How to Build a MarComm Culture That Welcomes Innovation

The work of MarComm leaders is exciting: balancing numerous projects, building strategic alignment on campus, and staying one step ahead of constant innovation in marketing tools. 

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However, the pace of change can be taxing, especially if the organizational culture isn’t built to embrace it. To help leaders manage this, they should work to create a culture that welcomes innovation, even encourages it. 

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Having spent nearly two decades in the MarComm profession at universities, here are a few strategies to create this kind of culture on campus: 

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Stop/Start/Continue  

After every project cycle is complete, our team does a stop/start/continue. We pause the work to reflect on the project that was just completed. What are the things we should stop in the project process? Those are things that hindered progress or made things more difficult. What should we start? This focuses on improving the work or making the process smoother. And what should we continue doing because it worked well? This helps us protect what’s already strong.

When using this model, team members can suggest improvements without critiquing individuals. Instead, all feedback is focused on process or strategy. Over time, this builds a mindset of continuous improvement—teams begin spotting opportunities for change while the work is still happening. Even better, they start applying this mindset to other contexts.

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Budget Reserve 

It’s hard to innovate without resources. That’s why it’s important to leave a few dollars in your budget for testing. Whether it’s testing a new strategy or a new tool, being able to say “yes” when the team comes with a great idea is one of the best ways to inspire innovation. I try to leave a few thousand dollars in my budget each year for innovative ideas that come across my desk. 

Saying “no” to promising ideas is one of the fastest ways to stall innovation. From the team’s perspective, why bother trying something new if there’s never money to support it? Just as important: your team needs to know this budget exists. Talking about it signals your commitment to innovation and gives them permission to pitch bold ideas.

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Celebrate the Wins 

Too often, we’re so busy we skip the wins. As leaders, we move quickly to the next thing and forget to take a “victory lap” with our team. Celebrating successes, especially new approaches, helps our team to see the value we place on these approaches and helps create a culture of innovation among our teams.

There are many ways to celebrate the success of teams. I start every staff meeting with shoutouts that allow the team to proudly share wins they or others on the team have experienced over the last week. Other approaches include a celebratory team meal, a congratulations email, or praise to a higher leader. Regardless of what method you choose, it’s important to do it consistently. 

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Show, Don’t Tell 

To build a culture that values innovation, you have to model it. That can be tough as a leader.

For me, to make it happen, I schedule time on my calendar to have time to innovate.I block time every Monday afternoon to experiment with new tools or technologies.

Most recently, I used that times to create several CustomGPTs to help with my work. While using the tools is important, it’s only part of the way to help foster an innovative culture. It’s also important the team hear me talk regularly about I am exploring new approaches to the work. I can articulate the importance of using the tools, but when I talk specifically about how it’s helped me, it adds another dimension to the conversation.  

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Create Cross-Functional Teams 

The MarComm team I lead includes: web, communications, and marketing. They meet weekly to align on projects. However, for larger campus projects and work with certain campus partners, our team uses a cross-functional approach. Each one includes a representative from each sub team who works on the project or with the campus partner. For example, we used this in our campus eclipse event but also in our ongoing work with the Office of Admissions.  

This structure naturally encourages innovation. Bringing people with different daily tasks together creates conversation. Often, these groups have differing perspectives on how to tackle a project. As they talk through their approaches and brainstorm together, better ideas tend to emerge. These teams also give members space to step outside their silos and contribute in new ways. While these teams take time to build, I’ve found they are phenomenal in empowering a culture of innovation. 

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Culture Work is Intentional 

Building a culture that supports change is intentional work that takes time. My husband is an accountant, so I often think about time like an equation. 

In this case, the time you invest in shaping culture doesn’t just add up -- it multiplies. When leaders intentionally create space for innovation, the payoff is smarter workflows, more thoughtful strategy, and a team that’s empowered to try new approaches. 

The results compound. And over time, investing in a culture that embraces change becomes one of the most valuable things we can do as leaders.