Mallory speaks with Amber Kennedy, Executive Director for Content & Strategy at William & Mary, about the gap in college communications with parents post-enrollment. While institutions heavily court parents during recruitment, communications often fragment once students enroll. The discussion covers how modern digital expectations, safety alerts, and commencement messaging highlight the need for cohesive parent communication strategies that balance student independence with family inclusion.

Welcome to the debut episode of this new Pulse Check series, The Alignment Gap: Beyond The Org Chart. Host Jenny Petty is joined by Dr. Marcus Collins, Michigan Ross professor and author of For the Culture and the upcoming Good Soil.

Mallory is joined by Perry Rockwood, Social Media Manager at BYU-Idaho, to explore how his team uses weekly engagement data like saves and shares to shape content strategy. Perry shares insights on shifting away from shallow metrics, making tough decisions to cut low-performing faculty series, and leveraging student-generated TikTok content to build trust and authenticity.

In the final episode of What Do We Really Need?, Ologie Marketing Director Erin Fields talks with Doug Edwards, Ologie’s Chief Strategy Officer, about turning that request into useful direction. Doug explains how the conversation changes depending on whether an institution is tired of its current messaging, has outgrown its brand, or needs to respond to a changing market.

Mallory speaks with Anna Mottice, Director for Advancement Operations and Strategic Engagement at Antioch University, to explore the key insights Anna learned from overhauling alumni engagement at OHSU Foundation, including applying hospitality principles and experience design inspired by theater and consumer brands. She discusses navigating resistance from legacy donors, phasing major programmatic changes over three years, and redefining success around metrics like pride and joy. Tune in to discover how starting small with intentional touchpoints creates momentum for lasting institutional change.

In episode four of What Do We Really Need?, Ologie Marketing Director Erin Fields talks with Nathan Thornton, Ologie’s Senior Vice President of Creative, about making marketing more engaging. Nathan also designs board games, where people can walk away the moment they stop enjoying themselves. He shares how that experience shapes his approach to earning attention and giving students a reason to take the next step.

Mallory chats with Nick DeNardis, Senior Director of Digital Experience and Innovation at Wayne State University, about how AI-driven search traffic behaves differently on higher education websites. They examine real university data showing that visitors arriving via AI assistants engage deeper, move faster to conversion steps, and heavily rely on data-rich pages like the university bulletin. Tune in to learn why institutions must rethink digital strategy, optimize comprehensive single-page content, and prepare web properties for both human visitors and automated AI agents.

In the third episode of What Do We Really Need?, Ologie Marketing Director Erin Fields talks with Chevonne Harris, Ologie’s Vice President of Strategy and the founder and CEO of ThriveIn, about how institutions decide whose experiences to share. Drawing on her background in journalism and her work building a community for Black Gen Z and millennial women, Chevonne asks what colleges hope their student stories will accomplish and whether the stories they choose reflect what students actually experience.

Mallory speaks with Zach Hosseini, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President for University Relations at Pace University, about navigating public mistrust in higher education. Despite declining national confidence in the sector, Zach explains why Pace is boldly launching a new brand during "Awesome October". They discuss strategies for breaking out of higher ed's "doom loop," embracing industry disruption, and supporting rising leadership. Finally, Zach previews his programming for the Senior Leader Experience at the upcoming AMA Higher Ed Symposium.

In the second episode of What Do We Really Need, Ologie Marketing Director Erin Fields talks with Jen Johnson, Ologie's Chief Client Officer, about how colleges and universities can determine whether they have a lead-generation problem or a broader enrollment funnel problem. Drawing on Jen's experience leading both enrollment management and marketing at Queens University of Charlotte, they discuss the pressure enrollment teams face when a class is not coming together and why that pressure can quickly turn into finger-pointing between marketing and admissions.