Marketing and Education Elana Leoni | Leoni Consulting Group

In this week’s episode of All Things Marketing and Education, Elana sits down with Ilana Kurizki, the Vice President of Communications at BrainPOP, a 25-year-old EdTech brand that reaches millions of learners worldwide.
Ilana has spent almost 14 years at BrainPOP within different communications roles, and we talk about so many valuable things within communications and marketing, such as how you make the case for comms, what role should it play internally and externally, and best practices like how to integrate it within the entire company (and not let it be a siloed effort). 
Toward the end of the conversation, Ilana shares some really great nuggets of wisdom for anyone starting in comms or thinking about it as a profession. To top it off, we get into an inspiring conversation about how to integrate educator voice into your day-to-day.
This conversation is such a breath of fresh air that made us smile. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did. 
Questions Covered:
What is the relationship between communications and other leaders and departments within the organization, including the executive team and marketing?Why is a robust internal and external communications function critical to the success of any organization?How do you evolve a brand over time while preserving its core identity? What are the benefits of conducting listening tours with customers and colleagues?What advice would you give to aspiring communications leaders on finding their power, purpose, and voice? What are some of the things that fill your cup? 
Here's the full transcript of Ilana’s podcast episode.
Mentioned in this episode:
The EdTech Marketer's Planner - Extended Edition
Want a comprehensive list of timely education events to inform your 2024 marketing plans?

Struggling to find the time you need to strategically plan for content and social media?

Spending countless hours just trying to aggregate conferences, awards, events, holidays, and famous birthdays is most important to education stakeholders?

Our first-ever Extended EdTech Marketer’s Planner was created to help you easily create a marketing and content plan that generates leads. It includes proven templates, strategies, editable calendars, and more.

In this week’s episode of All Things Marketing and Education, Elana got to chat with Lawrence Korchnak, a Founding Partner of BLOQQ, a consulting firm that specializes in helping organizations scale in the education market.
Lawrence guides us through the unique challenges of a go-to-market strategy in the EdTech Industry, including how to plan a go-to-market strategy, including defining success, backward planning, and prioritizing marketing channels. He sheds some light on the seasonality and Budget Cycles in Education and don't’ miss the end of our chat, when Lawrence throws down some really candid pieces of wisdom. we talk about some important intangibles on Building an EdTech Go-to-Market Strategy.
For any EdTech marketers, but especially those who are new to the EdTech industry or the marketing profession, this episode will help set a solid foundation for your next go-to-market campaign.
Questions Covered:
Why develop a Go-To-Market Strategy and let’s even back up and define what a typical EDTech GTM strategy is and looks like? What are some key questions for success in building your startup in a crowded, bureaucratic, and complex marketplace?What are some of the things that you turn to to fill your cup? 
Here's the full transcript of Lawrence’s podcast episode.
For even more planning resources, check out our EdTech Marketer's Planner.
Mentioned in this episode:
The EdTech Marketer's Planner - Extended Edition
Want a comprehensive list of timely education events to inform your 2024 marketing plans?

Struggling to find the time you need to strategically plan for content and social media?

Spending countless hours just trying to aggregate conferences, awards, events, holidays, and famous birthdays is most important to education stakeholders?

Our first-ever Extended EdTech Marketer’s Planner was created to help you easily create a marketing and content plan that generates leads. It includes proven templates, strategies, editable calendars, and more.

In this week’s episode of All Things Marketing and Education, Elana and our guest, Kristina Ishmael, get into the nooks and crannies of the National EdTech Plan.
They discuss the broader role of the Office of EdTech, the specific goals of the National EdTech Plan in 2024, and how you can use it whether you’re an educator, administrator, or EdTech professional. They highlight the inclusivity and collaboration in the plan, as well as the challenges and priorities it addresses. Looking ahead, they consider the future of the plan and the potential challenges and opportunities in education by 2030.
Kristina currently works as an Education Strategic Advisor at her own shop — Ishmael Consulting — but she has formerly served in the classroom, at the state level, and at the national level, and was personally instrumental in the creation of the National EdTech Plan.
Episode show notes.
Purchase the EdTech Marketer's Planner 2024.
Mentioned in this episode:
The EdTech Marketer's Planner - Extended Edition
Want a comprehensive list of timely education events to inform your 2024 marketing plans?

Struggling to find the time you need to strategically plan for content and social media?

Spending countless hours just trying to aggregate conferences, awards, events, holidays, and famous birthdays is most important to education stakeholders?

Our first-ever Extended EdTech Marketer’s Planner was created to help you easily create a marketing and content plan that generates leads. It includes proven templates, strategies, editable calendars, and more.

In this week’s episode of All Things Marketing and Education, Elana sat down with Milton Chen, author, speaker, and board member of great organizations like the Kellogg Foundation, the National Park Service, The Fred Rogers Center, The Panasonic Foundation, and more. Milton reflects on his journey in education, from his early days at Sesame Workshop to his tenure at the Kellogg Foundation, offering valuable lessons learned along the way. He explores the role of experiential learning, project-based education, and workplace experiences in shaping students' futures, advocating for a more holistic approach to education that extends beyond traditional classroom boundaries.
Milton candidly shares his insights into the political nature of education, likening it to a complex system resistant to change. Drawing from his extensive experience, he sheds light on the decentralized structure of American schools, consisting of over 14,000 individual districts, each with its own set of challenges and entrenched interests.
No matter who you are in the education industry, this is as inspiring, refreshing, and thought-provoking conversation about the history of K-12 education and its future. 
Episode show notes + resources.

In this week’s episode of All Things Marketing and Education, Elana sat down with Thor Prichard, President & CEO at Clarity Innovations, a mission-driven, K-12 education-focused professional services and consulting firm that provides education strategy, content creation, engineering, and design solutions. They discuss the importance of designing EdTech products with learning outcomes in mind, the challenges of creating effective EdTech products, and the UX/UI non-negotiables from an educator’s point of view.
Thor reminds us of all the considerations when creating effective EdTech tools with the end user, students, in mind, particularly that implementation and professional development programs are essential steps to the process. Thor also highlights some of the current trends in the EdTech space.
Episode show notes.

Elana sat down with Miriam Romais, Director of NewsLitNation at The News Literacy Project, Documentary photographer, nonprofit leader, and all-around misinformation super-fighter, to talk about all things News Literacy.
Miriam discusses the importance of news literacy in education and how it can be integrated into various subjects. She addresses misconceptions about news literacy and highlights the role of critical thinking in evaluating information. Miriam also shares resources and strategies for educators to teach news literacy effectively. The conversation emphasizes the power of community and the long-lasting impact teachers can have on their students.
View the episode's show notes for all of the resources mentioned.
Here's the full transcript of Miriam’s podcast episode.