Tag Archives: Eric Limburg

Halloween Night Thursday Rundown

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Happy Halloween! Who is ready for a night of screams and treats? This post is historic because it is only the second time I have written a Thursday Rundown on October 31. The first time was five years ago in 2019. Before you hit the neighborhood to trick-or-treat, let me offer up five random topics…

Red Tie Gala – Earlier this month, we kicked off the public phase of Eastern Washington University’s comprehensive fundraising campaign—Build Our Future. This was another project I had the opportunity to work on the moment I stepped on campus. The public-facing effort launched with the Red Tie Gala on Oct. 18. This was such a nice event because not only did it generate enthusiasm for this very important phase of the campaign but it was also a celebration of the work completed up to this point. The cherry on top was that I got to bring Sidney. Not only did we have a nice date night, but she got to meet my boss and team. EWU has raised $67M of its $100M goal.

The Red Tie Gala was a blast! Sidney got to meet my boss, Eric Limburg (and we both got to meet his wife, Tara), and she also met members of my team. What a fun time we had supporting Eastern Washington University.

Earlier And Earlier Every Year – I remember back in the day when it used to be pushing it if Santa showed up a couple days before Thanksgiving. Now he is showing up several days before Halloween! In fact, not only did my kids fist bump with Kris Kringle this past Saturday, they said “hello” to Mrs. Claus too. To be honest, this isn’t totally unprecedented. Santa dropped candy in Sloan’s trick-or-treat basket back in 2021, too.

Beau, Sloan, and my niece had a Santa encounter at a trunk-or-treat over the weekend.

Pumpkin Carving – Although the carving of pumpkins is perhaps the one thing I don’t love about Halloween, it doesn’t mean we don’t do it. Sidney always takes the lead on this festivity with the kids. This year, Sloan and Beau got their pumpkins during a Halloween party at Brick West, a brewery in downtown Spokane. They might be smaller in size than carving pumpkins from grocery stores, but they definitely did the trick.

Sid and the kids busy carving pumpkins earlier this week.

River Park SCARE – We didn’t just do trunk-or-treats this past weekend. Cognizant of the fact that cavities aren’t good, I took the kids to other spooky events that weren’t candy-based. One such opportunity was River Park SCARE. It took place in River Park Square, our area’s downtown mall, and offered tons of fun activities. The event offered Lego building, bath bomb creation, balloon making, and princess meeting. It was a nice change of pace from the sugar-paved road of the trunk-or-treat circuit.

Sloan and Beau having fun at the River Park SCARE event.

Candy Inflation – With the prices you see below, I think we might have to opt for more tricks than treats. Or, in my case, we might just have to turn the light out at our house and dash over to my parents’ where they already have their candy stash for trick-or-treaters. Call me a cheapskate, but candy prices for a single bag are getting a little out of control. Granted, what you see below is chocolate and it is packed with 200 pieces but inflation is definitely real.

I encountered this expensive bag of candy at Safeway.

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Have an awesome night, everyone! Stay safe, make memories, and be kind to all the little goblins and ghouls. Don’t Blink.

Feeling On-Brand At EWU

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Fitting In

I definitely feel like an Eagle now. A major project championed by our University Relations Department flew into market last week. Its reveal proved a perfect way to mark my two-month anniversary at Eastern Washington University.

Last Tuesday, we officially launched EWU’s evolved brand positioning as the region’s polytechnic. Our university is owning our time-honored commitment to applied learning while continuing to invest in additional opportunities for all students across all disciplines to engage in hands-on experiences. By allowing students to do their craft while at EWU, we equip them for more opportunities once they enter the workforce. After all, there is a reason why 75% of our graduates find jobs related to their major.

We launched EWU’s evolved brand positioning last week. We are now the region’s polytechnic.

Hey, I Know About This

I had a really interesting perspective with the development of the evolved brand when I started at EWU. While still at WSU—where we were coincidentally working on debuting a major branding campaign ourselves—it was made public that EWU would embrace the positioning of the region’s polytechnic. Although it was months away from launch, the future of brand marketing at Eastern Washington University was now revealed. From this outside-looking-in vantage point, I paid close attention as the institution provided updates on the work, faculty offered feedback, and the media covered the developments/debate closely.

Yes, there was some controversy about the branding direction EWU was headed. However, it didn’t faze me.

You see, I was well aware of the shift to the region’s polytechnic long before I even applied to EWU. To be honest, I saw promise with the positioning. I firmly believe that the key to successful branding is differentiation. Often, I bring up the example of attending a higher ed marketing conference where a slide was shown with brand tag lines on one side and university logos on the other. The presenter asked if we could draw lines from each marketing tag line to the respective college it belonged to. It was just about impossible. All the tag lines were so generic (i.e. “Driven to Discover,”Here is How,” Creating Bold Futures,” etc.) that you couldn’t differentiate which mantra belonged to which university.

EWU wasn’t going to have an identity issue at all with the region’s polytechnic. At the same time, it wasn’t going to be easy. In addition to the massive amount of work required for any brand evolution, the push back element was  very real.

And here is the actual slide I referenced in the previous paragraph. I couldn’t help but take a photo of it during the 2023 AMA Symposium for Higher Ed.

Joining the Effort

And that’s where I came in. Launching any type of brand is a marathon and I entered the race toward the home stretch. It takes a lot of time to successfully introduce any type of branding campaign—usually at least a year. Research, discovery, platform development, expression, and launch are just some of the major components. With my hire date roughly two months before launch, I entered the picture as we were finalizing our brand platform and building assets.

Basically, I jumped on the band wagon once all the hard work was already completed 😂.

To be fair, the home stretch was grueling and there were still plenty of challenges to navigate. However, the major effort put forth by those on the University Relations team and others across the university prior to me setting foot on campus was significant. I was impressed with what everyone had done.

I was also very humbled by how gracious my team treated me. My UR colleagues truly knew how to make me feel part of the brand squad, even if it could have seemed like the new guy was swooping in at the last minute to snatch glory for himself. My boss and co-workers provided me with in-depth context, valued my opinion, and tolerated my many questions.

Assisting Where I Could

They also allowed me to contribute. Providing input at strategy meetings, participating in calls with our marketing consultants (shout out to idfive!), approving brand assets/resources, and LISTENING were all ways I got my feet wet with the brand evolution.

As the days passed and crunch time drew near, I became very invested in our brand evolution and felt genuine camaraderie with my EWU team. I had the opportunity to build our paid media plan for the brand’s roll out, write brand-related content for the web, develop the SEM strategy, and deal with launch logistics. Again, small contributions compared to what my team had already done—and continued to do—but exciting nonetheless.

Our evolved brand positioning officially launched on Sept. 24, 2024.

Let’s Launch!

The official launch came on Sept. 24 during Convocation, a start-of-the-academic-year event where the EWU president addresses faculty and staff. Toward the end of the program, President McMahan talked about Eastern’s new positioning and then premiered the two-minute brand anthem video. The centerpiece of the brand evolution roll out, our team exerted a lot of effort to perfect it. The video was met with resounding applause and at that moment we went live with our paid and organic plans. We were finally in market.

Although executing the launch took a big weight off our shoulders, the crucial work is now just beginning. Incorporating, explaining, supporting, and feeding EWU’s new positioning is something that our University Relations team and the rest of the institution will focus on each day moving forward.

A successful branding initiative requires differentiation and I think we nailed it. I am proud of my team for their tireless work and grateful that they allowed me to be part of the effort

Set For Success

I believe in the unique way that we are now presenting Eastern Washington University. Positioning ourselves as the region’s polytechnic will deliver us more attention from prospective students and their parents who are looking for colleges that offer hands-on learning and real-life experiences. Even though we aren’t changing who we are, just boldly stating who we are, I think our fresh approach is going to make EWU standout in a very crowded and competitive market.

Once again, much gratitude to my team members who worked so hard on this brand positioning and welcomed me with open arms. Working with Eric Limburg, Ginny Baxter, Amy Bradberry, Melodie Little, and so many others down the stretch was a rewarding experience. But in the end, a change of brand positioning goes way beyond just marketing. I recognize everyone else at EWU who helped us become the region’s polytechnic through their vision, research, planning, support, and time. Cheers to forward-thinking. Don’t Blink.

Thanks, WSU

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A couple days after accepting EWU’s offer to become its next marketing director, Sidney and I found ourselves engaged in an honest conversation. She told me she felt bittersweet about my next career step. I asked my wife to explain the “bitter” portion of her sentiment. As innocently and honestly as possible, she conveyed that we moved all the way across the country for WSU and that it now seemed weird that I was leaving the place we initially made such a big sacrifice for.

I responded by saying that we indeed made a major sacrifice to join the Coug community. However, the leap of faith we took ended up materializing in an extremely fruitful way that was worth every ounce of our westward sacrifice. Going to work at WSU allowed me to benefit from a once-in-a-lifetime work arrangement (don’t think I will ever get the opportunity to work from home four days a week again!), grow tremendously as a professional, and ultimately ascend the career ladder.

But, best of all, it allowed me to work with and learn from some of the best people.

Although I had my concerns when remote work started, it quickly became apparent that goals could be accomplished and camaraderie developed even if it required Zoom calls and Teams chats. Or perhaps we got s*** done simply because of the caliber of people I had in my corner, work-from-home be damned.

Whatever the reason, despite a global pandemic that disrupted everything, I developed strong working relationships and cherished friendships with my WSU colleagues that matched the relationships built at previous stops in my career.

So today I get to say thank you. I will absolutely embrace the opportunity to extend my gratitude to those who supported, encouraged, and empowered me. As I have mentioned, our University Marketing and Communications team accomplished much during an unprecedented time when everything imaginable was thrown at us. Any contributions I made resulted from the talent, selflessness, and leadership that surrounded me.

It has been such a great experience working with the University Marketing and Communications professionals of WSU and others within the system.

Okay, here we go…

I might be partial to my UMC team but I would be remiss not to mention the many bright, talented, and kind WSU employees throughout the system. Out of all those, I have a few favorites. Erin Carroll and Sarah Page from Student Affairs constantly brightened my week during our Wednesday meeting with their positive attitudes and humor. I respect how much they truly care for the students at WSU and are willing to do whatever it takes to improve the student experience. Over the past couple years, I have worked a lot with Hailey James who serves as the chief of staff for the WSU Pullman Chancellor’s Office. She has a tough and stressful job but I always admired how she would consider the viewpoint of our UMC team even if priorities between her department and ours ever clashed. Then there is Kylie Condosta from the President’s Office who was always so easy and helpful to work with. She was instrumental in assisting me with optimizing President Schulz’s social media presence and always supported the strategy I put forth.

Erin Carroll was a great friend and ally. This is her presenting at the WSU System Marketers and Communicators Conference on the WSU Everett campus

Now for my UMC colleagues…
(a suitcase emoji 🧳 means the person no longer works at WSU. A paw emoji 🐾 means the person still works at WSU but not in UMC)

First, shout out to the patient and helpful administrative/financial officers, managers, and supervisors who helped me with all the budgeting, purchasing, and procedural tasks that are necessary for a social media program to function. Carrie Johnson (🐾), Brenda Campbell (🧳), Amanda Beardslee (🧳), Maria Amorim (🧳), Lael Gray, Kiersten Oliver, and Betty Smith…I don’t know what I would have done without you!

I will always hold a spot in my Coug heart for the news team. When I started at WSU, social media was part of the news unit. For those first several months, I was in a daily check-in meeting with the news staffers. They welcomed me with open arms and never hesitated to cover our prominent social media efforts. I appreciated the friendship of Will Ferguson (never forget late night beers at Red Lobster in Vancouver), the quick turnaround capability of RJ Wolcott, and the sheer brilliance/talent of Sara Zaske to make even the most complex scientific study understandable to a novice like myself. And I always valued the clutch web and HTML email work of Jon Bickelhaupt during major announcements when the pressure was on.

Will and I became friends and even hung out when not working. This was us social distancing during the summer of 2020 at Edgecliff Park in Spokane Valley.

Speaking of friendship, Jenny Walsh (🧳), our former EM marketing director, was my first friend at WSU. We worked closely together and she helped me become acquainted with the WSU landscape. She cared about my success and made me feel comfortable in my role.

Jenny was my first friend at WSU. That’s her with (from l-r) Jon Bickelhaupt, Larry Clark, Jenny, and Eric Limburg.

Another UMC employee who helped with our enrollment marketing efforts (and helped me) was Chris Falgiani. Many of our promo items were housed in another building on campus that I had limited access to. Whenever I needed to replenish our supply, Chris would happily haul the items from the building straight to my office. But I will most remember Chris for the countless discussions we would have about reality TV and MMA.

Our photography unit never held anything back from our social team. Bob Hubner, Shelly Hanks, and Dean Hare provided us with beautiful images that routinely became some of our top social media posts each year. I had the privilege of organizing and accompanying Bob and Shelly on several photo shoots and they were always so professional, technical, and efficient.

I can’t thank our video team enough. Jason Refsland and Kara Billington have contributed so much to UMC whether it be through brand videos, EM videos, or social videos. If not for Jason and Kara, our YouTube transformation would not have been possible (because you need the content) and my #1 WSU moment would not have occurred. This duo humored my ideas and brought many to life. Additionally, I also always enjoyed working with their top intern, Rhynne Lee, who brought a student perspective and genuine enthusiasm to every project she worked on.

Our video team is superb. Kara Billington is on the left, Rhynne Lee is on the right, and Jason Refsland is kneeling down.

While I am on the topic of interns, it is my pleasure to thank the ones who have worked for our social team over the past four years. Thank you to Kendall Hoy (🧳), Rachel Lutovsky (🧳), Chloe Houser (🧳), Dani Paramo (🧳), Fiona Scanlan (🧳), Ryan Hiller (🧳), Serena Hofdahl (🧳), Amy Rooney (🧳), Jessica Willis (🧳), Taylor Megaw (🧳), Shannon Whiting, and Claire Fruehauf. These 12 former and current WSU students brought creativity and ingenuity to the job each day. It is no wonder why many of these individuals entered immediately into incredible careers.

There probably isn’t anyone prouder of those interns than Matt Haugen, our social media manager. When I came to work at WSU I was impressed by Matt’s passion for the university and his job. Thanks to his 14 years of service to his alma matter, Matt constantly offered valuable institutional knowledge that helped our social program. He also knew how to plan one heck of a social media April Fools’ joke!

When you think of highly intelligent people with large brain capacity—at least in the context of marketing and communication in higher ed—the web director will always come to mind. I don’t like stereotypes, but in this instance I must say that Danial Bleile fits it, because in my mind he is a genius. Danial, our web development director, assisted me tremendously. Whether it was aiding me with Google Analytics, providing me access to manage the social feeds on wsu.edu, or placing the myriad of tracking pixels I asked him to install, Danial always came through. We also bonded over our nerdy fandom of Weird Al Yankovic.

If you need an example of someone who epitomizes integrity, look up Larry Clark. Our alumni magazine editor/content development associate director, Larry always puts others before himself. He will fight for, advocate on behalf of, and celebrate those around him. I worked closely with Larry as we both served on the UMC leadership team and I always valued the perspective he brought. There are two things I will always fondly remember about him: when I came to Pullman for my interview, Larry gave me the best campus tour imaginable (when he probably had a thousand other things to do) and he traveled all the way from Pullman to Spokane this week just so he could attend my farewell lunch. What a guy!

Larry Clark is sitting across from me in the middle. Both him and Jackson Price (to my left) traveled to Spokane on Wednesday to eat lunch with me at The Onion. Cara Hoag organized the lunch and Dave Wasson (end of booth opposite of me) also attended.

The next two people I am want to thank devoted their own talents and the resources of their team to WSU Social Media. Eric Limburg (🧳) and Jackson Price, who both served as creative director, spared nothing to advance the social media needs of our department. They greenlit any graphic that needed designing, video that needed shooting, or photo that needed capturing and made sure it got done. But you know what says even more about Eric and Jackson? Many times they would do the work themselves. I can’t count all the times we made a request and these guys decided to do the creating themselves—whether that meant they designed a holiday graphic, created a GIF, or made a social media profile frame. And their contribution to social is just a drop in the bucket of all they do for WSU and the creativity they bring to the table. Lucky for me, Eric and I will get the chance to work together again very soon 😉. Thank you to our talented designers for their attention to detail and willingness to experiment. I appreciate you Annie Patterson, Charles Dillon, and Valerie Boydo.

Of course the creative directors would win the office pumpkin carving contest! Eric Limburg (left) actually hired Jackson Price (right) to be our art director. When Eric left for Eastern Washington University, Jackson was promoted to creative director.

Time to say a few words about our vice president. To put it simply, I don’t know how Phil Weiler does it. If I ever felt flustered with any of the situations we dealt with over the past four years, I would just tell myself imagine what Phil is going through. As WSU’s spokesperson, you simply won’t find a more composed, even-keeled professional. When I traveled to Pullman for my interview, I had a short 1-on-1 session with Phil. He told me his leadership philosophy was to allow the experts in their area to shine without interference from him. Phil was true to his word.

Phil Weiler presents during the WSU System Marketers and Communicators Conference in Vancouver in Oct. 2022

Okay, Dave Wasson is up next. This guy was the very first WSU face I saw when he picked me up at the Spokane airport on a dark and cold December evening. He was also the person who hired me and initially supervised me. I joke with him that I accepted the job only because he gave me delicious Cosmic Crisp apples to take back to South Carolina. Of course that’s not why I actually took the job (well, at least it wasn’t the only reason), but holy moly those apples were good! In all seriousness, I appreciate Dave more than he knows. Our voyage to Pullman after he picked me up for my interview in December 2019 wasn’t the only time we would make that drive together. Knowing that we were just a one-car family for my first couple years of employment, Dave (who also lives in Spokane) would go completely out of his way to drive me to/from Pullman on the days both of us worked on campus. I sincerely appreciated his generosity and sacrifice while also relishing the chance to get to know him on a personal level during those car trips.

Dave Wasson (the one in blue taking the photo) was instrumental in me coming to WSU.

In January 2022, I didn’t make the best first impression with a UMC key hire during our 1-on-1 introductory call. I had come down with COVID and while my cough game was strong my ability to speak actual words was not. Thankfully, Cara Hoag, our EM marketing director, didn’t hold it against me. Her understanding would pave the way for an effective work relationship and a valued friendship. We navigated WSU’s partnership with a major vendor, introduced creative digital strategies to attract new Cougs, and totally transformed our university’s YouTube channel. The work we did on that last item sent us to Chicago where we presented on higher ed marketing’s biggest stage, an experience that I count as my proudest moment working for WSU. As we worked together on a professional level, we also clicked on a less formal level. For all the passion we have to advance the goals of the university we work for, at the end of the day both Cara and I are family-oriented people. We connected over this and respected each other for our shared values. Cara became a major cheerleader for my spouse and children while I did the same for her family. There is no doubt about it, our friendship will endure beyond my last day at WSU.

I am really going to miss Cara! This is us when we drove together to the WSU System Marketers and Communicators Conference in Everett in June 2023.

And now I conclude this “thank you” post by recognizing the single-most influential person during my time at Washington State University. What a transformational experience it was working for Holly Sitzmann. Her organized, pro-active, strategic leadership style has resulted in massive success within our department and provided me the guidance and opportunity to grow. It can’t be overlooked how much Holly does. She lives in Washington D.C. and works early east coast hours while finishing the day working late west coast hours. I have seen her rare vacations completely derailed by crises at WSU. I have watched as she dealt with personal tragedy after personal tragedy only to still stay on top of work and make sure her team was taken care of. Although Holly puts in long hours no matter the situation, it has always been her top priority to secure a positive work/life balance for those who work for her. She always allowed me to put my family first, pursue my quirky interests, and perform my WSU duties according to my preferred work arrangement. I have learned so much from Holly about marketing and communication but I have learned even more from her about leadership and what it means to be a good human.

I owe so much to Holly Sitzmann. Can’t believe we didn’t get a photo together over the past four years.

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It is time to finally (and sadly) make my WSU exit. Holly reminded me of a blog post I penned just a couple weeks before I started here. I wrote: I have no greater motivation than to show my new bosses and co-workers that they made the right decision in hiring me. I hope I was able to achieve that objective. It would be quite the shame to come up short when all the people I mentioned above did everything possible to help me thrive.

So let me just say it one more time: THANK YOU!

What a pleasure it has been to serve Washington State University, I will always be a Coug at heart. Don’t Blink.

My Fourth Year At WSU: Elevation

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Wow. Can it really be four years? I have now worked at Washington State University for the length of time between Presidential Elections, leap years, and Summer/Winter Olympiads. I guess I am a well-seasoned Coug by this point.

It’s crazy. I have now worked at WSU for four years.

Memory Lane

But even with the passing of four years, my vivid recollection of March 16, 2020 is sharp. I woke up early to meet my then-boss (shout out Dave Wasson!) at a gas station right outside of Spokane. I hopped in his truck and we drove to Pullman for my first day of work. What has now become an icebreaker/inside joke among my University Marketing and Communications colleagues, that mid-March Monday would be my only day in the office for a long time. That afternoon we received the directive to work from home indefinitely as COVID-19 shook our world.

That turbulent and unpredictable period in our world’s history ensured that my first 365 days at WSU centered on reacting. By the time my second year came around, although we were still dealing with the Coronavirus, I embraced the building stage which, in normal times, would have transpired during my rookie year. My third year was about emerging as I became more than a Zoom square and our social program made tangible, measurable progress.

My fourth year? It was all about elevating.

Because I am a NERD, I always like to wear the same outfit on my work anniversary that I wore on my first ever day of work at WSU.

Elevation

A year after our social program invested in brand marketing, amplified major university accomplishments, and presented on the national stage at conferences, we did more of the same in Year #4 but to a greater degree.

By the time my third year was wrapping up, our social program was active in the first two installments of our #GoCougsMeans brand marketing campaign. During my fourth year, I had the privilege of doing social media ad buys for the next seven installments of the campaign. Furthermore, I grabbed a front row seat for the additional brand marketing work we started with a nationally renowned agency (big things to come!). And when it came to amplifying major university accomplishments from both a paid and organic front, our social team was called upon for strategy and execution. Communication projects included the establishment of a pediatric medical residency, the breaking of ground on Schweitzer Engineering Hall, and the renewal of a partnership with Pullman Regional Hospital. Finally, after presenting at the American Marketing Association’s Higher Ed Conference with Pac-12 colleagues during my third year, I submitted a proposal this past year solely on behalf of WSU. Stacked against stiff competition, it was among the 11% of accepted proposals, paving the way for Cara Hoag and myself to present at the 2023 AMA Higher Ed Conference in Chicago.

I presented at the American Marketing Association Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Ed in Chicago in Nov. 2023.

Besides those prominent opportunities to elevate, I had many other chances to make an impact. Over the past 12 months, I ran paid campaigns for numerous campus partners, assumed the project manager role of our UMC team’s effort to recognize #WSU’s Top Ten Seniors, presented to communicators system-wide on a variety of social media topics, and provided consultation to numerous departments about social media strategy.

I had a lot of fun, too. In this fourth go-around I collaborated with the video team like never before as we made some creative and memorable videos (favorites include this, this, and this). In May, the WSU communicators conference led me to Everett where I hung with my colleagues throughout the Washington State University system for a couple days. When fall arrived, I covered the WSU vs. Wisconsin football game as we answered a certain question everyone wanted to know. Then, in February, we successfully launched a social media organic campaign called #CougCounties—a project that had hovered at the top of my goal sheet.

It was a lot of fun working with video during my fourth year at WSU.

Challenges

With all that said, seldom do you journey through a year without adversity. Our department helped navigate our university through some challenging times. The Idaho murder case/court proceedings continued to linger, our academic student employees went on strike, leadership was questioned, and budgets continue to hang in the balance.

And then there was the Pac-12. The way the “Conference of Champions” disintegrated that August day was sad and shocking. But any personal hurt feelings I harbored needed to be cast aside because the days and weeks that followed would prove to be a big lift. Statements, court cases, short term agreements, and so much more kept us on our toes. My responsibilities thrust me right into the thick of it.

Gratitude

But those challenges can’t cloud the positivity cultivated during my fourth year at WSU. While the highlights and growth are neat, the best part of my job is the UMC team I work with. I am constantly heartened by our team of writers, photographers, videographers, designers, and developers who go out of their way to support our social program. Without these colleagues, our social media presence would be shoddy at best. Well, at least it would be if I was the only member of our social team. I am grateful to have Matt Haugen serve as our social media manager—he can do a lot with a little as his passion for WSU leads him to do great things for our program.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t recognize a couple other team members who played a big role in my fourth year. Let me once again mention Cara Hoag, our enrollment management marketing director, who presented with me at the AMAs. Whether it was preparing for that major conference, driving to Everett together, or trying to pinpoint strategies to bring more students to WSU, it was so nice to work with her and also have someone to talk with about the daily joys and challenges of raising young kids. Also, our creative director, Eric Limburg, continued to go out of his way to make sure our social team always had everything we needed from a video/photo/design perspective. The conclusion of my fourth year at WSU coincides with Eric’s final month at the university. He landed an incredible job at another university and I will miss him a lot. Thanks for everything, Eric!

Cara and I collaborated a lot this year. This is us returning to Spokane from Everett.

Finally, what more can I say about my boss? Holly Sitzmann is invested in my success and the accomplishment of my goals. Her guidance in my development as a professional is what most employees can only dream of when it comes to their supervisor. But as I have said on numerous occasions, the support she gives me as a WSU employee is only outdone by the recognition she gives me as an individual. Holly allows me to put my family first and pursue the quirkiness and weirdness of the person I am. 😉

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I am thankful to be at WSU. In fact, two of the people I just mentioned—Holly and Eric—were on the search committee who brought me here…so special thanks to both of them! I am grateful for the opportunities I have been afforded and I hope to continue to contribute. I look forward to Year #5 as I try my best to rep the crimson and gray. GO COUGS! Don’t Blink.

Crushing It In Chicago: Our 2023 AMA Higher Ed Experience

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The stage was bigger and the pressure a little greater at this year’s American Marketing Association’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. The AMA organizers didn’t hesitate to point out a couple impressive facts. First, it was the largest AMA Higher Ed Symposium in the history of the event. This year’s conference eclipsed 1,500 people! Second, and perhaps even more daunting, was the acceptance rate for speaking proposals: Just a mere 11% of the proposed sessions submitted for the conference were accepted. And with such a slim acceptance rate, you could imagine that the organizers had no problem reiterating that all sessions would be amazing.

A lot to live up to, right?

On Monday, Cara Hoag and I presented “Not Your Parents’ YouTube” to a 300-person packed conference room in the Sheraton Grand Chicago. We came prepared.

Cara and I presented “Not Your Parents’ YouTube” on November 13, 2023, at 3:45 p.m.

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This AMA speaking opportunity was a little different from my previous two. When it came to this year’s conference, I had both experience under my belt and control over our presentation. In 2019 I was an AMA newcomer and when I presented last year I was collaborating with co-presenters from different states. So to be an AMA vet and to have the luxury of serving as the project manager for this go-around was fantastic.

After submitting our proposal in April and receiving news of our acceptance in June, Cara and I dialed ourselves in from August through November to prepare for our presentation. Over the course of that timespan, the two of us strategically spaced out the selection of content, outline of the presentation, construction of slides, rehearsals, and implementation of feedback. Because of our planning and pacing, we were prepared and confident when our plane touched down in Chicago on Sunday afternoon.

But that’s not to say that I still don’t get nervous. 😊

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Because of preparation, a crowd-pleasing intro video, and rich content our presentation went off without a hitch and was enthusiastically received. We had the pleasure of answering questions that reached the double digits during our allotted session time and then were swarmed at the stage afterwards with more questions. It was gratifying to field inquiries from major institutions like the University of Florida, Clemson, and Oklahoma State about how we managed to transform our YouTube channel from a lifeless communications landing spot into a Gen-Z marketing vehicle.

Cara and I all smiles after we answered the final question that put a cap on our AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Ed presentation.

Cara and I both breathed a sigh of relief that our presentation was scheduled for Monday. Not only did it ensure that more marketers could attend our presentation (attendance tends to dwindle on Tuesday and Wednesday) but it also allowed us to relax for the rest of the conference. Presenting on Monday relieves the presentation burden that no one wants to carry deep into the symposium. Also, presenting early allows other people who attended the presentation to approach us with questions they weren’t able to ask while we were on the stage. And, not going to lie, it is kind of nice to feel like a low-key celebrity.

Being a speaker at a big conference can bring a lot of anxiety. It is preferred to present early so the burden is eased.

Our AMA experience wouldn’t be possible if not for others. Thank you to the AMA Higher Ed committee for choosing us out of so many proposals and to AMA manager Christine Lucenta for helping us with logistics both prior to/during the conference.

Big thank you to our boss Holly Sitzmann for helping us with our proposal and for giving us honest feedback when we rehearsed for her. Much appreciation to our creative director Eric Limburg for creating our Powerpoint template. Our presentation would not have been the same without the intro video produced by Andrew Botterbusch of Peak Visuals. And, most important of all, thanks to our #WSU video team for making the topic of our presentation even possible. If it wasn’t for the talent, effort, and buy-in from Jason Refsland, Kara Billington, Rhynne Lee, and Devon Lockard-Dodd (along with WSU video staffers before them), our YouTube re-launch would not have been possible.

Last but not least, I would like to give a special thank you to Cara Hoag. It was such a pleasure to work with her throughout the entire process. We made a strong team and she did such an incredible job while presenting. There is nothing better than having a partner who is the ultimate team player, dependable, and talented.

What an honor it was to present with Cara Hoag. She made me look good.

I am leaving Chicago happy and fulfilled. It is always good to step outside your comfort zone and show what you know. I think it is safe to say that Cara and I made the most out of our opportunity. Don’t Blink.

Rolling Out the Modernized WSU Brand

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I recently had the honor of being part of something for the first time in my higher education career. Last week, our University Marketing and Communications team rolled out a modernized brand for Washington State University.

On the morning of Wednesday, September 15, we started the soft roll out of our modernized brand at Washington State University.

In my 12 years working for universities, I have assisted with rollouts centered on websites, endowment campaigns, news shows, and more but never a brand. To have a small hand in such a major undertaking at a place with such a proud history is pretty cool.

But let me stress again my small hand in this effort. For nearly two years, a rather small team of my colleagues have worked extremely hard to bring this brand to fruition. Yes, I said my colleagues. Except for some web design help for the new brand website, everything was done in-house. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s quite the feat.

A screenshot of the vertical lockup of our modernized logo. The classic Cougar head is featured prominently.

Credit these hardworking people I get to call my co-workers and bosses for going about this major endeavor in such a smart way. They knew that our incredibly popular and recognizable graphic, the Cougar head, had to be a focal point of the brand. Thus, it is featured prominently in the visual identity of the rollout. The Cougar head is now paired with a more modernized typeface and it looks really good. But my team didn’t rely solely on traditional marks…they introduced a brand new secondary logo too. You can see it here.

A screenshot of our brand new Washington State University secondary logo.

Of course a brand just isn’t about logos—you need to have a narrative that ties everything together. Our brand narrative is centered on possibilities and how they embody our “Go Cougs” rallying cry. The attitude with which we communicate these possibilities can be expressed through five key tone words—spirited, resilient, original, welcoming, and down to earth.

This is the home page of our new internal brand website. The page features the signature Cougar head logo and scratches the surface of our brand narrative.

Additionally, we rolled out important brand assets such as video lower thirds, background patterns, a web developer style guide, icons, typefaces…and…a social media tool kit.

The social media asset folder includes profile badges for the professional Washington State University community to use based on what part of the system hierarchy their social media profile represents.

Ah yes, that is where my small part comes into play. I consulted with Eric Limburg, our creative director, in the creation of new profile badges, headers, and patterns for the WSU community to use. It is my responsibility to make sure everyone is using these assets appropriately and one way I do that is by serving on the brand training team. The group is comprised of the major players who created the new brand so I am very honored to be included on it. Throughout the month of September we have given presentations to WSU faculty and staff. These sessions will continue into October.

The social media asset folder/tool kit also comes with pre-made headers/cover photos that the WSU community can use on their social channels. If you look closely you can see that the “WSU” pattern is applied to the images. I love this use of another brand element! It is slick and adds legitimacy to the social asset because when our external audiences see the pattern overlay on the header they will know it is a true official social channel of WSU.

Whenever I talk to the WSU community members about our modernization, I proudly say that many of them will work with the new brand for the first time on social media and that in turn our external audiences will most likely see the new brand in action for the first time on social media. Because of this, it is important that we are on the same page and get it right. I am happy to lead this charge.

With our modernized brand, I really think our team did the rich tradition behind this timeless logo proud.

I can’t extend enough admiration and gratitude to the following people for their tireless work over the past couple years to make the brand modernization a reality: Holly Sitzmann, Eric Limburg, Larry Clark, Danial Bleile, and John Sutherland. I work with an amazing team. Don’t Blink.