About the Episode
About The Episode:
Christian Ponce sits down with Jennifer Lonchar, co-founder of AmbioEdu and a digital marketing trailblazer in higher ed. With nearly two decades of experience, Jennifer shares how cutting-edge advertising strategies like connected TV (CTV), performance marketing, and cultural segmentation are transforming student recruitment. This episode dives into the challenges and opportunities around marketing tech, the enrollment cliff, and how institutions can better connect with multicultural audiences—especially Hispanic families.
If you're looking for fresh strategies to supercharge enrollment and stand out in a crowded market, this one’s a must-listen.
Key Takeaways
- CTV (Connected TV) advertising is the next frontier in higher education marketing—providing access to students and families in their living rooms with highly targeted, measurable campaigns.
- The enrollment cliff is already here, and institutions must rethink traditional strategies to maintain (or grow) enrollment.
- The international student market is in jeopardy, and U.S. institutions need proactive marketing strategies to mitigate enrollment losses.
- Marketing to Hispanic families is essential—not only in English but in Spanish and with cultural nuance.
- Storytelling matters more than features—brands that lead with emotion and connection win.
- Colleges must clarify their value proposition to compete globally, especially against more affordable and increasingly appealing international universities.
- Streaming platforms can segment by language, demographics, and behaviors, helping universities deliver bilingual, targeted messaging to both parents and students.
- AmbioEdu offers full-funnel digital attribution, allowing schools to directly measure how marketing efforts result in applications and enrollments.
Episode Summary
What does the future of higher ed marketing look like in an age of declining enrollment and increasing competition?
Jennifer Lonchar sees a turning point. The student pool is shrinking, competition is intensifying, and the U.S. is losing ground as a top destination for international students. For smaller institutions, especially tuition-dependent ones, this moment demands urgent change. Enter CTV and surround advertising—a high-impact, data-driven way to cut through the noise and reach both prospective students and the parents who influence their decisions.
How has higher ed marketing evolved over the last 15 years?
Back in 2010, only 20% of higher ed marketing budgets included digital. Jennifer and her team at Carnegie helped introduce digital marketing to the sector—starting with basics like website retargeting. Fast forward to today: digital now accounts for 90%+ of most budgets, but many institutions still fall into the trap of doing "more of the same." According to Jennifer, the industry has reached a point of diminishing returns with traditional digital tactics like search and display ads. Schools need to innovate—especially with platforms like streaming video, which offer emotional storytelling and precise targeting.
What’s broken with current messaging strategies—and how can institutions fix it?
Jennifer and Christian agree: many higher ed campaigns sound the same. Death by committee waters down creativity, and institutions often revert to "safe" messages like small class sizes and number of majors. But today's students—and their families—want to feel something. Emotional storytelling, not feature lists, is what drives action. Schools must embrace calculated risks, create culturally competent messaging, and lead with purpose.
Why is culturally nuanced marketing so important now?
The U.S. is changing. By 2061, 1 in 3 Americans will be Latino. But the gap in degree attainment between white and Hispanic students remains stark. Marketing campaigns must reflect this demographic reality—not only with language translation but cultural understanding. Jennifer shares an example from Northeastern Illinois University, which launched bilingual CTV ads and surpassed enrollment goals for the first time in 15 years.
What makes surround marketing so powerful?
AmbioEdu’s surround marketing approach leverages CTV, audio, and digital media to engage prospects across multiple touchpoints. More importantly, it connects ad views directly to student actions—like visiting a landing page or submitting an application. This allows marketers to see what’s working and optimize accordingly. Surround marketing means being wherever your audience is—whether it’s Hulu, Telemundo, or Spotify—and delivering the right message at the right moment.
How can colleges use this to increase international and multicultural enrollment?
By tailoring messaging for both prospective students and their families—and using platforms that allow language-based and behavior-based segmentation—institutions can better reach and resonate with diverse audiences. Jennifer’s team at AmbioEdu can even run different ads in the same household based on who’s watching—Spanish-language content for parents, English or culturally fluent messaging for students.
Enrollify is produced by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.
.svg)
.svg)
