And Carrie On

Another AMA conference is in the books, and it was a great few days in Denver. I had the chance to present multiple times, network with other senior leaders, host small group conversations, and connect with some of the industry partners we work with.

Additionally, I was honored to be recognized as a finalist for the Marketer of the Year and Team of the Year awards. We were on the podium at the championships, and that felt really special after an incredibly busy year.

I’m leaving the conference with several new ideas to think about and also reminded of how special our community of higher education MarComm leaders are.

Five Takeaways from This Year’s Conference:

While I attended multiple sessions, I tried to focus on themes that I heard throughout the overall conference, as opposed to specific sessions.

Find Ways to Reduce Friction

When we find ourselves in low trust situations, it’s important to find a way to reduce the friction and humanize the relationship. We have to work with partners across campus, so we have to be bridge builders in this work. One way to do this is through magical questions. These are questions that are interesting to everyone and everyone can answer.

Some examples include:

• A first concert
• A teenage crush
• A favorite breakfast food

Prior to the conference, my team started doing this each week this summer as a get-to-know-you activity. Hearing this strategy to reduce friction was a good reminder about the value of humanizing relationships. After all, it’s hard to be angry or frustrated with someone when you have a more personal connection with them.

Keep It Small

I love AMA, but as an introvert all the people can be overwhelming. In the past, I’ve found that made it difficult to get beyond surface-level conversations in some of the vendor spaces and lunches. I took a different approach this year. Instead, I prioritized smaller moments instead of larger events. I focused more on intimate gatherings, taking one-on-one meetings, and smaller conversations where I could have in-depth conversations and get to know people.

The conversations were better, and I got to build my network. Additionally, several people that I would have called acquaintances have become friends. While AMA has everything, this year my goal was to be intentionally small for a more fulfilling experience. The Braindate space also helped to create a way to talk to people about a common topic, and I really enjoyed being in that space. I hope that it returns because it provided a good way to get to build new relationships.

People Trust People

Trust came up in several sessions, and I really got to thinking about how we rebuild trust with our alumni, donors, students, etc. One presenter made the point that higher education has a trust problem, but individual people rarely do. Another presenter shared data that notes people may not like the direction higher education is heading, but they’re not looking to abandon it either.

Both of these points reminded me that engaging in trust-building conversations can have real impact for our work and our teams. I hope to spend more time in the coming year leveraging our network of alumni, students, and community leaders to share more stories of the individual impacts that higher education is making. I’m leaning into the people.

Dress Your Part

AMA has a bit of a fashion side. From a pink-themed cocktail party to theme days to multiple outfit changes, the fashion seems to matter. I found myself asking why this year. My hypothesis is that our work is hard, and the fashion is a fun way to show our creativity and individuality among colleagues.

One thing I noticed is that despite a strong sense of fashion, everyone was finding their own style. As I’ve gotten older, I’m more focused on clothes that I feel confident in and make me feel good about myself. For me, it’s less about a particular brand or style. Feeling good in my clothes is always going to pay dividends by helping me feel confident. As I thought about the fashion this year, I was really pleased that lots of people seemed to have found their own style and had leaned into what made them feel good as well. My takeaway is that confidence is always in style, and if your outfit helps you be confident, wear it proudly.

Help Others Along

Our work is hard, but we all need to help each other. We are better together, and we can share knowledge and insights. Several times throughout the conference, people thanked me for sharing an insight or noted they appreciated a prior conversation.

It’s easy to put our heads down and focus on our to-do list. However, I was reminded that we need to help each other. I hope the sessions I shared did that, and I hope others are willing to share as well. There are several folks who are going to be getting an email. I also had a couple of occasions where people shared I’d made an impact on them in the past, and it was a good reminder that while it’s easier to just focus on work, we are better when we support each other.

Now A Nap

After a busy few days, I have some emails to catch up on and then a big nap in my future. AMA family, thanks for a great year, and I can’t wait to do it again next year!