What Are The Top 10 Higher Education Marketing Agencies?

 

Higher education marketing is a niche that actually has quite a few great agencies that focus solely or largely on higher education.  Not every marketing niche has this.  Some of these agencies have been around for over 30 years and manage hundreds of millions of dollars worth of annual digital advertising.  Here’s our take on who the Top 10 Higher Education Marketing Agencies are:

 

#1 – Education Dynamics

Education Dynamics has been in business for over 30 years, manages $247M in annual digital ads, has completed 177,000 student applications, and has 450 higher education experts.  Some of their partners include CMU Online, Unity College, University of Minnesota, Post University, Gary W. Rollins College of Business, Park University, University of New Haven, and Penn LPS Online.  Their solutions include Marketing Agency Services, Inquiry Generation, Awareness Marketing, SEO, UX & Conversion Rate Optimization, Creative Development, Enrollment Management, Inquiry Nurturing, Market Research, Staff Development, and Consulting.

 

#2 – OHO Interactive

OHO focuses on the higher education, digital enrollment, and healthcare marketing spaces.  Within the higher education vertical, they have 120+ higher ed clients.  Some of their clients include Widener University, Champlain College Online, Cornell University, Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia Law School, and many others.  Their services include Website and Content Management System (CMS), Content Strategy, Digital Marketing, Capital Campaigns, Marketing Organizational Assessment, and User Research.

 

#3 – Higher Education Marketing Solutions

Higher Education Marketing Solutions focuses specifically on working with K-12 schools, colleges, and universities to help them with their marketing and recruitment of new students.  Some of their clients include Herzing College, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, John Cabot University, Universitat Liechtenstein, LCS, Destination Canada International Language Camp, and Laureate International Universities.   Services offered include Digital Marketing, CRM, Student Portal, and Consulting.

 

#4 – Carnegie

For more than 35 years, Carnegie has been a leader and innovator in the higher education marketing space.  Their services include Research, Strategy, Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Slate Optimization, Student Search, Financial Aid Optimization, Website Development, and Creative.  Some of their partnerships include Duquesne University, John Carroll University, Rhodes College, and Samford University.

 

#5 – Keystone Education Group

Keystone helps with connecting students with education on a global scale.  While they’re not your typical higher education marketing agency, they do have 5,500+ partner institutions, 500+ student websites, are in 190 countries, and over 120,000,000 unique student visitors each year.  Services include Higher Education Marketing, Social Media, Student Fairs, Email Marketing, Application Management, Admission Services, Enrollment Management, Student Retention, CRM For Higher Ed, Academic Recruitment, and Sports Recruitment.

 

#6 – Up & Up

Up & Up focuses solely on higher ed marketing.  Their services include Brand Strategies, Marketing Campaigns, and Web Experiences.  They also have a Podcast called “Undeclared” that is for higher education marketers who never want to stop learning.  Some of their clients include Miami University, Mount St. Mary’s University, Furman, Clemson, University of Kentucky, UNCW, and Campbell University.  Their team consists of around 15 employees.

 

#7 – Elliance

Elliance works in the Higher Education, AI Tech & Ecommerce, Manufacturing, B2B, Healthcare & Wellness, Banking & Financial Services, and Nonprofit verticals.  Some of their higher ed clients include The Catholic University of America, North Central College, John Carroll University Boler School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University, William Woods University, New York Chiropractic College, and many more.  Their capabilities include Branding, Strategic Planning, Demand Generation, Inbound Marketing, Digital Campaigns, Search Marketing, User Experience, Creative, Technology, Research, Social, and Metrics.

 

#8 – ED. Marketing

ED. Marketing is a division of McKim Communications Group.  Their services include Recruitment Campaign Development, Community Engagement, and Managing Institutional Reputation.  Clients include University of Manitoba, York University, McMaster University, Mini U, Lethbridge College, Robson Hall Faculty of Law, and Booth University College.

 

#9 – Max Connect

Max Connect is out of Draper, UT and works with Higher Education, Automotive, Real Estate, Legal, Home Services, Healthcare, and SAAS/B2B companies.  Their primary services within the higher education space are Audience Identification & Ad Delivery, Real Time Engagement Analysis, Program & Infrastructure, and Creative Optimizations.  Some of their clients include University of Utah, Nightingale College, and many others.

 

#10 – MDT Marketing

MDT Marketing provides Student Journey Solutions including Awareness Stage, Lead Generation, Lead Nurturing, Application Stage, Ongoing Engagement, Graduation Stage, and Alumni Nurturing.  Within these offerings, they provide SEO, Internet Advertising Management, Variable Data Printing, Personalized Booklets, Affiliate Management, Inquiry Management, Handwritten Postcards, Chatbot, and Landing Page Development.  On the technology side, they provide Personalized Video, Insight Reporting, Enrollboost, Call Tracking, and Data Appending.  They have around 10 employees and some of their clients include AIM, Charter College, and Southeastern College.

 

How Can Hiring A Higher Education Marketing Agency Be A Game Changer For Your University?

As competition within higher education intensifies, the importance of effective marketing cannot be underestimated. Universities are increasingly realizing the value of hiring a higher education marketing agency to help them meet their strategic goals. These agencies offer specialized knowledge and resources that can transform the way an institution recruits students, engages alumni, and builds its brand.

A Specialized Approach to Marketing

Marketing in the higher education space is a unique beast. It requires an understanding of the prospective student journey, a familiarity with the academic calendar, and the ability to navigate the nuances of university culture and governance. Higher education marketing agencies bring this industry-specific expertise to the table. They understand the specific challenges universities face, and can develop targeted strategies to overcome them.

Access to Expert Resources

A higher education marketing agency houses a team of experts across a range of disciplines, from graphic design and digital advertising to SEO and content marketing. This expertise can prove invaluable for universities that may not have these skills in-house. Agencies also stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies, ensuring your university remains at the cutting edge of marketing innovation.

A Proactive Approach to Recruitment

In today’s competitive landscape, universities can’t afford to be reactive in their recruitment strategies. Higher education marketing agencies use data-driven strategies to identify and target prospective students. They employ a combination of traditional and digital channels to reach out to prospective students, keeping your university top-of-mind throughout their decision-making process.

Conclusion

Hiring a higher education marketing agency can be a game changer for universities. With their specialized knowledge, access to expert resources, and proactive approach to student recruitment, these agencies can help universities stand out in a crowded market. They can help create compelling marketing campaigns that resonate with prospective students, engage alumni, and enhance the university’s overall brand. It’s an investment that has the potential to deliver substantial returns.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you may also like our article on higher education marketing firms entitled “Secrets Of Higher Education Marketing Firms“.

 

Need Help?

If you would like to speak with us about potentially having us help drive quality leads for your higher education institution, please fill out our Contact Us form.  Here at Lead PPC, we are a franchise digital marketing agency that primarily focuses on franchise development and other franchise marketing services.

 

Video Transcript

Hello there! This is Grant James with Lead PPC in this article I’m going to talk about what are the top 10 higher education marketing agencies there are actually quite a few agencies that just focus on higher education but sometimes finding them can be a little tricky so hopefully this video is and or article is helpful for you. In this list I did not include ourselves this is a space that we’re working on so I cannot consider ourselves a top 10 group, but either way I would love to talk with you maybe I can help point in the right direction you know, would like to hop on a call, you can call us an A33 lead PPC would give you some kind of advice, my personal feedback on it or go to contact us and fill out the form there so this is these are the groups right here I put their logos up and let’s kind of dive in and talk about each of these the first number one is going to be Education Dynamics.

They’ve been in business for over 30 years these guys have managed $247,000,000 and annual digital ads and they’ve completed 177,000 student applications and they have 450 higher education experts which I think is like employees and you know other people that help so let’s check them out real quick. This is their website. I love their stats that they have right up there it’s really impressive and that’s probably. What put me over the top with these guys is just they do so many different services everything from consulting to market research to I mean, there’s a lot of traffic that they’re driving. I mean that’s that’s a lot of a lot of ads been 247 million a year, so they kind of beat out everyone just based out of off of performance.

I like OHO Interactive as my number 2. They have 120 plus higher education clients like widener University, Champlin College Online, Cornell Harvard, Yale, Columbia so a lot of those really nice school. So but I like I like their branding in general I think it’s unique. Um, it just they got kind of a good little vibe and flavor going on here and their track record is really really good so they may be one that you want to consider as well number 3. This is also a higher education only marketing agency this is called Higher Education Marketing Solutions so great name.

They work with everything from K through 12 schools, colleges and universities. Clients include Herzing College, technion, Israel, Inseer, Technology, John Cabot University, kind of a lot of lesser known education groups that are out there I would say even by my house we have 2 new colleges that have kind of popped up, so I think education there’s obviously 1t of money in the space and some more and more groups are servicing just higher education firms, but they do digital marketing CRM they have a student portal which is I think really important in the space as well as consulting, so number 4 is going to be Carnegie.

They’ve been around for 35 years there are a leader in higher education marketing space, so let’s kind of click on them and take a look at some of the stuff that they do here yeah, they’ve, I mean their websites a little interesting but basically brand and activation enrollment, pipeline and management this is really important and that’s why you really do need an education only marketing agency because stuff like that is really hard for just a general agency to do. My slack is going off marketing strategy and execution and so forth. Next we have Keystone Education Group. These guys have 5500 partner institutions, 500 plus suit websites. There are 190 countries Israel. This is a really big group I put them a little bit lower because they’re not to me they’re not like a typical marketing agency they kind of have a different business model and I’m kind of like an agency first guy but I had to include them because they do do a lot of marketing. Number 6 is going to be up and up they only focus on higher education stuff.

They have a podcast called Undeclared which I think is really unique. So even if you don’t engage with these guys you may want to take a look at their podcast and just get. Some free information, free content. It’s on apple Podcast, Google Play, and Spotify, so, that’s something to consider because you kind of need the mind the mindset of a marketer I’m gonna kind of bang through these other ones we have a alliance marketing, Max Connect and NBT marketing, also the end of the article I talk about how can hiring a hire hiring a higher education marketing agency be a game changer for your university everything from you know, having a specialized approach to marketing, access to expert resources proactive approach to recruitment and kind of some last words by them anyway. Would love to talk with you if you just kind of want some general direction feedback from 1/3 party, you can just call us at 833 Lead PPC or go to contact us and fill out the form there and schedule an appointment probably with me online but thanks so much for taking the time to read this article watch this video and we’ll talk to you soon.