Submit CLAS MarCom Service Request
With the completion of the 90-Day Action Plan at the end of Fall 2024, the CU Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Marketing and Communications department (CLAS MarCom) began a 90-Day Operational Plan at the start of the Spring 2025 semester— testing our new workflows, policies, and bandwidth.
The plan is anchored in four key initiatives, each of which stem from a core question we’re exploring this semester:
- Framing an Account-Based Marketing Strategy: How do we develop a workflow that frames marcom services as holistic marketing efforts?
- Prioritizing Marketing Channels: What communication channels will give us the most impact if we support them with marketing strategies?
- Measuring for Impact: What kind of data can we collect frequently and what KPIs will that allow us to target?
- Expanding Bandwidth: How do we lean into agile marketing to expand bandwidth and velocity metrics?
Most importantly, we’ll be launching a new strategic effort with a few select departments and programs in CLAS. This effort aims to increase MarCom’s impact in key strategic areas identified by CLAS leadership and latest audience research. As we work to refine this process, we’ll invite additional departments and programs into the cohort.
The goal is to use the Spring semester to gather feedback and other data to develop a full marketing and communications plan for AY 25-26. Development for this plan will begin late spring and into summer.
INITIATIVES
During this Spring 2025 semester, CLAS MarCom will be stress-testing our new workflows, policies, and bandwidth identified during the Fall 2024 semester. Please be flexible with us during this time.
Framing an Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Strategy
CLAS MarCom will take a few pages from the ABM strategy playbook to conduct marketing and communication audits, strategy development, and standard operating procedures that focus on research identified, high-potential programs in our market. We’ll create personalized experiences for better student awareness, nurturing, acquisition, and college growth. This will be done with a small cohort of CLAS departments and programs. As we refine the process, we’ll be able to roll out this strategic work to others. This is projected to be a multi-year process.
Core Question 1:
How do we develop a workflow that frames marcom services as holistic marketing efforts?
Prioritizing Marketing Channels
Knowing that the CLAS MarCom team of two employees cannot have competitive impact or “win” on every channel every time, the team will attempt to win on a few select channels. Identification of these channels is based on team bandwidth and current content type available for external communications.
These communication channels will also be viewed in a marketing lens, rather than communications lens. At first assessment, digital marketing and advertising channels will be prioritized.
Priority 1: Content Marketing | Digital Marketing | Inbound Marketing
Marketing channels needs content. Therefore, Content Marketing will be the first and most important priority.
Priority 2: Email Marketing | Digital Marketing
Email Marketing allows us to have the broadest reach with the least amount of bandwidth. We’ll work to stand out in the inbox and develop avenues for CLAS department and programs to share their announcements via targeted email efforts.
Core Question 2:
What communication channels will give us the most impact if we support them with marketing strategies?
Measuring for Impact
All our previous initiatives will be for not if we don’t have hard numbers to show our work. CLAS MarCom will identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track during all our marketing efforts. These indicators will be used to show our impact and identify areas of improvement.
We’ll also expand our use of Google Analytics and other analytics tools.
Core Question 3:
What kind of data can we collect frequently and what KPIs will that allow us to target?
Expanding Bandwidth
As we complete our three prior initiatives, CLAS MarCom will finalize what’s possible with our bandwidth while looking to agile marketing opportunities to increase our velocity metrics.
- Agile Marketing Strategy: How can we optimize our processes to make quicker decisions and create faster?
- Velocity Metrics: How long does it currently take to get to market and how can our agile marketing strategy decrease our time to market, thus increasing our velocity metric?
Core Question 4:
How do we lean into agile marketing to expand bandwidth and velocity metrics?
Next Steps
With the completion of this 90-Day Operational Plan, CLAS MarCom will take a final assessment of bandwidth and priorities before outlining a full marketing and communications plan for AY 25-26.