Top 8 Higher Education Marketing Agencies

As a higher ed marketing team with resources stretched to the max, you know it’s time to bring in outside help. But where should you look for higher education marketing agencies?

To help you get started, we’ve put together this list of top agencies that specialize in higher ed. 

This is not a ranking. The list is in alphabetical order, so feel free to explore all of these options to find the best partner for your needs.

• Carnegie Dartlet/mStoner
• Caylor Solutions
• Direct Development
• Helix Education
• OHO Interactive
• Ologie
• Paskill Stapleton & Lord
• Up&Up

1. Carnegie Dartlet/mStoner

Overview

Carnegie has offered higher education marketing and enrollment strategy development for about 30 years. Their philosophy “fuses the principles of human psychology with marketing and enrollment innovation.”

With the acquisition of mStoner in October 2021, the parent company added the new subsidiary’s ability to “craft powerful, tailored, human-centric online experiences.” These include creative web design and development services.

Brand Promise

“We connect colleges with students through the power of human connection by measuring and then marketing to a student’s unique behaviors and motivators. This leads to action, enrollment, retention, and lasting affinity.”

Services

• Digital Marketing
• Enrollment Strategy
• Integrated Research
• Lead Generation
• Reputation Strategy
• Signature Creative
• Slate Optimization
• Team Dynamics
• Web Development

Learn more here.

2. Caylor Solutions

Overview

This virtual agency brings together a diversity of talent from all over the U.S. and beyond to partner with institutions of higher ed everywhere. Services are highly scalable, serving large institutions and small schools, including private Christian colleges and other faith-based institutions.

Caylor Solutions works collaboratively with higher education marketing teams to establish goals, develop unique strategies, and utilize cutting-edge technologies. The team focuses on creating solutions that produce the best possible return on investment. 

Brand Promise

“We bring a fresh perspective to education marketing. By applying the experience from corporate and consumer marketing, we can apply new thinking and results to enrollment and advancement marketing.”

Services

• Capital Campaign Strategy
• Content Strategy and Development
• Digital Marketing Consulting and Digital Media Development
• Email Marketing, Automation and Personalization
• Marketing and Branding
• Pay Per Click Advertising
• Print Collateral Development
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)/Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
• Social Media Strategy
• Technology Consulting
• Website Design and Development

Learn more here.

3. Direct Development

Overview

DD got their start helping faith-based charities develop digital marketing communications to help in their fundraising efforts. The agency later expanded into higher education marketing, offering multi-channel marketing strategies.

Since 2014, DD rebranded with an exclusive focus on education and nonprofit clients. They strive to “make any complicated mar-tech strategy easy to understand and execute” so their clients can better compete in the modern digital landscape.

Brand Promise

“DD is a family of brands centered around one mission—to help the Davids of this world beat their Goliaths. This is our approach, and it infuses every product, service, and resource we create.”

Services

• Education Marketing
• Nonprofit Marketing
• Enrollment Resources
• Media Production

Learn more here.

4. Helix Education

Overview

Helix Education takes an “enterprise growth approach” to enrollment marketing, analyzing broad data sets to present the big picture as well as strategic insights into the student lifecycle.

As an in-house agency, Helix specializes in helping clients apply higher education marketing technology to drive enrollment and improve retention. Their data-driven approach provides predictive models that help clients optimize marketing spend.

Brand Promise

“While increased competition, complexity, and financial pressures have left many institutions fighting to survive, Helix Education is helping colleges and universities across the nation thrive—maximizing enrollment growth through data-driven services and technologies across the post-traditional student lifecycle.”

Services

• Branding Consultation
• Coaching
• Enrollment CRM
• Inquiry Management
• Outsourced Program Management
• Retention CRM

Learn more here.

5. OHO Interactive

Overview

This Boston area-based “interactive” agency specializes in healthcare, arts & nonprofit and higher education marketing. OHO Interactive’s team of strategists, designers and web developers have offered “full funnel digital marketing” services since 1998.

OHO helps colleges and universities develop messaging strategy, engage with prospects, drive enrollment, and develop capital campaigns.

Brand Promise

“We help ambitious, forward-looking marketers maximize their investments in digital to elevate their organization’s prestige and recruit the customers they need.”

Services

• Content Strategy
• Digital Marketing
• Marketing Organizational Assessment
• User Research
• Website and CMS Redesign

Learn more here.

6. Ologie

Overview

Ologie focuses on higher education marketing but serves “other purpose-driven organizations” as well. They build brands, drive recruitment (enrollment), raise awareness to build a reputation and inspire giving.

A certified women’s business enterprise, Ologie has a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. Its social justice committee strives “to be better listeners, allies, and advocates for our black and brown community.”

Brand Promise

“Ologie is a branding and marketing agency. To us, branding means discovering your authentic story and finding your true voice. Marketing means making it real: by getting tangible results and making an impact. This is our purpose. We can’t not do it.”

Services

• Branding
• Digital Media
• Marketing Strategy
• Research
• Social Media Management
• Video Production

Learn more here.

7. Paskill Stapleton & Lord

Overview

Part of JPL Integrated Communications, PS&L is a large, full-service agency that creates comprehensive strategies for higher ed marketers and implements them.

They have a “research-first approach” to higher education marketing, which they apply to strategy development for community colleges, faith-based institutions and health sciences schools.

Brand Promise

“To engage students at every step in the selection process, comprehensive enrollment marketing is not only what works; it’s what’s needed to thrive. And comprehensive is what we do best.”

Services

• Brand Strategy and Creative
• Digital and Traditional Advertising
• Live Experience Events
• Market Research
• Staff Development and Training
• Website Solutions
• Video and Motion Content

Learn more here.

8. Up&Up

Overview

Up&Up Agency is a branding firm focused exclusively on higher education marketing. They focus on helping institutions with limited resources get the boost in enrollment they need through strategies to “elevate their brand” while zeroing in on “right-fit students.”

Brand Promise

“We help courageous leaders of forward-thinking colleges grow enrollment amid increasing challenges by crafting and activating a compelling brand strategy that positions their school to attract and retain more of the right-fit students.”

Services

• Brand Strategy
• Marketing Campaigns
• Web Experiences

Learn more here.

Need help finding the best higher education marketing partner for your needs?

We can help.

Caylor Solutions may be just the partner you’re looking for. But if you have needs we feel others are better suited to fulfill, we’d be delighted to refer you.

If you’re feeling stretched to capacity, struggling to reach your critical enrollment or fundraising goals, don’t delay reaching out for help. Start here, today.

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Featured image by REDPIXEL via Adobe Stock