The Summer Squeeze: Enrollment Marketing Strategies to Hold One Class While Building the Next
The summer months do not bring a lull in the enrollment cycle. In fact, it is one of its most consequential inflection points. Institutions are simultaneously responsible for reinforcing the decisions of deposited students while engaging the next incoming class to apply. This session reframes summer not as a handoff between cycles, but as a period of overlap that requires two distinct yet coordinated marketing strategies.
Grounded in cognitive marketing, empathy-driven communication, and experience design, this workshop examines how institutions can effectively support two fundamentally different student mindsets at once: one seeking reassurance, belonging, and readiness; the other beginning to explore, question, and imagine.
During the session, we’ll conduct an informal audit of traditional summer marketing communications and a journey map for each segment. Participants will learn how to align messaging, timing, and channels to meet these divergent needs without diluting impact.
Online | June 23, 2026 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Central Time)
Key Takeaways
- Distinguish between the distinct needs, mindsets, and decision stages of the incoming class and the next recruiting class during the summer months.
- Evaluate enrollment communications through cognitive, emotional, and experience-design lenses rather than relying solely on a traditional funnel model.
- Identify common messaging and campaign breakdowns that occur when audiences are blended or when communications are not aligned with student readiness.
- Design strategies to unify the digital and in-person micromoments for each segment.
Purchase 3 or more tickets for your group or team and save 10%.
All non-member registrations will include details to redeem a FREE 1 YR AMA Academic or Professional Membership ($199 value).
Training Backed By Research
AMA training is unique because of its data-backed approach. The AMA Competency Model Framework identifies the most impactful skills marketers need to advance their careers. It’s based on our research with more than 1,000 marketing professionals and academic leaders.
AMA Event Policies
June 23, 2026 | 10:00AM - 12:00PM (Central Time)
- Understand why late June requires two distinct communication strategies running at the same time, and what breaks down when institutions treat them as one
- Move beyond traditional funnel thinking with a practical framework that accounts for how deposited students and future prospects think, feel, and respond differently
- Get clear on the cognitive factors that affect both audiences: how to sequence messages, reduce friction, and meet each group where they actually are
- Identify the emotional drivers that move each audience forward, including confidence, belonging, trust, and momentum, and learn how to design for them intentionally
- See how your full channel mix, including email, web, text, social, and orientation communications, either supports or undermines a coherent enrollment experience
- Walk away with a practical review framework you can apply directly to your own late-June communications to sharpen audience distinction and strengthen momentum for both classes
Melissa Farmer Richards
Director of Marketing / 3 Enrollment MarketingMelissa is an experienced enrollment marketing professional, author, teacher, consultant, and leadership coach. Dubbed The Checklist Guru™️, she is the author of “The 30-60-90 Day Handbook: Checklists for Communications and Marketing Leaders in Higher Education,” published by the Council of Advancement and Support of Education (2025).
With more than 30 years of experience, she has led communications, marketing, and enrollment in senior leadership positions at liberal arts colleges and a large public university. Having led award-winning creative teams, she was nominated for the American Marketing Association Nonprofit Marketer of the Year 2022. Since 2009, she has been a frequent speaker at the AMA Symposium for Higher Education.
What’s Included?
- 2 hours of live instruction starting at 10:00 a.m. CT
- Interactive Q&A
- Tips and best practices
- Access to recording and resources for three months
Who Should Attend?
This session is designed for higher education marketing and enrollment professionals who are responsible for student communications, recruitment strategy, and enrollment campaign planning. Ideal attendees include titles such as Vice President or Assistant/Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management, Director of Admissions, Director of Enrollment Marketing, Director of Marketing and Communications, CRM or Communications Strategist, Digital Marketing Manager, Content Strategist, Admissions Communications Manager, etc.
Best suited for professionals with a working knowledge of the enrollment cycle and responsibility for campaign strategy, student communications, digital content, visit promotion, admissions marketing, or summer melt communications. It is likely to be most valuable for early-career to senior-level practitioners who are actively planning, reviewing, or optimizing communications across multiple stages of the student journey.
Can’t Attend Live But Want the Information?
We will send a link to the recording and resources within one business day of the event to registrants! Access will be available for three months.