Digital Storytelling With Purpose

A digital strategy designed to engage audiences year-round, celebrate faculty expertise, and turn moments into enduring media assets

Role: Strategist, Executive Producer, Digital Storyteller
Timeline: January 2023-April 2024
Core Skills: Digital content strategy, editorial planning, faculty engagement, cross-functional collaboration, creative production, donor communications, campaign alignment

The Opportunity

By early 2023, Emory’s $4 billion campaign, 2O36, had momentum, but our content strategy needed one. The campaign had launched in 2021 with two promising digital assets: The Podium, a TED-style video series, and The Podcast, a conversation series with Emory faculty. Each had first seasons, filmed at the campaign’s public launch event. And then… nothing.

There was no roadmap for what came next. No timeline, no editorial calendar, no owner. Meanwhile, the division needed digital content to help meet engagement goals and bring the campaign to life beyond in-person events.

Social media graphic to promote the episode of *The Platform* created in celebration of Women’s History Month

At the same time, I saw another missed opportunity: Emory wasn’t producing content tied to cultural or thematic moments – Black History Month, Pride, Women’s History Month, and more. These moments were being acknowledged internally but not strategically shared with alumni and donors. And while we often spoke about “faculty eminence” as a pillar of the campaign, nearly all public-facing programming to date had featured only the president and provost. Constituents were ready for more: more substance, more variety, and more connection.

It was time to reimagine the approach—and maximize our digital programming not just for visibility, but for value.

The Approach

I took ownership of Emory’s dormant digital assets and gave them structure, purpose, and a plan. I also proposed a third vertical: The Platform, a short-form video series designed to spotlight faculty during timely moments throughout the year. Each “P” served a distinct role:

The Podcast: Deeper conversations with faculty hosted by a charismatic new host, recorded in advance and aired monthly to sustain campaign presence
The Podium: TED-style talks filmed at live events branded as The Future of [Topic] to echo the campaign’s theme of “The Future Starts Here. The Future Starts Now. The Future Starts With You.”
The Platform: Short video features released during heritage months and cultural moments, aligning with audience interests and Emory’s core values

Together, the Three Ps, a nickname for our three-pronged digital programming model, created a content ecosystem that solved multiple challenges at once. They gave the marketing team timely, shareable content across platforms. They gave fundraisers a library of stories to use in donor communications. They gave our faculty a national stage. And they gave our campaign a distinctive voice in the digital space.

Each Platform episode was released via a dedicated email campaign and paired with a curated bundle of related stories—allowing us to recirculate high-performing and underappreciated content alike. This created a deeper experience for viewers and helped marketing teams fill their calendars with meaningful, values-aligned storytelling.

To increase the long-term value of our live programming, I also introduced a new approach: filming select events to feed our digital series. Historically, campaign events had been one-and-done—valuable only to those in the room that night. That meant a compelling conversation in New York might resonate deeply with a prospective donor in Los Angeles, but the fundraiser managing that relationship had no way to share it.

By filming select events, we expanded the reach and shelf life of our content. It did require extra lift—ensuring everything looked polished both in person and on camera—but it was well worth the effort. Not only did it allow us to deliver high-quality programming to a much broader audience, it made financial sense. Instead of spending our budget on a single moment in time, we were building an evergreen library of campaign-aligned content to engage stakeholders across regions and platforms.

The Outcome

Over the course of 15 months, The Three Ps transformed Emory’s digital storytelling. We elevated diverse voices, aligned content with strategic priorities, and created a drumbeat of campaign-aligned engagement that extended far beyond our in-person events.

More importantly, the project proved that digital programming didn’t have to be an afterthought, it could be a central, compelling driver of campaign momentum.

The Most Meaningful Part

This was my first time serving as executive producer for a suite of content at this scale, and I loved it. It drew on my strengths in programming, storytelling, and cross-functional leadership, and gave me the chance to build something that truly worked across channels and audiences.

It also allowed me to highlight faculty voices that hadn’t been featured in traditional programming. For heritage month content in particular, I sought out perspectives that reflected the diversity and richness of the Emory community, helping us better reflect the values we stand for.

It reminded me how energizing it can be to work on projects that advance multiple goals at once. Faculty engagement? Check. Marketing content? Check. Campaign consistency, donor stewardship tools, internal alignment? Check, check, and check.

Key Takeaways

These programs didn’t just fill a content gap—they became a model for integrated storytelling across the university. From concept to execution, the Three Ps showed how intentional strategy, thoughtful planning, and cross-functional collaboration can turn disconnected ideas into a unified, purpose-driven platform.

Too clever isn’t always better. Naming the series of digital storytelling verticals “The Three Ps” made for a cute umbrella … until no one could remember which P was which.
Build with repurpose in mind. Thoughtfully designed digital content can multiply the value of live events and extend campaign impact far beyond the room.
Celebrate what you want to grow. Elevating faculty voices helped align with the campaign’s emphasis on academic eminence, and gave audiences something fresh and meaningful.
Plan it like a show. Treating each series like a media production—with seasonal planning and advanced production —helped reduce stress, raise quality, and create space for smarter and more intentional marketing.
Don’t just fill the calendar, earn the click. There’s enough noise out there. Thoughtful, well-timed content actually cuts through.