Failing Forward: Higher Ed Marketing Innovation

While the idea of fully embracing higher ed marketing innovation can feel risky, the risk of staying the same is much greater.  

In today’s ever-changing higher education landscape, marketers face an uphill battle. 

Budgets are tight, resources are stretched thin, and expectations for enrollment growth and brand awareness have never been higher. 

As a higher ed marketer, you’ve got to attract mission-fit students, build brand loyalty, and meet recruitment targets—all while operating under constraints that can leave you and your team feeling overwhelmed, understaffed, and under-resourced.

Complicating things further, the tools and platforms available to marketers are evolving rapidly. 

Social media’s algorithms change almost as quickly as student preferences, while generative AI tools like ChatGPT and HeyGen promise you the moon but can seem uncertain.

Many higher ed marketers feel caught between wanting to innovate and fearing the risks of stepping into unfamiliar territory.

Why Higher Ed Marketing Innovation is Key

Standing still is not an option. 

Higher ed marketers who fail to embrace innovation risk falling behind in an increasingly volatile environment. 

Without a forward-thinking approach, marketing efforts can stagnate, missing opportunities to:

• Save time through automation and smarter workflows.
• Maximize tight budgets with cost-effective digital strategies.
• Improve enrollment numbers by reaching prospective students in the right places, with the right message.
• Build brand awareness and loyalty through creative, mission-driven storytelling.

When institutions resist change, they also risk alienating tech-savvy Gen Z students, who expect seamless, engaging, and authentic interactions online. 

This hesitation can lead to reduced engagement, missed enrollment goals, and a diminishing reputation in an increasingly demanding market.

Higher ed marketing innovation isn’t just about keeping up with trends; it’s about survival and growth. 

Schools that embrace generative AI tools, creative social media strategies, and experimental approaches to community building are seeing tangible results.

In this episode of The Higher Ed Marketer, Nick Griffin, president of Mid-South Christian College, demonstrates how a small institution with limited resources can thrive through innovation. 

From leveraging generative AI for bilingual operations to turning budget constraints into creative opportunities, Nick’s insights show that the fears holding marketers back are not only unnecessary—they’re costing schools the chance to succeed.

Let’s dive into the conversation with Nick and explore how higher ed marketing innovation can help you achieve your enrollment goals.

A Spirit of Entrepreneurship

Nick Griffin’s leadership philosophy revolves around a simple yet powerful idea: if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing—even badly at first. 

Inspired by Roger Parrott’s Opportunity Leadership, Nick encourages his team to act on emerging trends that align with MSCC’s vision without overplanning.

“Think of it as being like a sailboat, catching the cultural winds while steering toward your mission,” Nick explains. By taking this agile approach, Nick has fostered a culture of experimentation and innovation, especially among his young, energized team.

We’re always trying to pay attention to what’s going on. What are the trends? What’s in the wind these days? 

[That said,] we have our direction where we want to go, and so we don’t just jump [on any opportunity]. There are lots of opportunities that come along that don’t fit with our vision.

We have very niche degrees and a specified student that we’re going after. So there are a lot of trends that don’t fit with what we’re doing. 

We ask two questions: does this fit with our vision and the type of students we’re trying to attract? And is this a trend or pattern we’re seeing in the culture? 

If the answer to those two is yes, then we instantly jump on it and just let the results speak for themselves as to whether it’s something we continue doing or whether we move on to something else.

Leveraging Bilingualism for Growth

One of MSCC’s key distinctions is its fully bilingual program, offering all degrees in both English and Spanish. 

With a growing Hispanic student population—many coming from Latin America on student visas—bilingualism has become central to MSCC’s mission.

But managing bilingual operations comes with challenges. 

Translation work, particularly for chapel services and academic documents, used to consume significant staff hours. 

Griffin’s higher ed marketing innovation approach tackled this problem head on with generative AI tools.

“We’ve adopted AI for daily use,” Nick shares. “For example, PowerPoint’s live auto-translation tool now handles what used to require hours of human effort.”

Another game-changer has been tools like HeyGen, which translate and lip-sync student application videos into different languages. 

This innovation enables faculty to evaluate candidates regardless of their linguistic expertise, drastically streamlining the admissions process.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s transformational,” says Nick. “And it’s only going to get better.”

Creative Marketing on a Shoestring Budget

Like many small institutions, MSCC operates with limited resources. But Nick sees constraints as opportunities for creativity.

“We lean into free or low-cost tools like social media and generative AI to stretch our budget,” he says. 

MSCC also engages students in creating content for social media, leveraging their skills and enthusiasm for the school’s mission.

Nick advises institutions to think strategically about return on investment:

I know we bemoan those things with a kind of subscription fatigue. But the nice thing about a subscription is we give it a shot for a month and it’s like, “Hey, this seemed cool, but it’s not going to work.” 

Then, you just cancel that subscription and move on to the next tool. 

So, we’ve had this shifting budget of monthly subscriptions as we sort of home in on the right tools that help us out the most.

Experimenting with monthly subscriptions, keeping what works and discarding what doesn’t, gives you flexibility that allows you to innovate without overspending.

Building Community and Collaboration

Located in one of Memphis’s fastest-growing Hispanic neighborhoods, MSCC embraces its environment as a strength rather than a challenge. 

By partnering with local organizations, the college has become a hub for community engagement through events like ESL classes, after-school tutoring, and community fairs.

“Our campus has become a melting pot where suburban youth groups, international students, and local residents come together,” Nick explains. “It’s inspiring to see these connections form.”

This collaborative approach also extends to other institutions. 

Through relationships with leaders like Greg Garner, president of the Institute for God in Nashville, Nick is building a network of shared ideas and mutual support.

“We’re not competing with each other; we’re competing against the large state schools and the ‘no college’ mindset,” Nick says.

The Power of Just Trying

When asked for advice, Nick offers a straightforward challenge: “Just try it.” For him, action beats overplanning every time.

“You learn more by doing than by thinking,” he insists. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing badly at first.”

This philosophy has propelled MSCC to lean into opportunities, experiment with tools like AI, and foster a culture of collaboration—all while staying rooted in its mission to serve students and the broader community.

To hear our full discussion with Nick on these topics and more, listen to the podcast episode on The Higher Ed Marketer.

Looking for a higher ed innovation partner?

At Caylor Solutions, we love higher ed marketing and the professionals like you who make our institutions grow! 

While trying new things can feel risky, that doesn’t mean you have to risk it all in order to adopt a higher ed innovation approach to your marketing strategy. 

If you’re curious about how you can leverage the latest innovations in technology and social media to improve your enrollment marketing results, why not have our marketing veterans come and speak to your team? 

Keynote presentations and workshops are some of the best ways to learn about all the nuances, pitfalls, and best practices of higher education innovation. 

Our founder, Bart Caylor, offers dynamic keynote presentations that blend his 35+ years of marketing expertise with cutting-edge topics such as Generative AI in Higher Education, Chasing Mission Fit – Marketing for Mission Fit Enrollment, Marketing on a Shoestring Budget, and more. 

Through his engaging talks, Bart provides practical tools and actionable insights on how these tools can be integrated to enhance educational strategies and overcome industry challenges.

What to know more? Contact us today.

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Featured image by KOTO via Adobe Stock