there something that you've learned recently that you think would be worth sharing? I 39 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:14.439 love to read and just learn from other folks their trials and tribulations, Um, 40 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:17.560 and any type of, you know, expertise field. So what I've 41 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:23.520 been really um getting into recently is just different perspectives on leaderships and I've been 42 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:30.759 reading a book entitled Extreme Ownership from Jocko Willing and, Um, I'm not 43 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:34.319 through with the book yet, but I'm deep into it and boy, I'll 44 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:38.599 tell you, there are so many lessons and this book about leadership and many 45 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:42.680 of them you may have, you know, in your own world, like 46 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:46.319 been implementing, but to hear it in the context of from a navy seal 47 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:52.840 Um, you know, operator, commander, etcetera, and how important really 48 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:59.240 strong leadership is. It's really interesting in the concept around extreme ownership can be 49 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:02.120 kind of summed up in this quote by Jocko that I found really interesting. 50 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:06.039 I just thought I would share it with the broader audience here. A leader 51 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:11.400 must be attentive to details, but not obsessed with them. They must be 52 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:15.439 strong but have endurance. The leader must be humble but not passive. They 53 00:04:15.519 --> 00:04:20.000 must be close to subordinates, but not too close. A leader must exercise 54 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:27.120 extreme ownership, but employee decentralized command. They must have nothing to prove but 55 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:31.199 everything to prove. So you know, when I think about those words said 56 00:04:31.240 --> 00:04:36.879 there with my own team and other teams within my marketing group, I couldn't 57 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:40.439 agree more with it. You know, there's so many, so much to 58 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:45.680 meet to what he said and when you can have this concept of extreme ownership 59 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:48.360 what you're doing, what that means is like when everything goes down, if 60 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:53.319 anything goes down on your team, you, as the leader, you own 61 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:56.560 every bit of it. There could be fault with what you did, you 62 00:04:56.600 --> 00:04:59.920 could be fault with one of your team members, but it's your issue if 63 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:04.079 somebody on your team didn't execute to the agreed on plan. So what happened? 64 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:09.839 Start with yourself on it and move forward. So it's really great. 65 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:14.360 Thanks, Chad, and I think you've hit on the reasons why we wanted 66 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:19.720 you as a guest and the organization that you lead. I think a lot 67 00:05:19.800 --> 00:05:25.639 of marketer, especially in higher education, will be familiar with the results and 68 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:29.720 the work that you do leading into it. If you could please tell everyone 69 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:34.720 about Grand Canyon Education and then your roll as vice president and executive creative director, 70 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:41.079 give us an introduction and what that entails. So Yeah, Chad Wilson, 71 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:45.560 vice president, executive creative director. Um, I work at Grand Canyon 72 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:49.120 Education. We Are Higher Education Service Provider Company. Um. So what that 73 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:54.959 what that means really is is we help universities do a lot of different things, 74 00:05:55.000 --> 00:06:00.000 but one of the main functions is enrollment marketing services. Sometimes it's account 75 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.399 being and some other other issues that they may need help with. So it's 76 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:08.639 it's quite quite broad. Um. But particularly what what I do is, 77 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:15.240 Um, I manage marketing activities for a big portion of what we do for 78 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:17.439 our clients. Um, we have a number of clients that are in higher 79 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:23.879 education space. Um the one of the pre eminent names that might folks might 80 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:29.360 know. It's grand can university. We also service a number of other UM 81 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:34.519 partners for specific programs, Um in nursing, and there's many of them around 82 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:42.399 somewhere in that that realm. And we also service K twelve education Um, 83 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:47.319 all encompassing. So if it's a public school or a private school or a 84 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:55.199 private Christian School, Um. The idea is education is super important all levels 85 00:06:55.680 --> 00:07:00.319 of it. It's the great equalizer and we want to help folks achieve their 86 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:05.920 dreams and their goals through education. So that's really a summary of kind of 87 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:11.519 what we all do at g C. Thank you. And we had a 88 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:16.720 previous conversation and we had a robust conversation about the topics that we were going 89 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:21.240 to discuss today, storytelling, marketing and branding, and when we tried to 90 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:27.879 figure out what we would title this episode, You came back and said purpose 91 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:32.759 driven marketing through branded storytelling, and that was so compelling. So I would 92 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:38.600 love for you to describe what the definition of purpose driven marketing is to you. 93 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:45.759 Purpose driven marketing is has become a buzzword in the industry, not just 94 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:53.800 in education. Marketing, but in just marketing industry period, and I would 95 00:07:53.879 --> 00:07:58.920 just like to spend a moment to just kind of discuss, you know why 96 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:05.120 I think that that term purpose has been co opted by brands that big, 97 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:11.879 small, international, you know whatever, um to fit within this kind of 98 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:18.759 trend of purpose driven marketing. And when, when I think of purpose driven 99 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:24.959 marketing associated with what we do for Grand Canyon University, for instance, there's 100 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:35.200 purpose built into the framework of of what the institution does. Without purpose, 101 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:41.799 GCU wouldn't exist. And what's interesting about it the students that attend Gcu the 102 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:46.519 purposes in them. So what Grand Canyon University does, number one is recognized 103 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:52.720 that. So Grand Canny University Um is fortified with all of the things you 104 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:58.320 would think of higher institution, Education Institution, so excellent academic programs, many 105 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:05.000 different Opportun unities for different students, Um, Bachelor's, doctoral, master level 106 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:09.879 programming, uh, all of those things in c double a, opportunities for 107 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:16.159 the the traditional campus, all the things you think of an highergy institution like. 108 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:20.519 That's what GCU does. But what's different is the approach to the student, 109 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:26.919 because the purpose lives in the student and whatever their goal, passions, 110 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:31.679 calling is. That's where the purpose and the beauty comes from. Now, 111 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:37.120 tying back to how I was saying, some of the other marketing trends are 112 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:41.120 happening with this purpose driven marketing. What I see out there, UM, 113 00:09:41.159 --> 00:09:45.519 in many instances is, you know, you've got a lot of big brands 114 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:48.879 out there and they have board of directors like many many, even small ones 115 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:52.039 do as well, but they have to follow up with their e s g 116 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:56.240 metrics, and these e s g metrics could be just things that are natural 117 00:09:56.320 --> 00:10:00.840 to their business. Sometimes they're not. Maybe they have to answer something that 118 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:03.360 the board is or maybe their investors are like saying hey, this, that 119 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:05.799 or the other thing. So then they're put in a position to say, 120 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:11.480 how do I find a purpose that we can rally behind and then create a 121 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:15.960 marketing connection and then get that out to the our consumer base and hopefully it 122 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:18.000 will resonate, so on and so forth. So I think in a lot 123 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:24.879 of those instances it's a manufactured kind of purpose driven marketing strategy and I think 124 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:28.720 the audiences and the consumers see it and it's unfortunate, and I just wanted 125 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:33.799 to draw the distinction there because I really feel at the you know, GC 126 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:37.759 is a Christian University. So there's missional aspects to what they're doing. That 127 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.200 is undeniable and when you look at it through a Christian world perspective, it's 128 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:48.240 it's just even more Um, powerful of a purpose kind of mindset going into 129 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:52.759 what they do. So, whether it's through just their communications, through Enroman 130 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:58.240 counselors or faculty and staff with students, or or in our marketing, Um, 131 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:01.759 it's there, it's baked in, it's that's what it is. I 132 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:05.120 love that and I think that, as you were talking about it, because 133 00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:07.440 that was gonna be one of my follow up questions, was the idea of, 134 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:09.240 you know, a lot of places, especially, you know, Christian 135 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:13.000 universities, will say, well, we're mission driven marketing or were mission driven, 136 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:16.679 uh, in what we're doing and that that seems like that's a piece 137 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:22.399 of Um, purpose driven marketing. But even like a, let's say a 138 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:26.840 state school, if they have a you know, I'm thinking of Purdue University. 139 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:28.279 Ethan Braden has been on the show a couple of times and you know, 140 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:33.240 there there's is the pursuit of excellence and and so their purpose is excellence 141 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:37.080 and everything that they do and that's going to come through in the way the 142 00:11:37.080 --> 00:11:41.799 admissions counselors engage with the students, the customer service, the academics, those 143 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:43.559 types of things. So it's so. What I'm hearing you say is that 144 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:50.080 purpose driven marketing isn't necessarily mission driven all them. That might be a subset 145 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:54.960 of it and there might be natural ways that different types of institutions can fit 146 00:11:56.120 --> 00:11:58.559 up under the purpose, but at the end of the day everybody needs to 147 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:03.639 understand and what their purpose is. Is that correct? Yeah, absolutely. 148 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:09.960 Understanding your your values, understanding your consumers values, how do they align, 149 00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:16.440 and then making sure that the DNA within both our symbiotic is really the core 150 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:22.679 of it. So with with G C U, the brand is really built 151 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:28.000 because of the reflection of the student body that attends G SEU. Right Um, 152 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:35.559 which which is pretty Um. It's a beautiful thing really. It's I 153 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:39.519 don't know how to describe it in words. If you step onto the campus 154 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:46.159 you are you kind of walk into a different world. Everybody is gracious, 155 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:50.879 everybody is welcoming. It's it's like I used to work in a five star, 156 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:58.039 five diamond resort through college, my Undergrad and one of the things I 157 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:03.759 learned was just excellent customer service and it's almost like everybody at Gcu has those 158 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:07.919 qualities just baked in there and it's just wonderful. So like there's just this 159 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:11.320 nature about it Um, and it doesn't have to be the students or it 160 00:13:11.320 --> 00:13:16.039 doesn't have to be the athletes or the faculty, of the staff, whoever 161 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:20.679 you come in contact with at g cu, you just you end up with 162 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:24.600 a smile on your face and you leave and you're like wow, what a 163 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:28.480 remarkable place. And it's because there's such an alignment with the mission, the 164 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:31.960 passion for what they're doing, Um, and everything. So it's really unique. 165 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:35.320 So it's a I think it's a DNA alignment Um, which is really 166 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:39.240 interesting. But I'm guessing, because I do a lot of work with different 167 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:45.159 Christian universities. Even though that alignment might be there and there might be those 168 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:50.679 things on campus, getting everyone to understand how that translates into marketing is often 169 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:54.519 very difficult, and so I'm guessing that what you're doing with the purpose driven 170 00:13:54.519 --> 00:14:01.000 marketing umbrella and the way that you are then defining the brand and communicating the 171 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:05.159 brand, that takes a lot of work and it's not something that just because 172 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:09.080 you know, the school's mission aligns with the prospective students mission. That's this 173 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:13.039 basis. That's the start, but I'm guessing there's a lot that builds on 174 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:16.120 top of that. I mean, just from a pure marketing perspective, you 175 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:20.279 have to you have to look under the hood, so to speak, and 176 00:14:20.279 --> 00:14:24.240 and really get to know your audience is really well, Um, through research, 177 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:31.440 you know, tactics and other things, and just conversations and Um engaging 178 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:35.919 and having conversations. I think conversations are one of the best tools that a 179 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:39.480 marketer could have, um, in any in any type of marketing. But 180 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:46.759 yeah, you know, we also look at from a leadership standpoint. They 181 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:52.799 look at not just the programs that are important for getting the students Um career 182 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:56.440 ready for whatever their purpose is ultimately going to be, and how those aligned, 183 00:14:56.120 --> 00:15:03.679 but when we're talking about alignment of messaging and stories that we can leverage 184 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:11.320 in marketing, the the executives and the leaders of the universe diversity in the 185 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:18.200 institution, they're they're following a path through Christ in so many ways that they're 186 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:24.519 developing programs that address needs in the world and they're they're looking back at those 187 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:31.960 needs and saying how can we as an institution, solve this thing by whatever? 188 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:37.360 Is it a different program? Is it a different access point Um for 189 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:43.399 students that may not be suited for a four year college degree? Or maybe 190 00:15:43.399 --> 00:15:46.480 it's a some other way that we can get them or maybe they're having a 191 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:52.240 huge amount of struggle in their high school and they don't have tutoring Um available 192 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:56.720 to them. Can we offer a tutoring program? Oh yeah, we can. 193 00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:58.080 Well, let's not just do that, let's turn it into a scholarship 194 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:03.200 opportunity for some our lower income neighbors and let's change their life. Okay, 195 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:07.559 that sounds great. So now there's a program that has impact and now you 196 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:11.840 have a marketing message that you can use Um to to share that message and 197 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:15.440 bring more people in and and really change lives. And that's ultimately what I 198 00:16:15.480 --> 00:16:18.440 think higher education marketing is about. And when you're talking about purpose driven like 199 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:25.440 that, is life changing. That's future generation altering. A lot of great 200 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:27.480 things that can come out of that when you're when you have invested interest in 201 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:33.120 all those things. So that's great, so inspiring, because troy and I've 202 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:37.399 talked before on the podcast. I mean we're both first gen students and have 203 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:41.320 experienced that ourselves and part of the reason, that's why I'm, you know, 204 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:45.200 moved out of the corporate world into higher ed because I wanted to kind 205 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.480 of give back to that that impact. So that's great to hear. You 206 00:16:48.519 --> 00:16:52.120 had mentioned earlier about just the conversations and the research and some of the other 207 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:53.799 things. What kind of team does that take? I mean, tell us 208 00:16:53.799 --> 00:16:56.679 a little bit about the team at G C and and and the team that 209 00:16:56.759 --> 00:17:00.039 you are leading. And from a marketing and point what what does that look 210 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:03.159 like? Let me just give a little bit of a kind of a top 211 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:06.440 down scenario. I'M gonna keep it brief because I could go off in all 212 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:10.119 these different tangents. But you know, we have a CMO and then there's 213 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:14.920 two vice presidents, myself and my counterpart. Um counterpart oversees a whole different 214 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:19.119 side of the department. I oversee the creative side, Um, and my 215 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:26.160 creative team is built up of creative brand marketers. I even have a media 216 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:30.160 kind of strategist side to the brand marketing team, which isn't common for a 217 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:36.039 creative group. Um. They also deal with consumer engagement, research and strategy 218 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:41.119 development that informs the creative and then the other side, Um, is all 219 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:45.319 my creative folks. So my CD, my art director, my our directors, 220 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:51.279 my copywriters, I have a multimedia group. So photographers, Um, 221 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:56.599 uh DP, so, director of photographer, Um, editors, so on 222 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.920 and so forth. Photographers. I might have said that before in a video 223 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.720 at any post production team. So Um, pre robust group of really smart 224 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:10.960 creative individuals. and Um, we we, we dig down in deep and 225 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:15.720 we we, we, um. We love what we do and I think 226 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:21.160 that's really important in any occupation that you might have. But one of the 227 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:23.279 things that I try to get my team to constantly do is, like, 228 00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:26.720 what are we solving for? What are we trying to get out of this? 229 00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:30.759 What else is there? What are we missing? Um, do we 230 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:34.039 really understand the full nature of this program that we're putting out shoot? What 231 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:38.240 kind of research do we need to really kind of around that square peg that 232 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.799 fitted in the right hole? Like what are what are we doing? So 233 00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:47.119 the mindset is to learn and grow and try and fail and get up and 234 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:49.160 do all of those things. So I think I'm going off on a tangent 235 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:55.519 on all a bunch of different parts of this but Um, yeah, you 236 00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:59.759 know, and I think because the way that I have my my work set 237 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:04.759 up. It's not a traditional type of you know agency model where, Um, 238 00:19:04.839 --> 00:19:07.839 the brand people are way over there and the art directors and the writers 239 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:11.119 are over here and maybe there's some digital people interspersed and then we go higher 240 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:15.680 a bunch of different external production people. Um, we have done that and 241 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:18.839 we do that often on, depending on what we're executing. But we have 242 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:22.839 a great team that does a lot of stuff just in house and they're excellent, 243 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:27.000 excellent people. So yeah, that's great and I think that, uh, 244 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:30.839 and you and I talked about this before and I just remind our audience. 245 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.279 I mean, you know, I know that there's a lot of small 246 00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:37.119 schools that are listening and sometimes I think that, just pragmatically, I think 247 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:40.279 you kind of set a few little things that I wanted to point out to 248 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:42.160 everybody, but maybe you can expand a little bit more. But I mean 249 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:45.519 you've got people that are learning, you've got people that are focused on content 250 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:48.839 and focused on, you know, understanding the consumer and things like that. 251 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:52.799 I mean what what do you think is kind of that that skill set that 252 00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:56.200 even just the smallest teams need to have? I mean, I think sometimes 253 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:57.519 people get overwhelmed. They asked me, you know, I'm at a conference. 254 00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:00.599 They're like, Hey, I've got two to have people on my team. 255 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.640 You know what, what what? I've got an opportunity to hire one 256 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:07.240 more person. Who should I hire? What should I do? Um, 257 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:11.240 and I and sometimes it's it's difficult, but I think that sometimes the skills 258 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:15.720 that you're looking for is more valuable than, you know, a position necessarily. 259 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:19.400 I think I think you you nailed it. Um. If you have 260 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:22.920 a really small team, and look, we've we've grown over the years. 261 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:29.359 We were really small when we were first marketing GCU. After the leadership group 262 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:33.319 came in, two eight there's just a few people, maybe before people on 263 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:38.559 the team. So totally understand that perspective. But it's the traits and it's 264 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:45.119 the character, the character of the people. Right. So, you know, 265 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:48.839 you you first have to understand the vision, ultimate ultimate vision, and 266 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:51.200 understand that and they go, Oh my God, that's a huge whale. 267 00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:55.480 I can't just do that right. You want to eat the whale all in 268 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:59.039 one bite. You have to just be pragmatic about it and say I'm gonna 269 00:20:59.079 --> 00:21:03.960 eat this thing by after by after bye. So just looking at Um, 270 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:07.559 the resource, your human resource, not human resources in terms of the department 271 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:12.000 resources, on your team, and if they have the characteristics of people that 272 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:17.240 want to jump in and help and and learn and grow and and also understand 273 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:21.759 like you're gonna fail and you're gonna drop the ball, but that's okay, 274 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:23.960 we gotta get it done and we're gonna learn from it and you know, 275 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.960 those trials and tribulations make you better in every endeavor. I truly believe that. 276 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:33.359 So if you have people that are willing to put that extra effort out 277 00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:36.119 there and say, Hey, you know what, I'm not a I'm not 278 00:21:36.200 --> 00:21:40.759 a video person, but I understand that if if we're doing an email journey, 279 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:42.680 because that's something we can we can do with a small team of three, 280 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:47.359 instead of just a written testimonial, I'm gonna get a camera, I'm 281 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:48.240 gonna go figure out how to use the thing, I'm gonna go sit with 282 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:51.480 a student and I'm gonna put it on video and I'm gonna put it an 283 00:21:51.480 --> 00:21:53.359 email because it's gonna be more engaging, and then we can see how that 284 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:57.640 performs over a written testimonial email thing and then before you know, you have 285 00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:00.559 an ad comparison. You get more engagement and you're like, okay, great, 286 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:03.839 look, I've proven this out, boss, this is the way we 287 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:07.880 need to do email journeys, so let's invest in a real va fucker for 288 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:11.279 a person. So I'm just throwing some thoughts out, but you know, 289 00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:14.480 it's really just getting out there and trying. Yeah, exactly, and your 290 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:17.160 example is exactly spot on. I use it all the time. I tell 291 00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:19.319 people that, you know, what we have in our pockets these days with 292 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:26.200 our our smartphones has more power than the average broadcast studio did ten fifteen years 293 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:30.279 ago, and I mean the quality that you can get out with sticking your 294 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:34.279 iphone or your galaxy on a on a tripod and getting a twenty lobby or 295 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:37.599 Mike off of Amazon and, you know, a couple of ring lights. 296 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:41.599 You can get some decent stuff and you don't have to have a huge team, 297 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:47.079 you don't have to have a huge videography department. It's something that the 298 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:49.640 average content person can do and I think sometimes, I think you said it 299 00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:52.680 well, you've got a willing just just be willing to step out there and 300 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:56.759 try something. You might fail, you might not, you might actually hit 301 00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:59.039 it out of the park and, uh, you know, I had. 302 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:00.559 I had somebody a little tiny Bible College. It was just him. He 303 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:04.920 was the marketing and admissions director and you know, he heard me say that 304 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:08.000 one time and he went back and and did that and he, you know, 305 00:23:08.200 --> 00:23:11.799 got it on eye clips and did a little logo that animated their logo 306 00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:15.480 and put it up on facebook and he had more engagement, more people engaged 307 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:18.880 with it, on something that he did on the fly than he ever had 308 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:22.960 before. And so it's that trial and air stuff. So thanks, Chad. 309 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:25.839 That's a great, great thought. I think about it in teams, 310 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:27.319 in sports a lot. I'm sorry, I just I wanted to add onto 311 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:32.200 their like if you've ever played a sport, you know you have a role, 312 00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:36.240 right and when you're out there on the field and thinking soccer specifically, 313 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:41.319 and you might be a striker or a front frontline person, if you're gonna 314 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:45.240 be hesitant to do something that's gonna put the team in an advantageous position, 315 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:49.920 then you're not living up to the vision of what the goal of that team 316 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.119 is to do, which is to win. So you have to be willing 317 00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:56.599 to to maybe take a punch in the head when you're going up for a 318 00:23:56.599 --> 00:24:00.400 head or to hit the ball in the net like that doesn't real good. 319 00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:02.319 But Hey, if you hit it and the goalie doesn't hit you in the 320 00:24:02.359 --> 00:24:03.480 head, guess what, you've scored, you in and then that's great and 321 00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:07.440 you've learned from it. So you just gotta put yourself out there. We 322 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:11.240 talk a lot about it on the show. Schools are really struggling today that 323 00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:15.920 make the same at spend work. CPMS are up eight nine year over year. 324 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.640 On facebook and Instagram, our college clients are no longer looking for rented 325 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:25.160 audiences. They're looking for an owned community where they can engage students even before 326 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:29.079 they apply. This is why Zemi has become so crucial for our clients. 327 00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:33.559 With over one million students, close to ten thousand five star ratings, consistently 328 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:37.920 ranked as one of the top social laps and recently one of Apple's hot APPs 329 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:41.359 of the week, there simply isn't anything out there like it, and we 330 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:45.920 have seen it all. Zem Me not only provides the best space for student 331 00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.880 engagement, but the most unique and actional data for their one sixty college and 332 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:55.759 university partners. We know firsthand from our clients that Zem is a must have 333 00:24:55.960 --> 00:25:00.720 strategy for Gen Z. Check them out now at colleges DOT Zeem Dot Com. 334 00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:07.119 That's colleges dot Z E M E dot Com. And yes, tell 335 00:25:07.160 --> 00:25:11.359 them Barton Troy sent you. Chad. We want to make sure that we 336 00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:17.960 tap into your branding experience and take the conversation there. A lot of people 337 00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:22.559 know Grand Canyon University and you said you do a lot of work for them, 338 00:25:22.599 --> 00:25:29.759 but you also do work for smaller universities and under the Grand Canyon University 339 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:33.680 brand there are other things that you're developing brands for. So if you can 340 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:37.680 introduce our listeners to that. And then, Chad, what we like to 341 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:42.279 do is tap into your experience and the recommendations that you would give teams as 342 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:47.200 they approach their branding. Well, I think I will use the G C 343 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:53.119 U Um University enterprises is a way to kind of get into the additional branding 344 00:25:53.119 --> 00:25:59.440 opportunities. So Um, one of the things that we do for GCU is 345 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:03.759 is not only the GCU brand Um, but it goes all the way down 346 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:07.759 to the low funnel enrollment stuff. So it's full funnel everything we do for 347 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:12.640 for GCU. But what GCU also has um and and this is where it 348 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:17.759 gets a little fun for the team because, Um, it's not just about, 349 00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:23.880 you know, higher education marketing. It's when they're they acquired um hotel 350 00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:30.279 and they have a hotel Um and they have all these different enterprises. They 351 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:33.400 have a beverage company called grant, any beverage company. They have a golf 352 00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:38.599 course, Um, and a printing and Promo Company and a bunch of different 353 00:26:38.599 --> 00:26:45.160 eateries, restaurants and things like that. So we get to help GCU brand 354 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:52.759 those businesses and, Um, you still use the principles within marketing and branding 355 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:56.119 that you would in any any sort of function, right or if you're an 356 00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:00.680 agency or anything else. But you you get to play in a different sandbox, 357 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:03.559 which is great because it opens up the creativity. I think whenever you're 358 00:27:03.559 --> 00:27:07.200 looking at it work, you just don't. You don't want to be stale. 359 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:11.839 Um, and when you can do what you do, Um is your 360 00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:18.319 passion, which for me it's marketing and creative development and branding, you you 361 00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:21.279 get to look at a different side of the house and go wow, look 362 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:22.799 at look at that empty place. What do we get to do over there? 363 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:27.359 Oh, this is a marketplace that I'm familiar with because I'm that consumer. 364 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:30.640 Or you know, I like this. I like off. So I'm 365 00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:34.640 an. I do like off. I don't play it enough, but point 366 00:27:34.680 --> 00:27:41.319 being, as a Golfer you're gonna have a different approach to marketing than a 367 00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:45.799 non Golfer. But regardless if you are aren't, you still have to apply 368 00:27:45.880 --> 00:27:51.799 those those principles and then really get to work with the different stakeholders and discover 369 00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:56.119 what those the mission and the vision is for that entity and how that needs 370 00:27:56.160 --> 00:28:00.640 to come to life and things like that. So I think that the team 371 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:06.720 enjoy the variety of work around that type of opportunity. Yeah, and I 372 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:08.960 know that. I know that. I've you know, my background is corporate 373 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:12.000 marketing as well. As you know, twelve years ago just focused entirely on 374 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:15.960 Higher Ed. But I noticed that over the course, you know, like 375 00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:18.519 you talked about being able to brand the restaurants, the golf course, the 376 00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:22.960 hotel. You know, there's there's something in that type of branding. So 377 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:25.359 that's a little different than higher Ed. But it's but it's not. I 378 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:27.559 mean there's marketing, is marketing, but there's different audiences and things. But 379 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:30.960 I think one thing that's unique about Higher Ed that I've noticed over the years 380 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:36.519 that that I think that I I don't take for granted. I think sometimes 381 00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:38.440 people who have been in higher end their entire career might take for granted. 382 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:44.759 Is just the way that the faculty influence marketing on a on a college campus, 383 00:28:44.759 --> 00:28:48.359 I mean academia. We need to respect that. I mean that's certainly 384 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:55.880 the tradition, but sometimes academia can put things into the marketing realm that is 385 00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:59.920 challenging for us as marketers to kind of navigate. Tell us a little bit 386 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:03.400 of out how your team kind of approaches that. I'M gonna use this as 387 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:08.440 a transition to the evolution of the G cu mission, because when i read 388 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:12.839 this mission to you you'll understand why I wanted to use this to connect to 389 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:18.640 the faculty piece, because this this this is also really part of the theme 390 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:23.119 here of the purpose or of the marketing angle. But Um, this will 391 00:29:23.160 --> 00:29:29.359 help put context and how, Um, the academio side, academic side, 392 00:29:29.720 --> 00:29:33.400 Um and marketing kind of come together to on the same playing field. So, 393 00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:37.359 Um, this is an evolution. This has been you know, the 394 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:42.559 original mission was was good and sound, Um, but over time GCU really 395 00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:49.599 started to to live the mission in. President Mueller put put some teams on 396 00:29:49.640 --> 00:29:52.400 it and this is what they've developed and it's gonna be coming out soon. 397 00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:57.960 So M G SU AS A missional, Christ centered university with an innovative and 398 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:04.680 adaptive spirit that addresses the world's deep needs by cultivating compassionate Christian community, empowering 399 00:30:04.839 --> 00:30:11.799 free and virtuous action and serving others in ways that promote human flourishing. Through 400 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:18.079 academic excellence, the university equipped students with knowledge of the Christian Worldview, instilling 401 00:30:18.119 --> 00:30:22.680 them in a sense of purpose and vocational calling that enables them to be innovative 402 00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:30.400 thinkers, effective communicators, global contributors and transformative leaders who change their communities by 403 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:37.240 placing the interests of others before their own. It's a lot, right, 404 00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:42.079 but it's deep, it's impactful. Every time I read it I get the 405 00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:48.599 chills. Um, we put together a video that articulates it Um really well 406 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:53.240 and really exciting to to help them launch this thing. But what is so 407 00:30:53.559 --> 00:30:59.920 valuable in that mission? To answer the question about the academic piece, everything 408 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:10.319 that the academic folks are doing is to help the students have human flourishing opportunities. 409 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:15.039 So what is that? What does that mean? Their whole job under 410 00:31:15.079 --> 00:31:19.319 the provost and everybody is to provide the students with the knowledge and the critical 411 00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:22.960 skills too. Once they get out into the real world, is to put 412 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:30.119 those things to use, but without understanding the human flourishing aspect and the vocational 413 00:31:30.200 --> 00:31:36.880 calling that comes from Um uh, being a person on this earth. Um, 414 00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:40.240 and if you're a Christian, you understand that we're all children of God, 415 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:42.279 we're all equal, we're all from the same playing field, that this 416 00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:48.079 vocation is your avenue to live your life and for you to pursue those dreams 417 00:31:48.119 --> 00:31:52.880 and build your community and do all of those amazing things with your family, 418 00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:56.559 your loved ones, your friends, so so on and so forth. Um. 419 00:31:56.599 --> 00:32:00.599 So I think when the questions and the hard conversations happen around the table 420 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:07.400 with faculty, Um Deans and provost and whatnot, in the back of everybody's 421 00:32:07.440 --> 00:32:14.519 mind it's like, how are we able to get the right communication out about 422 00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:19.839 whatever program or whatever detail that needs to be from an academic standpoint into the 423 00:32:19.880 --> 00:32:23.640 consumer's mind through this Lens Um? And it's hard, it really is hard 424 00:32:23.759 --> 00:32:29.359 in a lot of a lot of cases. But if you can connect that, 425 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:37.079 um brigger, through the academic structure that Gcu offers or any institution offers 426 00:32:37.359 --> 00:32:44.640 Um to the students in goal of having this life in this vocation too, 427 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.759 to become whoever they want to be. It's like this little Um light, 428 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:54.279 light in the bottle type of situation. Um. So I think just because 429 00:32:54.319 --> 00:33:00.359 everybody at the table kind of understands this, it makes those conversations, even 430 00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:02.720 though that they can be hard sometimes, Um, at the end of the 431 00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:07.720 end of the day we're all trying to solve for that end goal. Um. 432 00:33:07.720 --> 00:33:13.279 So they understand that when I'm talking about a message, I want people 433 00:33:13.359 --> 00:33:20.559 to feel emotion when they're they're talking about a program or investing their savings into 434 00:33:21.440 --> 00:33:25.400 a degree program. Want them to feel that this is the right thing. 435 00:33:25.640 --> 00:33:31.079 I can I can be that person solving this problem for whatever community is, 436 00:33:31.720 --> 00:33:35.640 and if the language and the visuals that we can put in front of them 437 00:33:36.279 --> 00:33:43.759 Um to help them better understand that Um has to come in front of a 438 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:49.440 academic phrase, then let's have that conversation and figure out how we can work 439 00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:53.359 together to get the communications solidified. That's cool. I love how that is 440 00:33:53.400 --> 00:33:57.559 all you know. You start with the mission and the branding and you kind 441 00:33:57.559 --> 00:34:00.960 of monografy it all together and then you know you've got these elements that start 442 00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:05.960 to come out this and I think probably one of the key elements, Um, 443 00:34:06.279 --> 00:34:09.400 is that storytelling, because the storytelling is what connects that emotional level. 444 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:14.519 I mean it's so often people get tired of me talking about the emotion. 445 00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:16.519 I need to see more emotion. Emotion needs to be because, I mean, 446 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:20.320 that's that's the nature of story. Tell me a little bit about how 447 00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:24.800 storytelling starts to play into being able to execute and explain the mission. So 448 00:34:24.920 --> 00:34:30.679 I call it undeniable, authentic storytelling. So what does that mean? Is 449 00:34:30.719 --> 00:34:36.679 that another marketing trend, Buzzworthy, buzzworthy thing? Maybe, maybe so, 450 00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:45.599 um, but I think what what that ultimately means is you have, you 451 00:34:45.679 --> 00:34:51.239 have so many stories, some of the you know earlier, earlier on, 452 00:34:51.599 --> 00:34:55.440 or you're talking about you you have friends that work in really small colleges or 453 00:34:55.519 --> 00:35:00.119 universities with a marketing department of one or two people. Right, that person, 454 00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:06.480 the one person that you referenced before, if he probably trips over stories 455 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:09.760 all day walking down the hall. What are you gonna do with those stories? 456 00:35:09.760 --> 00:35:13.320 How are you going to tell them? What what are they? Which 457 00:35:13.320 --> 00:35:16.199 one should you tell first, or or which one she tackles second or forth 458 00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:22.320 whatever. Um. It all depends on on what Um what the other goals 459 00:35:22.360 --> 00:35:30.280 are. But when you're talking about undeniable authentic storytelling is is there something that 460 00:35:30.360 --> 00:35:34.840 other people within the subset can relate to? Can they see themselves in that 461 00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:38.719 story? Can they can they relate a part of it? Can they um 462 00:35:38.920 --> 00:35:45.679 imagine themselves Um at the end of that story? Um, Oh that that 463 00:35:45.719 --> 00:35:50.519 could be me earning that particular degree or that. This, this story really 464 00:35:50.519 --> 00:35:53.679 resonates to me because I have a sister and brother, a mom or dad 465 00:35:54.639 --> 00:36:00.679 that had a similar story. So now I'm invested emotionally with this a little 466 00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:07.280 bit deeper. Um. So those campaigns Um that we've rolled out over the 467 00:36:07.360 --> 00:36:13.480 years that really lean into that, I think, are the ones that they 468 00:36:13.519 --> 00:36:20.559 resonate the most. They move Um, people from UH fence sitters onto the 469 00:36:20.639 --> 00:36:24.239 right side of the fence. Um, whether it's immediate or downstream, I 470 00:36:24.280 --> 00:36:29.199 don't really care for at least where I stand from a brand marketer perspective, 471 00:36:29.239 --> 00:36:32.559 creative market perspective. I just want them to to make that ultimate decision to 472 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:37.800 come over Um. And there could be a lot of other tactics that bring 473 00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:42.199 them slower faster over. But my point being is, Um, if you 474 00:36:42.239 --> 00:36:45.000 can find those stories and tell it in a compelling way so people get emotionally 475 00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:50.079 invested because they can relate to it, then I think you're you're winning there, 476 00:36:50.199 --> 00:36:53.440 and we have a number of examples that I could go on about. 477 00:36:54.039 --> 00:37:00.000 Um. So yeah, I think that's important. I mean you've talked about, 478 00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:04.440 you know, their storytelling, it at a messaging level, at a 479 00:37:04.480 --> 00:37:08.039 campaign level, but then I also think that sometimes people forget their storytelling it 480 00:37:08.119 --> 00:37:12.840 even just a photograph level. Um, you know, the the idea that 481 00:37:13.360 --> 00:37:16.360 you know so many times people get tired of me talking about this, but 482 00:37:16.400 --> 00:37:19.199 you know, all somebody will say, Hey, can you look at our 483 00:37:19.239 --> 00:37:22.280 website? You know it's it's a lot of times it's a smaller school and 484 00:37:22.400 --> 00:37:24.239 you know they've taken pictures in the middle of summer when nobody's there and they're 485 00:37:24.280 --> 00:37:29.199 just empty, empty pictures with just buildings. And I said, what this 486 00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:31.880 shows me is that you've got a physical infrastructure, that that is a college, 487 00:37:32.199 --> 00:37:35.800 but I don't see any people. I can't see myself in this. 488 00:37:36.199 --> 00:37:38.920 And now all of a sudden the photo is a fact and not a story, 489 00:37:39.079 --> 00:37:43.239 and I guess that's the basic version, I guess, unless you've got 490 00:37:43.280 --> 00:37:45.280 some other ideas. I would love to hear your perspective on this. But 491 00:37:45.360 --> 00:37:50.199 even a photograph, if I put as if I put somebody in there doing 492 00:37:50.239 --> 00:37:53.559 something intriguing, now I have a story that somebody need starts spinning through their 493 00:37:53.599 --> 00:37:59.800 mind and they can then relate to it and engage into that photo. Um. 494 00:37:59.840 --> 00:38:04.800 Is that some of the things that you're thinking about? Yeah, absolutely. 495 00:38:04.920 --> 00:38:12.599 Um, still imagery. You're absolutely right. It is a storytelling construct. 496 00:38:12.719 --> 00:38:15.920 Even if, even if you're just capturing moments of activity vibrancy on your 497 00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:22.880 campus or in a program setting, a lab setting, be intentional about it. 498 00:38:22.920 --> 00:38:27.239 Don't just snap the photo. Think about what's happening and why you're there 499 00:38:27.280 --> 00:38:31.800 taking that photo and Um, and and tell that story. So, if 500 00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:36.960 it's just a general campus image, to your point, don't just show a 501 00:38:37.000 --> 00:38:40.840 blank canvas and think that the audience is going to see that and go, 502 00:38:40.880 --> 00:38:45.119 Oh, I can see myself sitting on that Park Bench. Put Somebody in 503 00:38:45.159 --> 00:38:50.599 that Park Bench doing something that you would commonly see that they can then go, 504 00:38:50.639 --> 00:38:52.559 oh, that reminds me of my friend or me, my girlfriend could 505 00:38:52.559 --> 00:38:58.440 be you know, whatever the thing is Um and Um and own it. 506 00:38:58.559 --> 00:39:04.440 And in what I your I said somewhere along the line you need to know 507 00:39:04.519 --> 00:39:07.719 your DNA really well. The beauty, the beauty about GCU, to be 508 00:39:07.840 --> 00:39:13.079 frank, is the DNA is is all there. We we know our things. 509 00:39:13.199 --> 00:39:19.000 We know we're Christian University, we're Um, free market, U, 510 00:39:19.320 --> 00:39:25.239 entrepreneurial, visionary, Um, getting deep into the sciences and bringing all these 511 00:39:25.239 --> 00:39:30.960 worlds together in a beautiful way. So what do we what are we what 512 00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:35.719 are we showing? We're showing those things in active participation and the when you 513 00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:37.440 take any if you go to our website and you look at some of the 514 00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:43.320 main imagery, you'll see you'll see the stories there. You'll see that Um. 515 00:39:43.440 --> 00:39:46.559 Yeah, so I think that's a good what I loved about just the 516 00:39:46.679 --> 00:39:50.239 still photography thing is that a lot of people just think, oh, we 517 00:39:50.280 --> 00:39:52.159 just need a picture, just go get a pictures. It's not. You 518 00:39:52.280 --> 00:39:55.079 gotta think a little bit more about what you're putting out there. Yeah, 519 00:39:55.119 --> 00:40:00.119 and it doesn't take much. Just take a little bit more time and go 520 00:40:00.519 --> 00:40:04.840 Um. And that can be for athletics and Um like, like I said, 521 00:40:04.960 --> 00:40:10.840 just general, you know, campus visuals or even particular college Um Story. 522 00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:15.000 So if you're in an engineering program or some other science thing, like 523 00:40:15.320 --> 00:40:19.679 yeah, it's cool to show all the equipment, bells and whistles and those 524 00:40:19.679 --> 00:40:22.320 things get I you know, people look at it, but what else can 525 00:40:22.360 --> 00:40:27.360 you add to those images to make somebody really want to be there, be 526 00:40:27.440 --> 00:40:30.400 in that, in that environment? As we bring the episode to a close, 527 00:40:30.440 --> 00:40:34.159 we would like to ask you, Chad, if there was a piece 528 00:40:34.159 --> 00:40:38.199 of advice that you could offer marketers out there that they can or should implement 529 00:40:38.679 --> 00:40:46.719 immediately. What would that be? I kind of would just go back to 530 00:40:46.840 --> 00:40:54.639 that. You have to try. You just have to get like I don't 531 00:40:54.639 --> 00:41:00.840 know what the thing would be for everybody, but they know they're struggles and 532 00:41:00.880 --> 00:41:07.679 if they're Um tiptoeing into the water, don't just be calculated about it. 533 00:41:07.719 --> 00:41:10.920 So don't be cavalier. Let's not be cavalier, let's be calculated, but 534 00:41:12.440 --> 00:41:15.320 get out there and try. So, going back to that email example, 535 00:41:15.360 --> 00:41:20.880 I think that's a really simple and there's super complicated automated email journeys, teams 536 00:41:20.880 --> 00:41:23.880 of I don't know, people that can do stuff, you know whatever, 537 00:41:24.280 --> 00:41:29.559 or you can be a nimble group or your own Um person building out a 538 00:41:29.599 --> 00:41:32.000 journey but you know what, what do you think? Or what are the 539 00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:39.559 what is the literature? The quick Google search say about Um engaging better, 540 00:41:39.599 --> 00:41:43.480 engaging emails? Oh, it's video, but then let's figure out how to 541 00:41:43.480 --> 00:41:46.519 get a video into our emails. You know, just be be calculated about 542 00:41:46.559 --> 00:41:50.559 it. Try. You'RE gonna fail and that's okay, and in earlier part 543 00:41:50.599 --> 00:41:52.960 you said you might not. And if you don't, then then that's a 544 00:41:52.360 --> 00:41:57.559 you hit it out of the park, but I'm not saying that failing is 545 00:41:57.760 --> 00:42:00.960 what you want to do. But when it happens, don't don't knock yourself 546 00:42:00.960 --> 00:42:06.880 down farther. Just look at what happened. They own it in an extreme 547 00:42:06.880 --> 00:42:12.079 way. Fix it and then, and then modify and grow and be more 548 00:42:12.320 --> 00:42:16.000 incinacious about it. Thank you, Chad. From the very first piece of 549 00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:22.480 advice that you gave us about the extreme leadership book and then also sharing the 550 00:42:22.519 --> 00:42:28.000 g cu mission, you have exuded leadership and we see why you're a leader 551 00:42:28.400 --> 00:42:31.400 in your or in our industry. For those that would like to reach out 552 00:42:31.480 --> 00:42:37.000 to you after this episode, in either contact to you or get to know 553 00:42:37.039 --> 00:42:38.679 you a little bit better, what would be the best way for them to 554 00:42:38.719 --> 00:42:43.800 do so? Me Up on Linkedin Chad Wilson and just when you search, 555 00:42:43.960 --> 00:42:47.199 just put Grand Kenyon Education, Chad Wilson and all I'll pop up. I 556 00:42:47.280 --> 00:42:52.280 was hoping I had some sort of easy extension, but you know, it 557 00:42:52.400 --> 00:42:55.599 was your l's get a little goofy Um, you know, and you can 558 00:42:55.639 --> 00:43:00.960 hit me there or yeah, all my other so shows I kind of try 559 00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:02.599 to keep that a little bit, you know, private, a little bit. 560 00:43:02.599 --> 00:43:07.840 So I think Lincoln is the best and if you want to look at 561 00:43:07.880 --> 00:43:13.400 some of the storytelling work, I've put together a showcase piece on our video 562 00:43:13.599 --> 00:43:20.079 so video dot com, slash showcase, slash G C E AD agency, 563 00:43:20.320 --> 00:43:23.119 and that'll give you an opportunity to look at our sizzle reel, but also 564 00:43:23.360 --> 00:43:30.400 a number of longer forms, deeper emotional storytelling pieces that we've done specifically for 565 00:43:30.800 --> 00:43:32.880 our partners. So thank you chat and if you don't mind, we'll put 566 00:43:32.920 --> 00:43:37.119 a couple of links in the show notes to make sure people can see examples 567 00:43:37.159 --> 00:43:40.519 of your work in some of the things that you mentioned today. But do 568 00:43:40.559 --> 00:43:44.880 you have any final thoughts that you would like to share? Yeah, I 569 00:43:44.960 --> 00:43:47.119 just wanted to say and encourage everyone, and you've heard me say this the 570 00:43:47.199 --> 00:43:51.559 last couple of episodes. Hit rewind and go back and listen to some of 571 00:43:51.599 --> 00:43:53.639 this again. I mean there's so much depth in what Chad was talking about, 572 00:43:53.719 --> 00:43:57.880 especially around the mission. There was just when he was talking about some 573 00:43:57.920 --> 00:44:01.119 of the new things that that G C E is helping Grand Canyon University do 574 00:44:01.280 --> 00:44:05.400 and and and kind of align some of their mission to then be able to, 575 00:44:05.880 --> 00:44:09.599 you know, really communicate the D Na. I think is so important, 576 00:44:09.920 --> 00:44:14.719 and I also think that there's just so many key elements that that Chad's 577 00:44:14.760 --> 00:44:17.880 kind of bestowed on us with with just the idea of some of the leadership 578 00:44:17.920 --> 00:44:22.960 elements, as well as just looking for ways to kind of fail forward, 579 00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:25.599 Um, you know, keep looking for ways that you can do something different 580 00:44:25.719 --> 00:44:30.599 or outside of your comfort zone, Um, and and be okay with it 581 00:44:30.800 --> 00:44:34.559 just maybe not working out to the percent that you wanted it to be. 582 00:44:34.599 --> 00:44:37.960 I mean, and you learn something, all the better. We we live 583 00:44:37.960 --> 00:44:42.800 in a digital age and it's it's not like you're gonna have a a skid 584 00:44:42.880 --> 00:44:45.480 of brochures you have to throw out. I mean, there's a lot of 585 00:44:45.480 --> 00:44:49.599 things that we can fail forward on that are not gonna really do much damage 586 00:44:49.599 --> 00:44:52.360 it, but it's gonna it's gonna get you skills that are going to go 587 00:44:52.400 --> 00:44:54.679 a lot further, and so be willing to take a few risks and and 588 00:44:54.880 --> 00:44:58.719 try some new things. I think that's great. Thank you, bark. 589 00:44:59.480 --> 00:45:04.480 The Higher Ed Marketer podcast is sponsored by Kaylor solutions and education, marketing and 590 00:45:04.519 --> 00:45:10.440 branding agency and, I think, patented a Marketing Execution Company combining print and 591 00:45:10.519 --> 00:45:17.079 digital assets for better outreaching communication. On behalf of Bart Kaylor my co host, 592 00:45:17.280 --> 00:45:23.760 I'm troy singer. Thank you for joining us. You've been listening to 593 00:45:23.800 --> 00:45:29.199 the Higher Ed Marketer. To ensure that you never miss an episode, subscribe 594 00:45:29.239 --> 00:45:32.840 to the show in your favorite podcast player. If you're listening with apple podcasts. 595 00:45:34.119 --> 00:45:37.400 We'd love for you to leave a quick rating of the show. Simply 596 00:45:37.440 --> 00:45:40.480 tap the number of stars do you think the podcast deserves. Until next time,