EdTech Connect Podcast: "Beyond the Inbox: How Ashley Budd is Rethinking Alumni Engagement"

Host: Jeff Dillon
Guest: Ashley Budd, Senior Director of Advancement Marketing at Cornell University
Release Date: July 4, 2025
Episode Summary:
In this insightful episode, host Jeff Dillon talks with Ashley Budd—Cornell’s leading advancement marketer, author, and digital strategy consultant—about the evolution of alumni engagement, modern fundraising tactics, the critical role (and rebirth) of email and direct mail, and the human dilemmas posed by technological advances such as AI. Together, they discuss real-world organizational challenges, practical strategies for university marketers, and the nuances of innovative alumni engagement in today’s digital landscape.

Main Themes

• Digital Innovation in Alumni Engagement:
  Cornell’s leading role in digital transformation and integrating marketing, annual giving, and engagement; the importance of being adaptable and forward-looking in higher ed communications.

• Bridging Channels: Email, Direct Mail, and Beyond:
  The reinvention of both email and direct mail as powerful engagement and fundraising tools, and why each channel, when used thoughtfully, yields strong results despite predictions of their obsolescence.

• AI, Data, and Ethics:
  The limits and advantages of AI and data-driven marketing in alumni outreach, and the line between smart segmentation and “creepy” personalization.

• Organizational Tactics and Storytelling:
  How to build buy-in for innovative marketing ideas, run effective campaign operations, and craft authentic institutional stories that drive action.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Evolution of Digital Marketing in Higher Ed

[01:35 – 04:40]

• Cornell’s pioneering approach to alumni engagement, treating the "Internet as a new region" for alumni just like physical clubs.
• The shift over a decade from focusing on social media to building integrated digital and advancement teams.
• Integration of alumni engagement and annual giving teams for more cohesive marketing.

Quote:
"Cornell's such an interesting place... Sometimes I feel like I come from the future. That is not necessarily because we all have all the fancy technology... but there has a way and an approach to alumni engagement at Cornell that is, I think, really keeping up with the times."
— Ashley Budd (02:00)

2. The Importance—and Renaissance—of Email

[05:39 – 09:09]

• Budd’s motivation for co-writing Mailed It stemmed from underappreciated strategic email use in higher ed, and the challenge of "bad" AI written emails flooding inboxes.
• Shift in resources: "We now have like half of an FTE doing social media strategy and three full-time email specialists."
• Email’s enduring power: Newsletters reach far more people than blogs or social media did previously.

Quote:
"The email channel didn't get a lot of love. It's like the ugly duckling of the marketing mix... But when we put time into that email strategy, we started seeing really awesome results."
— Ashley Budd (06:05)

• Ashley and her co-author created a free, custom GPT to help organizations write better emails, available via their book’s website.

3. Direct Mail: Not Dead, Just Different

[09:09 – 13:33]

• Direct mail's effectiveness is closely tied to maintaining good data hygiene (e.g., correct salutations and nicknames).
• The physical mailbox, once a source of "junk," is now a less cluttered and more premium channel.
• Strategic use of alumni magazines and physical mail for heightened special impact and higher ROI—even as costs rise.

Quote:
"We've finally gotten the post mail back into a place where it's delightful to receive something. The email and direct mail have kind of flip-flopped."
— Ashley Budd (11:17)

4. Balancing Creative Energy and Multi-Role Work

[13:33 – 14:16]

• Ashley’s tactics for creative sustainability: scheduling breaks, embracing variety in her roles, and making time for reflection.

5. Segmentation, Personalization, and the “Creepy Line”

[19:51 – 21:51]

• Overly granular personalization rarely increases engagement; relevance trumps hyper-segmentation.
• Effective email programs segment by need, not by every possible variable, to preserve both effectiveness and user comfort.

Quote:
"The most effective strategy in email communication is not individualized personalization. It is relevance... If at any point in your email you're saying something like, 'if this applies to you,' no, we have to segment there."
— Ashley Budd (20:11)

6. Innovation & AI: What Should (and Shouldn’t) Be Automated

[16:22 – 17:36]

• Research and donor targeting are areas where automation and AI excel, but team leaders must decide “what we hold sacred for the humans.”
• AI is a tool, not a replacement for human empathy and insight.

Quote:
"There are things that they're really good at and there's things that they're not so good at. And figuring out what you and your team are going to hold sacred for the humans decide—like, what are we not going to do with AI—and really explore all the other areas."
— Ashley Budd (17:05)

7. Gaining Buy-In for New Ideas in Higher Ed

[18:16 – 19:51]

• Ashley outlines a tactical approach: present evidence, invite supporters, skeptics, and neutrals, and collectively surface a best path forward for innovation.

Quote:
"Bring your evidence. You don't need confidence if you can show evidence of what you're trying to do."
— Ashley Budd (19:34)

8. Storytelling Across Institutions

[23:02 – 24:39]

• Admissions and advancement both require storytelling—one focuses on incoming students, the other on engaging alumni financially.

9. Recent Campaign Highlight: Advocacy in Action

[24:44 – 26:26]

• Fast-tracked, multi-channel advocacy campaign at Cornell in response to external threats; mobilized over 3,000 alumni in just weeks.
• Importance of boldness and readiness in responding to institutional challenges.

10. Magic Wand: What Would Ashley Fix?

[27:00 – 28:05]

• Institutional toolkits—not just technology, but process roadmaps and partner alignment—to unlock teams’ creative potential and streamline execution.

Quote:
"I would love to just wave my magic wand and give everybody those, like, project playbooks that they can just run with. And then I think I also need to like hypnotize all their partners into agreeing with the timelines because that is also impossible."
— Ashley Budd (27:24)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the endurance of email and direct mail:
  "Email is not dead." — Jeff Dillon (08:10)

• On the real goal of digital engagement:
  "As we are engaging these new cohorts, this whole generation of millennials, and now Gen Z, a lot of our alumni engagement programs had to go digital to meet them where they are, right?" — Ashley Budd (03:28)

• On balancing roles:
  "I rather make it happen." — Ashley Budd (22:18)

Timestamps for Essential Segments

• The shift from social media to integrated advancement teams: 01:35 – 04:40
• The case for email marketing (and “ugly duckling” channels): 05:50 – 07:38
• Direct mail case study and data pitfalls: 10:11 – 12:31
• Segmentation: how much is too much?: 20:06 – 21:51
• AI: what to automate, what to keep human: 16:22 – 17:36
• Strategy for enacting change in higher ed orgs: 18:16 – 19:51
• Rapid response advocacy campaign at Cornell: 24:44 – 26:26
• Wish-list for higher ed marketing ("magic wand" question): 27:00 – 28:05

Takeaways for Higher Ed Marketers

• Be bold and proactive in rethinking both digital and traditional communication channels.
• Prioritize relevance and timing over hyper-personalization in your outreach.
• Use AI as a supporting player, not the main act—keep humanity and empathy at the forefront.
• Good strategy relies on evidence, process, and managing up as much as on creativity.
• Invest in your team’s toolkit—process, templates, and collaborative clarity amplify creative energy and impact.

For More Information:
Ashley's custom GPT for better email writing, her new book Mailed It, and other resources are available at emailbook.co.
For more EdTech trends and episodes, visit edtechconnect.com.