Eat In or Dine Out: Higher Ed Marketing and Banana Bread with Kerry Salerno

What does it take to lead marketing for Babson College, the Wall Street Journal’s #2 best college in the United States? An A+ in-house marketing team augmented by top-of-their-class freelancers.

Kerry Salerno, Vice President Marketing & Communication at Babson, is Jen Harrington’s guest on the newest episode of Eat In or Dine Out—the show where top marketing leaders step into Jen’s kitchen for fresh, unprocessed conversations about how to build great internal teams and hire the right agency partners.

While baking Jen’s world-famous banana bread, Kerry shares her takes on …

• Asking the right questions to define marketing goals.
• When to upskill the team vs. when to supplement it.
• Balancing day-to-day projects with long-run brand building.

P.S. Don’t forget to follow HATCH on LinkedIn to catch upcoming episodes!

 

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TRANSCRIPT 

Jen: Hello and thank you for joining me today! I’m very excited to introduce my good friend and client, Kerry Salerno, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Babson College. Welcome, Kerry!

Kerry: I’m so excited to be here!

Jen: Me too! Kerry and I have worked together for many years. She’s been in higher ed for almost 25 years. We met at Northeastern University, where she ran enrollment marketing. We first met on Huntington Ave over food actually! And all these years later we still work together.

Kerry has done an incredible job at Babson growing and building her team. She also works with several agencies, including HATCH.

The question I start with for everyone: Would you like to Eat In or Dine Out? If you choose “Eat In,” we’ll talk about your marketing team and how you manage and grow it. If you choose “Dine Out,” we’ll talk about advertising and branding agencies.

Kerry: I think we should Eat In.

Jen: I think so too! We’re making my famous banana bread, featuring another client — Hood sour cream. Before we start, I’m going to put on my apron.

BUILDING MARKETING TEAMS 

Jen: Kerry, you’ve been at Babson for almost six years. You have an incredible team and a great foundation. I imagine it didn’t look like this when you arrived.

Kerry: Very different. When I arrived in 2018, my goal was to build enrollment marketing at Babson. In higher ed, enrollment marketing is about driving revenue — building the customer journey and planning from there. That was my background at Northeastern, and I wanted to bring that experience here.

When I joined, the organization didn’t have that capacity because that wasn’t what the organization did historically. I had to introduce the concept of revenue-driving marketing and bring that skill set into the team.

Another big part was identifying what the organization needed from marketing. I spent my first six months listening and asking: What is the purpose of the marketing team? What’s its mission?

Jen: And you were doing that while still running business as usual — you still had to “make the  banana bread” so to say. 

Kerry:
Exactly. And if you think about the timing, we made the banana bread in the middle of COVID. So unfortunately we couldn’t just “put everything in the mixer” and have it come out beautiful right away.

FILLING GAPS VS. AUGMENTING 

Jen: How did you bridge the gap from where you were to where you are today?

Kerry: First, we identified skill gaps. We needed strong digital marketing capabilities. Before, it existed but in a limited way — maybe one person’s job. Today, as we know, digital marketing is more than just a one-person job. 

We worked on professional development, much of it free — encouraging the team to follow thought leaders, engage on LinkedIn, and learn continuously. Then we invested in conferences, certifications, and additional training.

Second, we augmented the team. We brought in freelancers and agencies to fill gaps and add creative perspective.

Jen: Why not just hire for the skill gap right away?

Kerry: Sometimes you try it out first. Budget is also a factor — in higher ed, I have to reallocate from other areas to fund new initiatives. That’s not always easy. Using freelancers or agencies allows us to test capabilities, bring in specialized talent quickly, and support the team while we grow.

Jen: And sometimes it’s not about filling a short-term gap — it’s about augmenting the team’s capabilities.

Kerry: Exactly! Freelancers can step in immediately with the right experience, run projects with little direction, and partner directly with our creative and communications teams. That adds value right away.

Jen: Over the years, the freelance market has changed so much. Has your approach changed?

Kerry: Yes. There’s more talent out there now, and more adaptability. We use freelancers for immediate needs like maternity leaves or project-based work, and for adding creative power to the team. Both are valuable, but they serve different purposes. 

Jen: Filling a gap is different than augmenting, I think that’s a good distinction you made.

Now it’s time to put the banana bread in the oven, pour some more coffee, and come back for final questions!

SHAMELESS PLUG

Jen: That was fun — and it smells delicious! While we wait for the bread to cool, I have a confession: the day of this shoot, my heat broke. It’s freezing in here, so warm bread will be perfect with coffee and tea.

Would you like a slice?

Kerry: I would love one!

Jen: Before we wrap up, can you give Babson a shameless plug? You’ve gotten incredible recognition and some exciting new initiatives on the horizon. 

Kerry: Babson is a business institution in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and a leader in entrepreneurship education. We’ve been ranked #1 in entrepreneurship for over 30 years, and last year the Wall Street Journal ranked us #2 in the country.

It’s been an incredible year across the organization — a testament to Babson’s brand, the quality of the education, and the return on investment for our students. We’re also exploring AI and how it fits into entrepreneurship and business leadership. There’s so much ahead!

Jen: You’ve done a terrific job. Thank you for joining me on Eat In and Dine Out. If you liked this conversation, follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe for more episodes!

 

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