Ep. 113: The Decentralized Marketing Model: Letting Go Without Losing the Brand

Jaime welcomes Lauren Griswold, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, the University of Vermont, to discuss her bold decision to decentralize communications by re-embedding communicators into their respective colleges and divisions. Lauren shares why alignment and relationship-building matter more than strict organizational hierarchies, how MOUs help establish shared expectations with deans, and why higher education marketing must dare to be different in a sea of sameness.Guest Name: Lauren Griswold, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, the University of VermontGuest Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurengriswold1/Guest Bio: Lauren Griswold was appointed Chief Communications and Marketing Officer in November 2025 and leads the university’s Division of Strategic Communications. An innovator, storyteller, and culture keeper, Griswold has worked in higher education at both the university and community college levels. Her expertise includes building brand reputation, as well as leading and creating strategy and successfully scaling it across enterprises for local, national, and global organizations.Griswold comes to UVM from Boise State University, where she led that institution’s Office of Communications and Marketing as the Chief Communications and Marketing Officer. During her time in that role Griswold led the launch of the Northwest Emmy-nominated commercial, “Out of The Blue,” and was also recognized by the American Marketing Association as a finalist for marketer of the year in higher education in 2024.Prior to joining Boise State, Griswold worked at Arizona State University, Mt. Hood Community College, Edelman, Microsoft, and Major League Baseball. She has a wide range of experience in sales, marketing, communications, community relations, branding, and creative strategy. Griswold has a master’s degree in communication studies from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Eastern Washington University. - - - -Connect With Our Host:Jaime Hunthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimehunt/https://twitter.com/JaimeHuntIMCAbout The Enrollify Podcast Network:Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — The AI Workforce Platform for Higher Ed. Learn more at element451.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.