Education marketing is entering another year of tight budgets, longer decision cycles, and higher expectations from districts. The uncertainty is familiar now, but the pressure to make smart, focused choices has not eased. As teams plan for the next school year, the real challenge is not doing more. It is doing fewer things with greater intention.
In this episode, Elana Leoni reflects on recent conversations across the education ecosystem to surface what matters most right now. From how districts are thinking about efficacy and technology use, to where marketers should actually invest limited resources, the episode focuses on signals that can guide smarter decisions in 2026. The goal is not optimism for optimism’s sake, but clarity about where attention, time, and budget are best spent.
What You’ll Learn
Why tighter budgets and tech stack consolidation are forcing clearer marketing choices
How districts are evaluating tools based on real use, not promises or features
Why being audience-centered matters more than expanding reach
What smaller, more interactive learning spaces reveal about engagement and trust
How to think strategically about conference participation and visibility
The thinking behind the $10,000 marketing question, and why there is no universal answer
How to balance short-term lead pressure with long-term credibility and momentum
Why It Matters
Education marketers are being asked to justify every investment while still delivering results in a constrained environment. This episode reframes the moment as an opportunity to cut what is not working, double down on what shows real signal, and build credibility through relationships and proof. The $10,000 question is not really about budget. It is about focus, time horizons, and understanding where your audience actually pays attention. Teams that approach 2026 with this mindset will be better positioned to compete without burning trust or energy.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Whiteboard Advisors, RYE Consulting, Burbio, Starbridge, and NationGraph
Referenced as market and funding intelligence sources that help education marketers track budget signals, RFP timing, and state-level activity. These tools support more informed planning in a year of tighter budgets and continued uncertainty.Related Podcast Episodes on Efficacy and Proof
Mentioned as additional listening for teams thinking seriously about how districts evaluate whether tools actually work. These episodes explore practical, realistic approaches to efficacy, including how to gather meaningful qualitative evidence, how to think about proof before large-scale studies, and how efficacy connects to trust, adoption, and long-term use.Erica Curt’s AI Resources
Shared as a practical collection of classroom-focused AI guidance. Elana points to this work as a reminder that vendors and marketers need to understand how schools are rethinking lesson design, planning, and responsible AI use beyond surface-level features.Erin Mote on Safety and Privacy / Grok
Referenced for her LinkedIn post calling out the dangers of treating student safety and data privacy as optional add-ons, reinforcing that security must be a baseline requirement in education technology.Julia Fallon on Technology Infrastructure
Highlighted for her framing that the current moment is less about pulling the plug on technology and more about installing the wiring. This perspective emphasizes the long-term, behind-the-scenes work states have already been doing to support meaningful integration.Rebecca Shaddix on Moment Management and Productivity
Shared as an example of practical leadership and productivity insights. Her work on managing attention and closing mental loops resonated as a way to reduce cognitive overload in fast-paced, high-responsibility roles.The 2026 EdTech Marketer Planner – Free Download
LCG’s go to tool for mapping campaigns and key moments in the education buying cycle.
Elana Leoni, Host
Elana Leoni has dedicated the majority of her career to improving K-12 education. Prior to founding LCG, she spent eight years leading the marketing and community strategy for the George Lucas Educational Foundation where she grew Edutopia’s social media presence exponentially to reach over 20 million education change-makers every month.
About All Things Marketing and Education
What if marketing was judged solely by the level of value it brings to its audience? Welcome to All Things Marketing and Education, a podcast that lives at the intersection of marketing and you guessed it, education. Each week, Elana Leoni, CEO of Leoni Consulting Group, highlights innovative social media marketing, community-building, and content marketing strategies that can significantly increase reach, relationships, and revenue.
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