Building a Better Higher Education Marketing Team — Survey Report
We surveyed more than 100 higher education professionals to capture the current and future states of higher education marketing teams — including roles, skills, and capabilities.
It’s been just about five years since we fielded our last survey of higher education marketers and web professionals. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape in ways that may not be clear for a long time, higher ed marketers were pivoting and evolving. Best-in-class higher ed marketing teams — many of whom we are proud to work shoulder to shoulder with — have seen major disruptions in the search for traditional-age students, technology adoption and ownership around campus, markets served, and — in their roles — the proverbial “other duties as assigned.”
The 2020–21 academic year, in the midst of the pandemic, accelerated many of these changes still, and created new opportunities for marketing teams to quickly adapt, increase their skill sets, hone their storytelling and crisis communication abilities, and demonstrate their value to leadership. Not to mention bringing in a class and gifts!
While no single survey can measure all of what you’ve accomplished, and where you’re headed strategically, our aim was to tell your story, and the story of what it takes to build a better marketing team.
To that end, we included a number of new survey questions that will showcase:
- Areas of responsibility
- Team size and composition
- Metrics shared with leadership
- Success factors and barriers
- COVID-19 pandemic impacts and response
Our hope is for you to be able to compare your department to the survey findings and be able to make the case for what you need to build your best higher ed marketing team. Download the full report using the form below.
Download the Full Report
Learn How the Higher Education Marketing Industry is Evolving
Between April-May 2021 OHO led a research study to better understand the staffing resources marketing and communication departments have, to capture the current and future states of higher education marketing teams — including roles, skills, and capabilities.
Our comprehensive guide provides detailed analysis of the survey results, including what new roles departments are hoping to add to their team, what skills they have or plan to add in their department, who the marketing/communications division reports to, and much more.