Meet the New Higher Education CMO and Marketing Leaders Council

Today’s marketers are living in a perpetual state of change. The amount of data brands have access to has exploded, channels have proliferated, media is evolving, market segmentation continues to granularize, and budgets are expanding. The most significant change however, has been customer expectations: 80% of customers across industries now say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. With more choices, more access to information, and more offers at their fingertips, it takes more tact and precision than ever to attract, acquire, and retain today’s savvy customers. The result is a much more complex — and more exciting — marketing landscape. For more details, check out the 5th annual State of Marketing report.
These developments are also impacting higher education. In response, the CMO and other exec-level marketing positions are growing in prominence and strategic importance within today’s institutions. No longer just concerned with brand strategy, the next generation of CMOs are broadening their focus to the business of higher education across the student lifecycle, driving innovation and leading digital transformation efforts that impact the experiences of prospective and current students, alumni and donors. The drive towards innovation is creating a new culture for more strategic marketing. This new culture really informs expectations across campuses.

R. Ethan Braden, Vice President of Marketing, Purdue University
These efforts are aligned with the new learner demographics and expectations. These expectations are driving CMOs and marketing leaders to be more digitally fluent and data-driven than ever before, bringing integrated campaigns to life to drive big decisions across campus.
With that in mind, Salesforce.org founded its first Higher Education CMO and Marketing Leaders Council in June 2019. The Council serves as the premiere peer-powered network for senior marketing leaders in higher education. In partnership with Salesforce.org, the Council will help shape the future of the marketing practice by empowering thought leadership dialogue, convening leaders across the sector, and sharing best practices.

Karen Ferguson Fuson
CMO, Indiana University
Today’s council consists of 25 CMOs and marketing leaders from a diverse number of universities.

Samantha Morales
Senior Director, Marketing, Alumni Relations & Dev Communications – University of Chicago
Our goal is to harness our collective education and marketing expertise to help transform the marketing practice within higher education. As part of this effort, the Council aims to:
- Help optimize Salesforce.org’s Higher Ed marketing strategy and investment
- Guide Salesforce’s marketing solution strategy for higher ed
- Amplify Council members’ work via Salesforce.org’s marketing channels
- Provide peer-to-peer executive networking and a forum to share best practices

Kerry Salerno
CMO
Babson College
We believe this work has never been more important than it is today and we hope you will consider attending community gatherings at industry events, engaging our council members and becoming a member when we re-open member selection in 2020.
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