AMA Higher Ed 2025: What We’re Still Thinking About
ERI always looks forward to attending the Super Bowl of Higher Ed marketing conferences: American Marketing Association (AMA). But this year, and for the first time ever, we seized the opportunity to exhibit.
Our team Raffi DerSimonian, Jillian Cote, and Erjon Metohu spent three days engaging with and speaking to representatives from institutions, agencies, and vendors from around the country about the successes and challenges they are facing.
Exhibiting at any conference is way different from attending. You trade the hallway conversations and session sprints for deeper, more focused discussions. Both have their magic. This year, we experienced a different kind.
A few topics kept coming up. Here’s what we’re still thinking about.
AI Is Making It Easy to Phone It In
Let’s just say it: It’s never been easier to produce something, and never been harder to produce something that matters.
Students can spot AI-generated content instantly. They know what ChatGPT sounds like. And they don’t just ignore generic copy. They judge you for it.
The institutions doing interesting work aren’t asking “Can AI do this?” They’re asking better questions: Does this sound like us? Would this actually help a student make a decision? Are we using this to amplify our voice or avoid doing the thinking?
AI can make good work faster. It can’t make lazy work good. And in an industry built on relationships, lazy is fatal.
First-Gen Students Deserve Better Systems
Laura Rudolph and Kristin Nichols ran a particularly impactful session: “Clarity Is Equity: Building Trust Through Student-Centered Messaging.”
Their thesis: First-gen students now represent the majority at many institutions, but our systems were designed for students with completely different assumptions.
Think about what we assume students already know. What financial aid packages mean. How to navigate FAFSA. If you didn’t grow up in a house where people went to college, every unclear communication is a barrier.
This isn’t about dumbing down. It’s about intentional design. It’s about clarity, transparency, and consistency.
Playing the Long Game
A sentiment that kept arising: things that actually move the needle in higher ed take time.
Students don’t commit after one tour. Building institutional reputation happens through years of consistent work. Real partnerships develop the same way.
Sure, there are quick wins. A campaign that performs. A message that lands. A tactic that works. But those wins don’t mean much without the core foundation underneath them. Without the trust, the consistency, the showing up when it’s hard.
Whether talking about recruitment strategy, vendor relationships, or internal change management, the pattern was the same: sustainable success comes from patient, deliberate work over time.
There are no silver bullets. Just the discipline to play the long game.
“So What Makes You Different?”
A booth visitor asked us this, and it’s a fair question in a hall full of talented firms.
Here’s how we work: We have a process (our signature RDS methodology: Research, Discovery, Strategy) that means we understand the problem before jumping to solutions. We’ve been doing this long enough to see patterns and smart efficiencies. And we care about the partnership itself, not just the output.
Strategy first. Creatively intuitive. Intelligent application of technology.
But the real answer? You’d have to work with us to know if that’s what you need.
FOFU: Nobody Bats 1000
Mallory Willsea moderated a panel with Jaime Hunt, Carrie Phillips, and Safaniya Stevenson that introduced a term: FOFU (Fear of F***ing Up).
The thing that holds all of us back. The reminder that no institution or individual bats 1000.
The people doing the most interesting work are willing to swing big, knowing some ideas will miss. FOFU is real. But it’s not a reason to play it safe.
We left AMA energized. New ideas, fresh perspectives, inspiration from the caliber of work happening across higher education.
The best part? Time with exceptional clients, colleagues, and friends.
See you in Denver.
Honorable Mention Moments
