Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO — with Jaime Hunt

Ep. 63: Uncommon Insights: AI, Creativity and Brand

Episode Summary

There are some marketers you just don’t want to have to compete with. Grant Heston at Virginia Commonwealth University is one of them. In this wide-ranging episode, Jaime sits down with Grant to talk about AI, collaboration, creativity, brand building, and more.

Episode Notes

There are some marketers you just don’t want to have to compete with. Grant Heston at Virginia Commonwealth University is one of them. In this wide-ranging episode, Jaime sits down with Grant to talk about AI, collaboration, creativity, brand building, and more. Takeaways from this episode include:

• How to build consensus around the use of AI in marketing and communications
• Ideas around ways to enhance collaboration on your team
• Tips for building team culture with a distributed workforce
• Advice on building a brand that is truly distinctive in the marketing place – and how to leverage AI to help
• How to build an internal brand that leads to greater support and resources for your team

Guest Name: Grant Heston

Guest Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantjheston/  

Guest Bio: Grant Heston is vice president for Enterprise Marketing and Communications for Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Health. After arriving in 2021, he built the first integrated branding, communications and marketing division that serves both the university and health system. 
Grant previously spent more than 12 years in several roles — including vice president for Communications and Marketing and Chief of Staff to the President — at the University of Central Florida, one of the largest and most diverse research universities in the country.  
Grant has an undergraduate degree in Journalism from the University of Florida and an MBA from the University of Central Florida. He has written professional and personal stories that have been published by The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, The Chronicle of Higher Education and more.