The Story Isn’t the Problem
This episode starts with a LinkedIn controversy and quickly turns into a much bigger conversation about what higher ed keeps getting wrong about brand.
Mallory and Volt sit down with Joe Master, one of the sharpest brand strategists in the industry, to unpack a line that hits harder the longer you sit with it: higher ed doesn’t have a storytelling problem. It has a personality problem.
Because the stories are there. The outcomes are there. The impact is real. But when every institution sounds “supportive, and student-centered, and focused on students’ professional success,” none of it sticks.
Joe takes us inside what it actually looks like to build a brand that people remember — from the inside-out work behind Drexel’s Ambition Can’t Wait campaign to the reality of operationalizing brand across enrollment, media, and institutional strategy.
🔑 What You’ll Take Away
Higher ed doesn’t need better stories. It needs a stronger point of view.
Brand is what makes performance marketing work harder.
AI is making “good enough” content easier and memorable brands more important.
You can’t defend brand spend with performance metrics alone.
The strongest brands are built through consistency, trust, and how you show up when it counts.