'Transforming' higher ed earns Purdue a seat on Google stage

President Mitch Daniels and chief marketer Ethan Braden featured at Google’s flagship marketing event

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Two Purdue University leaders, including President Mitch Daniels, have been invited to join brands like McDonald’s and The LEGO Group at Google Marketing Live on Tuesday (May 24). Like its selection to Fast Company magazine’s list of Brands That Matter, Purdue is both the only and first university invited to speak at the annual event.

Google Marketing Live is a hybrid event hosted at the Google Bay View Campus in California’s Silicon Valley, bringing together innovative marketing leaders from top organizations to inspire readiness for tomorrow’s challenges. Past events have featured keynotes from industry-shakers like Grammy Award-winner Alicia Keys.

Purdue has garnered a reputation for transformative forms and methods of education. The university is also earning a name for how it talks to digital audiences, potential students and current members of the Boilermaker community in equally transformative ways. 

Daniels will be joined by Ethan Braden, executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer for Purdue University and Purdue University Global. Each is expected to speak on behalf of successfully deploying data-driven, industry-defining innovations within higher education.

Daniels will be featured in a documentary-style video address, joined by marketing executives from Marriott International and Chase. In a Think transformation session, Braden will participate in a live, on-stage conversation with executives from Google and Expedia about embracing and harnessing change to drive business outcomes today and build business resilience for tomorrow.

“Purdue University is a leader in education and has transformed its experience for residential students and working adults online,” said John Farrar, Google’s industry director for education. “We’re excited for Mitch and Ethan to share Purdue’s thought leadership on how they’ve leaned into the power of storytelling, data, and digital to best serve their students.”

Purdue has become a clear choice for record numbers of incoming students in recent years, a surge powered by its reputation as a top-ranked public research institution, its data-driven yet practical response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and its commitment to value, including over a decade of frozen tuition and boarding rates, a decision that has saved students and families more than $1 billion over the span.

The “Cradle of Astronauts” and home base to members of the Perseverance Mars rover team, Purdue is also a hub for 6G research and has attracted multimillion-dollar facilities by aerospace and national defense companies like Saab, Rolls-Royce and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories.

Purdue University Global and Google have also partnered on and launched five co-developed and co-branded career certificates for working adults. Students gain college credit while earning the Google IT Support Certificate plus a Purdue Global microcredential. These credentials can be used as stackable building blocks toward an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree at Purdue Global.

In recent years, Purdue Marketing and Communications has renewed Purdue’s brand, overall storytelling, and its focus on YouTube, earning more views on the platform in both 2020 and 2021 than five peers combined and helping Purdue become the only university recognized as a Fast Company Brand That Matters. The university’s official podcast, “This Is Purdue,” has quickly ascended into the top 15% of all podcasts worldwide for listens, garnering over 10 million social media impressions since 2020.

Registration for online attendance is open to the public. The Think transformation panel is exclusive to in-person attendees; Daniels’ address will be available online for the digital audience.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://stories.purdue.edu.

Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu

Sources: Ethan Braden, ethanbraden@purdue.edu; John Farrar