What Higher Ed Marketers Can Learn from the Meltwater Summit 2025
As higher education navigates rapid change, the Meltwater Summit, held in New York City in May, was a gathering of creative minds, brand leaders and technology experts. The Summit made one thing clear: compelling storytelling, intentional branding and the thoughtful use of artificial intelligence are interconnected forces that shape lasting reputations. Institutions that invest in purposeful content and strategic technology integration are best positioned to lead with both credibility and measurable impact, connecting brand reputation and revenue growth as part of a unified strategy.
What is Meltwater and the Meltwater Summit
Meltwater is a leading platform in media intelligence, powering reputation management, press monitoring and social listening. At EducationDynamics, we use Meltwater to uncover trends, track brand perception and guide strategies across channels for our partners.
This year, I had the opportunity to attend the Meltwater Summit—a two-day event designed for marketing and communications professionals focusing on how data and creativity shape brand strategy. In my role as Senior Social & Visual Strategist at EducationDynamics, I was especially tuned into the evolving role of social media.
The conversations throughout the Summit reaffirmed the importance of developing content strategies that are cohesive, intentional and fully aligned with broader brand goals. Explore the key takeaways we gathered from the event and how they can benefit higher education marketers.
Channel Creative Momentum
Reese Witherspoon set the tone with a powerful opening session, delivering honest reflection on the nature of creativity. Creativity is constantly flowing but rarely on a set schedule. The challenge isn’t finding ideas—it is cultivating the environment and carving out dedicated time for them to flourish. The solution? Clear, consistent and intentional communication. Whether you’re bridging teams or brainstorming with collaborators, creating space for dialogue is what truly transforms good ideas into great ones.
What we learned about the creative process is clear: creativity is not merely a component but a foundational pillar of your university’s reputation. When internal teams collaborate, align and ideate together, they build a cohesive and authentic brand that shapes how your institution is seen from the outside.
Moreover, it is important to recognize that your organic social efforts, website content, press releases and all other communications are not isolated channels. They form an interconnected ecosystem. Each piece of content plays a role within a broader narrative of your institution’s reputation. Thinking holistically about how every element comes together and ensures that your university’s story is consistent and impactful at every touchpoint.
Start with Strategy
For university marketing leaders and content managers, content should do more than fill space—it should move the needle. Every asset should align with your broader strategy, reinforce your institution’s brand and serve at least one of the following purposes:
- Educate: Share timely, valuable information your audience can trust.
- Engage: Spark genuine conversation and connection.
- Encourage: Motivate your audience to act, advocate, or explore further.
Today’s Modern Learners seek content that not only informs but also resonates with their experiences and aspirations. Whether showcasing everyday moments or navigating a crisis, having a clear plan—and a designated point of contact—ensures your team can respond with timely, thoughtful responses.
As you develop your content, ask yourself: Does this content deepen connection, build school pride or inform? Does it strengthen our institution’s reputation? If it does not accomplish any of this, you are just creating noise.
Success in today’s digital landscape demands intentionality. It is not just about telling stories—it is about using every piece of content strategically to shape perception, deepen engagement and build a brand that endures.
Capture Content that Connects
To build a brand that endures, every content piece should be seen as an opportunity to reinforce your institution’s voice and values. Strategic content creation, especially through organic social, plays a vital role in shaping how your audience connects with and trusts your brand.
When aligned intentionally, organic social media is a powerful channel that strengthens brand affinity while complementing awareness and digital marketing efforts across multiple channels. Creative content marketing, particularly in video, continues to grow in importance as a relevant medium for establishing reputation. Today’s audiences prefer content that feels authentic and emotionally resonant. To capture that depth, institutions should plan how content will be used across multiple channels. For example, to get the most out of every filming session, aim to capture:
- A core message or question
- Authentic behind-the-scenes footage
- Action shots
- Introductory context
- Relatable soundbites
These assets do more than fill channels. They bring your strategy to life across multiple touchpoints in a format that is both attention-grabbing and engaging. When your content reflects lived experiences and community voices, it fosters trust and connection. In today’s crowded digital space, trust is a vital currency that drives reputation and results.
AI: A Teammate, Not a Replacement
No conference in 2025 is complete without discussions of AI. Throughout the Summit, AI was highlighted as a powerful ally, particularly when leveraged within the content creation process. One key tactic shared was the “sandwich approach,” a straightforward framework for combining human creativity with AI support:
- Draft with Intent: Outline your core message and ideas based on your expertise.
- Expand with AI: Use AI tools to generate variations, improve clarity or explore new angles.
- Refine with Purpose: Edit and polish AI-enhanced content to match your brand voice and audience.
Strong results also depend on clear, detailed prompts. Providing AI with context like tone, audience and format helps produce relevant output. Beyond content creation, AI can streamline workflows, freeing marketers to focus on strategy and adding creative touches.
At EducationDynamics, we view AI as a collaborative tool that boosts efficiency and creativity. It serves as a jump-off point, not the final destination, supporting the work driven by our team’s vision.
Meltwater reinforced that when AI is thoughtfully integrated into the creative process, it does not replace your unique insight. Instead, it amplifies it, freeing your team to focus on the meaningful and strategic work that shapes your institution’s brand.
Partnering for Purposeful Growth
If one message stood out at this year’s Meltwater Summit, it was that creativity and strategic content creation are essential to building a compelling strong and enduring reputation.
The institutions best positioned to thrive are those that engage their audiences intentionally, invest in the right technologies and meet the Modern Learner where they are.
Purposeful creation begins with understanding your community, amplifying their voices and delivering value through every interaction. As a higher education marketing agency, we empower institutions to transform attention into enrollment and inspire students to become advocates.
Your institution already has the foundation: vision, community and purpose. With the right tools and the right partner, you can turn that foundation into measurable growth that aligns with your goals. If you are ready to grow with intention and engage on a deeper level, EducationDynamics is here to support you.