Creative services
for all of education’s content needs
Listen, we all know it’s what’s on the inside that counts. The essence of your institution is what
convinces
students to call you home. But a little jaw-dropping, attention-grabbing creative content never hurt anyone.
Let’s help you look the part.
Copywriting
Doesn’t matter if it’s website pages, email communications, long-form premium content, and everything in between — we are masters at crafting and strategizing content that aligns with your brand, tone, and enrollment goals. Our content is optimized for search engines, so it keeps working long after its initial publication, and it’s designed to answer the questions your prospective students are asking. We believe that for content to truly work, it’s got to be valuable: creative, compelling, and truly helpful for students.
ARTICLE
How to Create Content By Leveraging Higher Ed Faculty
Not sure how to create content for higher education? Start by tapping into your faculty, and see your colleagues as the “influencers” they truly are.
Graphic design
Our design work doesn’t just look good — it works hard. From digital ads and social media graphics to print materials and interactive PDFs, every asset we create is built to support your team and your goals. Direct Development’s creative team collaborates to ensure every design element drives clarity, engagement, and action. The result? Creative that’s both beautiful and purpose-driven.
ARTICLE
The Strategies Behind the Best College Websites
In higher ed, your website impacts student recruitment. Explore the strategies behind the best college websites to evaluate how yours is performing.
Creative campaigns
We develop integrated creative campaigns that tell compelling stories and move prospective students to action. This is creative that does more than just capture attention — it delivers measurable results. Whether it’s a brand awareness push or a lead generation initiative, our campaigns are built around strong messaging, consistent visuals, and strategically aligned content offers.
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ARTICLE
A Case Study: Raising Program Awareness Through Video
Learn how we used video to drive qualified traffic and inquiries for the University of San Diego Kroc School of Peace Studies.
Photography
Authentic, high-quality photography brings your institution’s story to life. Direct Development plans and produces photo shoots that capture the real people, places, and experiences that make your school unique. Our goal is to capture the essence of your institution, one impactful moment at a time.
Video production
Video is one of the most powerful tools for engaging prospective students, but you’ve got to make every second count. And that’s what we do — from concept to final cut — we produce videos that align with your enrollment goals, whether you're building awareness, promoting a program, or nurturing leads with story-driven content. Our team handles scripting, shooting, editing, and strategy to ensure every video feels authentic, on-brand, and purposeful. Think of it as conversion-ready storytelling in motion.
ARTICLE
Video Marketing Strategies for Student Recruitment
In today’s content-heavy feeds, you’ll need to approach your overall video strategy with a lot of creativity and innovation. Read on to learn more about what it takes to make scroll-stopping videos.
Podcast production
We help schools launch and grow podcasts that educate, inspire, and connect with their audiences in a more personal way. Whether you're showcasing faculty thought leadership or telling student success stories, we ensure your podcast aligns with your brand and content strategy. The result is a powerful, evergreen platform that builds trust and deepens engagement.
Prospective students are in the midst of a complex buying decision: one that’s high risk (lots of money), so it requires high involvement (lots of research). As they engage in this learning process, your institution should
meet them where they’re at
with helpful answers to their questions. That’s content. What separates content in the sea of sameness is creativity.
If you had to draw a diagram explaining our marketing approach (and we have — we teach it), we’d illustrate that content marketing falls under the inbound umbrella. Inbound is a methodology that focuses on growing your organization by building
affinity and trust
with students through valuable, educational content, pulling them toward your site, where they can learn more on their own accord. Inbound encompasses content, but content is truly what fuels the inbound engine. Which is why you need creative, compelling, valuable content for that engine. That’s what we provide.
Catch Jamie + Tony in action!
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see how we...
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