01The challenge
Illinois higher education spent the late 2010s in a slow-motion crisis. The state was losing college-bound students to out-of-state schools every year, and NIU’s total enrollment had been declining for a decade. Inside the university, the marketing problem compounded the market problem: no one had ever owned digital marketing for the central university. Everything was decentralized, and the advertising program was about $500K a year of basic print and radio.
I arrived mid-rebrand, into a university that needed more than new ads. It needed a digital function built from scratch, and someone to build it.
02The strategy
I drove a true digital transformation, guiding the strategy while staying hands-on at every level, in close partnership with marketing leadership on the central team and coordinating a matrixed network of admissions, academic colleges, and agency partners across campus. First, the launch: I helped carry the new brand across the university, lifting brand awareness and driving campus visits. Then, the machine: systems and a real funnel, from driving leads to nurturing them all the way to enrolled students, wrapped in a culture of honest reporting and constant campaign improvement.
We stopped treating “prospective students” as one audience. I built multiyear strategies with custom campaigns and messaging for each: prospective freshmen, transfer students, graduate students, online students, parents, out-of-state audiences, and Hispanic audiences, work that helped NIU earn Hispanic-Serving Institution status two years ahead of goal.
When university leadership made online programs a top priority, I led the paid advertising: in the first year we built a major lead pipeline and filled cohorts, and I worked directly with faculty across the university on landing pages, creative, and email nurture campaigns for every online program. I also co-led the RFP that brought on a new digital media partner to raise our sophistication. The results earned trust, and trust earned budget: the advertising program grew from $500K in my first year to more than $3.5 million.
03The work
04The results
freshman enrollment increase in fall 2021, the largest in 20+ years
of consecutive freshman class growth, fall 2017–2021
advertising budget growth, from $500K to $3.5M+, earned through proven results
NIU reached Hispanic-Serving Institution status ahead of its goal
This worked because proof came before scale. We built the funnel, reported honestly, and improved relentlessly, and every result bought more trust. That’s how $500K becomes $3.5M, and how, in a shrinking market, precision beat volume.