328: Why Pick Just One? Lessons from the Classroom on Integrated Marketing

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In this episode, Kendra Corman shares a powerful classroom story that turned into a real-world lesson on integrated marketing communications. What started as a nonprofit fundraising case study became a master class—taught by her students—on how marketing channels work best when they work together.

Kendra walks through how three student teams tackled a struggling nonprofit gala and what their insights reveal about building a smarter, more intentional marketing mix.

The Classroom Experiment That Changed the Conversation

Students were asked to defend one of three fundraising strategies for a nonprofit facing rising costs and declining attendance:

• Keep the traditional annual gala
• Pivot to digital-first campaigns
• Replace the gala with smaller community events

Each team had to consider donor segments, demographics, and capacity—and challenge one another’s assumptions. The surprising outcome wasn’t which strategy “won,” but what the students realized next.

The Big Insight: It’s Not Either/Or

The breakthrough moment came when a student asked: Why do we have to pick just one?
That question reframed the entire exercise.

The final recommendation combined:

• A smaller, more focused gala for older donors and sponsors
• Community events to engage younger and niche audiences
• Digital marketing to expand reach and accessibility

Instead of abandoning what worked, they built around it. 

What Integrated Marketing Actually Looks Like

Kendra connects the classroom lesson to real client work, sharing how successful nonprofits:

• Keep core efforts that still serve a specific audience
• Add complementary channels based on donor segments
• Grow intentionally without overwhelming their teams

The key isn’t doing everything—it’s choosing the right mix and scaling with purpose.

A Simple Framework to Evaluate Your Marketing

Kendra offers three questions to help evaluate whether your current marketing mix makes sense:

1. Is it working—or just comfortable?
   Signs of “comfortable but not working” include declining results, increasing effort, and doing things out of habit.
2. If it’s working, do you have capacity to grow?
   If you do, consider one small addition that reaches an audience you’re currently missing.
3. Is it working, but exhausting you?
   If you’re drowning to maintain it, something needs to change—working smarter matters.

This framework helps you decide whether to refine, add, or replace parts of your strategy without burning everything down.

Key Takeaways

• Don’t abandon what works just because something new appears
• Don’t rely on one channel if it leaves you vulnerable
• Be intentional about your marketing mix—not reactive
• Capacity is a constraint, not a strategy

Kendra closes by inviting listeners to reflect on their own “why pick one?” moment and consider how their marketing channels could work better together.

If you’ve ever felt stuck choosing between what’s familiar and what’s new, this episode offers a smarter

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