In higher education marketing, everyone says they want to stand out, until it’s time to actually look different. In this episode of Higher Ed Conversations, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom sits down with Aaron Edgell, Chief Marketing Officer at Alliant University for an honest conversation about branding, institutional identity, and the difficult decisions required to create meaningful differentiation in higher education.

This conversation dives into how Alliant approached transformation by focusing on mission clarity, operational sustainability, and authentic storytelling. Aaron also shares lessons from leading Alliant’s rebrand, including why he initially resisted a rebrand, how research revealed a disconnect between the institution’s identity and how it appeared publicly, and why storytelling became central to “surfacing the soul” of the university.

What You’ll Learn:

Why higher ed institutions struggle to embrace differentiation
How to uncover what truly makes a college unique
The balance between innovation, legacy, and belonging
How storytelling can close the gap between identity and perception
Why making hard decisions is critical for long-term institutional sustainability

Thanks for listening!

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Higher Ed Conversations is hosted by Cheryl Broom, CEO of GradComm, a marketing and branding agency specializing in community colleges and public education.