Direct Development

Direct Development Leaders in higher education marketing for schools looking to outperform rather than outspend. DD Agency is part of the DD family of brands.

DD is centered around one mission — to help the Davids of this world beat their Goliaths. This is our approach, and it infuses every product, service, and resource we create.

August 21 is Adult Education Day — which is a great reminder that the "traditional" college student is only the tip of t...
08/21/2026

August 21 is Adult Education Day — which is a great reminder that the "traditional" college student is only the tip of the higher ed iceberg.

Back-to-school season is in full swing, but some of the most valuable students starting a degree this fall don't have anyone buying them a backpack.

24% of undergraduates enrolled last fall were over the age of 25, according to https://hubs.li/Q04sYMZL0. These students might be working full-time, raising families, changing careers, or picking up where they left off years ago.

Adult learners bring something unique to the classroom: they already know why they're doing this. As higher education professionals, our job (and maybe yours) is to make sure the path back to the classroom isn't more complicated than it needs to be.

To every adult learner balancing books, bills, and bedtime routines: we see you, and we're celebrating you today!

Meet Rebecca Taylor, the newest Account Strategist to join our team!Rebecca believes great marketing starts with telling...
08/06/2026

Meet Rebecca Taylor, the newest Account Strategist to join our team!

Rebecca believes great marketing starts with telling the truth. As an Account Strategist, she'll work with clients to turn complex enrollment and marketing challenges into clear, integrated strategies that drive results.

Drawing on 20 years of experience leading marketing initiatives for colleges and nonprofits, Rebecca brings deep expertise in aligning cross-functional teams, building campaigns, optimizing communications, and strengthening the customer journey to inspire action. When she’s not working with clients, you’ll likely find her teaching, creating videos, or dreaming up the next project on her family farm.

We're so glad you're here, Rebecca!

We've got a new giant-slayer on the content team — say hello to Tatum Swanson!Tatum is passionate about all things highe...
08/04/2026

We've got a new giant-slayer on the content team — say hello to Tatum Swanson!

Tatum is passionate about all things higher ed, especially digging into audience insights and turning them into clear, engaging content pieces that create better prospective student experiences. Whether she's developing editorial calendars, optimizing program pages, or writing blog posts, she's always looking for ways to make content more meaningful and effective for the institutions she supports.

Welcome aboard, Tatum! 🎉

It's been a minute, so we thought we'd (re)introduce ourselves.We're Direct Development, and we have a soft spot for the...
07/27/2026

It's been a minute, so we thought we'd (re)introduce ourselves.

We're Direct Development, and we have a soft spot for the underdog.

The schools and nonprofits we work with are often being asked to do the impossible: enroll more students, reach more people, and drive better results with smaller teams and tighter budgets.

But we're no stranger to a challenge.

Our roots began with helping mission-driven organizations tell their stories and grow their impact. Today, we work alongside colleges, universities, and K-12s facing many of the same realities: valuable work, limited resources, and competitors with much bigger budgets.

We've always believed the answer isn't spending more.

It's thinking differently. Asking better questions. Challenging conventional wisdom when it stops working.

Around here, we say we help Davids beat Goliaths.

That means helping smaller teams compete, helping organizations do more with less, and helping good missions get the attention they deserve.

We're strategists, writers, marketers, technologists, former higher ed professionals, and problem-solvers. But more than anything, we're people who believe important work deserves great marketing.

If you're new here, welcome. And if you've been with us for a while, thanks for being part of our story.

Read more about the DD difference: https://hubs.li/Q04mW-Ts0

Over the last year, we've given a lot of presentations about AI search.This isn't one of them.We've intentionally limite...
07/15/2026

Over the last year, we've given a lot of presentations about AI search.

This isn't one of them.

We've intentionally limited attendance to make this feel less like a webinar and more like a working session. We'll have multiple members of the DD team joining us, smaller breakout groups, and dedicated time to dig into real questions and real websites together.

The first half of the workshop will focus on what's changing in AI search, what we're seeing across higher education, and where institutions are getting stuck.

Then we'll roll up our sleeves.

You'll look at your own website through the lens of AI visibility, work through practical exercises in small groups, and leave with specific opportunities to improve your content, structure, and discoverability. Our team will be there throughout the session to answer questions, troubleshoot challenges, and help you apply the ideas directly to your institution.

We'd love to have you join us on July 22! Sign up here: https://hubs.li/Q04mN9XL0

🏖️ Hot take: Summer melt is rarely an information problem.Most summer melt strategies or communication flows answer:✔ Wh...
07/09/2026

🏖️ Hot take: Summer melt is rarely an information problem.

Most summer melt strategies or communication flows answer:
✔ What forms are due and when
✔ What deadlines matter
✔ What students need to do to enroll

But students are usually asking:
• Can I afford this degree?
• Will I be able to keep my job?
• Is this field going to bring me fulfillment?
• How am I supposed to move?
• Where do I park?
• What if I don't know anyone?

Enrollment teams spend a lot of time asking, "What do we need students to know?"

A better question might be: "What's standing between this student and the first day of class?"

The strongest melt prevention isn't just delivering information. This summer, look at your students' biggest roadblocks to starting in the fall, and start there.

Higher education has always been rooted in optimism. In the belief that people can grow, learn, and create something bet...
07/04/2026

Higher education has always been rooted in optimism. In the belief that people can grow, learn, and create something better than what came before them.

As we head into the holiday weekend, we're celebrating the institutions and individuals investing in our nation's next generation of leaders and change-makers.

Happy Fourth of July from all of us at Direct Development! 🇺🇸

There are currently two kinds of conversations happening about AI search:The first is the internet's firehose stream of ...
06/29/2026

There are currently two kinds of conversations happening about AI search:

The first is the internet's firehose stream of hot takes, LinkedIn posts, webinars, podcasts, articles, guides, frameworks, acronyms, and (dare we say overconfident?) predictions.

The second is, "Okay...but what do I actually *do*?"

On July 22, we're hosting a live virtual workshop for higher ed marketers focused entirely on AI search visibility.

Did you catch the difference?

Instead of 60 minutes of theory or yet another presentation full of AI buzzwords, we're getting hands-on to tackle AI search in real time, with your school's specific needs in mind.

We'll spend the first half unpacking what's actually changing in search, how tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity fit into the picture, and what we're seeing across higher education right now.

Then we'll roll up our sleeves.

Bring your website. Bring your questions. Bring your skepticism.

Together, we'll work through practical ways to evaluate your institution's visibility, identify opportunities, and build a plan you can take back to your team.

Sign up here: https://hubs.li/Q04mNjn40

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Fairfax, VA

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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