ROI University: A Higher Ed Marketing Show
ROI University: A Higher Ed Marketing Show
Podcast Description
ROI University is the podcast for higher-ed marketers ready to lead meaningful change. Hosted by Rustam Irani, this solo series helps you unlock higher enrollment, deeper student connection, and the internal clarity to do your boldest work. It’s not just about tactics, it’s about becoming the kind of leader your institution needs. Get ready to raise outcomes across the board: for your students, your team, and yourself.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on themes such as effective enrollment strategies, fostering deeper student connections, and nurturing leadership qualities within higher education marketing. Episodes examine various topics, including the transition from engineering to marketing, the role of personal purpose in career paths, and innovative approaches such as using social media for student engagement.
In this episode, Rustam Irani introduces Chris Sheppard as the new co-host of ROI University and shares how the show is evolving into a more conversational exploration of marketing, data, analytics, AI, and innovation in higher education. Rustam and Chris discuss why human storytelling matters even more as AI-generated content becomes commonplace, including a standout piece of direct mail from Macalester College that broke through the noise. They also introduce Pennant, a new venture they co-founded to help higher-ed marketers bring fragmented marketing and enrollment data together, improve attribution, and make reporting more actionable. It’s a look at where ROI University is headed—and the practical ideas, experiments, and insights Rustam and Chris plan to bring along for the ride.
Resources Mentioned
- The Prompt — Chris Sheppard’s weekly LinkedIn newsletter covering AI news, higher-ed implications, practical prompts, and ways marketers can use AI in their workflows.
- Pew Research Center — Referenced in Chris’s discussion of research around AI-generated web content.
- ChatGPT — Discussed in the context of how AI-generated marketing content has evolved and become increasingly recognizable.
- Vercel — Mentioned as part of Chris’s technical toolkit.
- Supabase — Mentioned as part of Chris’s technical toolkit.
- Pennant — The data and analytics venture co-founded by Rustam and Chris, designed to bring marketing, CRM, attribution, enrollment, pacing, and performance data under one roof. Sponsor: https://www.pennantdash.com
- Macalester College — Highlighted as an example of differentiated, attention-grabbing higher-ed direct-mail marketing.
- Tulane University — Mentioned as another example of creative higher-ed direct mail.
- Arcadia University — Mentioned for a memorable composition-notebook direct-mail campaign.
Timestamps
- 00:01 — ROI University is evolving: Rustam introduces Chris Sheppard as the show’s new co-host and explains what his technical, operational, and strategic perspective will bring to the podcast.
- 02:07 — A more conversational approach: Rustam and Chris discuss the new format and their plans to share real-world observations about marketing, data, AI, and what’s working in higher ed.
- 03:25 — Chris’s journey from IT to digital marketing: Chris shares his 20+ years of experience spanning technology, development, digital marketing, home services, and higher education.
- 05:30 — AI, The Prompt, and keeping content human: Chris discusses his LinkedIn newsletter, the rapid evolution of AI, and why AI should support—not erase—the human perspective behind higher-ed marketing.
- 09:10 — The higher-ed marketing that actually gets noticed: Rustam shares the Macalester College direct-mail piece that got his entire family’s attention and explores why differentiation, curiosity, storytelling, and authenticity still win.
- 13:37 — Introducing Pennant: Rustam and Chris reveal their new venture and the problem it aims to solve: fragmented marketing, advertising, CRM, attribution, and enrollment data.
- 17:55 — Moving beyond stale spreadsheets: They discuss why even sophisticated institutions struggle with disconnected datasets and reporting that can become outdated almost as soon as it’s created.
- 18:49 — What’s next for ROI University: Rustam and Chris preview a show built around practical insights, real examples, experimentation, data, AI, and candid conversations about what works—and what doesn’t—in higher-ed marketing.
AI-powered discovery is rewriting the rules of higher ed search. In this episode, we unpack what changes when AI overviews and answer engines — not institutional websites — become the first stop for prospective students, how to measure your school’s visibility and share of voice in AI results, and what smaller institutions can do to compete through focused differentiation, reputation management, and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
Chapters
- 00:00 — Why AI discovery is reshaping higher ed search
- 02:30 — Brand strength matters more than website traffic alone
- 04:04 — Are institutional websites still the main storefront?
- 06:44 — How to measure AI visibility, citations, and share of voice
- 09:33 — Where AI gets information and how schools should show up
- 13:23 — How smaller institutions can compete with focused differentiation
- 19:25 — Managing reputation and integrating AEO into search strategy
- 24:03 — The website still matters, but it is no longer the only entry point
Resources
AEO Audit Tool: https://aeo.rgiconsulting.net/audit
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