Higher-ed marketing needs stronger owned surfaces
EAB reports flat budgets, smaller teams and growing pressure to prove enrollment impact while AI changes how prospective students discover information.
EAB says 61% of enrollment marketing dollars now support digital efforts.
The Story
EAB’s outlook describes a familiar tension: institutions are spending heavily on digital channels while needing clearer evidence that those channels support visibility and enrollment.
That makes owned surfaces—websites, programme pages, editorial content and student stories—more important, not less. They are where an institution can explain its difference in its own voice.
For Studio Wensday, the design opportunity is to make complexity legible. Higher-ed brands need systems that help prospective students orient themselves, not simply admire the campaign.
Studio Wensday Angle
Design for confidence and navigation, not only institutional prestige.