We’re like you. And we believe people like us need us.

We’ve been told working with 5° feels like working with trusted friends. That’s because we’ve sat in your seats, walked in your shoes. And we see our role as coming alongside your team—where your expertise will be an essential part of our teamwork and your opinions will be valued, not ignored. We’re always better together.

And together, we can help you tell your story in a way that is endearing, enduring, and effective.

A brand is a promise.
A great brand is a promise kept.

We work with great educational brands to help identify their distinctives, differentiate their offering, and communicate their edge to the audiences who need to hear it most.

We distinguish ourselves in three ways.

Focus. We know private higher education. We are the products of independent higher education and believe strongly in its necessity as a force for good in our culture and the world. 

Trust. As a result of former and current relationships, clients continue to turn to 5° to provide the strategy, creative, and deliverables they’ve come to trust. Our reengagement rate is over 95%.

Impact. We measure success by the results achieved. That can be anything from increased web traffic, inquiries, applicants, and enrolled right-fit students—to a reinvigorated campus that has greater brand clarity. We work to help our partners meet and exceed their goals, both measurable or immeasurable.

Meet the Leadership Team

Lee Insko and Mike Robinson worked together for 12 years before founding 5° Branding in 2014. With a geographically distributed staffing model from day one, Lee and Mike have built an exceptional team of branding and creative experts and are able to draw on a wealth of expertise to meet any project needs.

Lee Insko

Founder / Client Experience

Lee is known around here as the “client’s best friend,” an honor he’s earned through years of actively listening, seeing needs, plugging holes, and generally putting people at ease. He also possesses a knack for seeing the 30,000 foot view of a challenge without missing the details, a talent which just comes naturally for Lee.

Lee has years of experience working within higher ed communications, previously serving as VP of Sales at Details Communications and Director of Marketing at Samford University before co-founding 5° in 2014. This experience, combined with relentless research and a desire to learn, has served clients well and they have reaped the benefit of his expertise.

email Lee

Mike Robinson

Mike Robinson

Founder / Creative Director

Mike has been doing top-notch creative for clients around the globe, having worked in both an agency setting and within an international ministry. A Samford grad, he combines a unique understanding of the higher ed market with a desire to get to a client’s essence in order to create personal and effective communications solutions. As our cultural pulse keeper, he has a keen awareness of the issues affecting educational and non-profit organizations.

Clients have benefited from Mike’s ability to understand and bring their distinctives to the surface. Besides client work, he makes sure the 5° team stays synced up with our own messaging, mission, and values.

email Mike

  • Kim Campbell

    BRAND STRATEGIST, PROJECT MANAGER

    Kim offers a unique understanding of the challenges that higher ed marketing and communications teams face on a regular basis. With an extensive background in educational brand development, marketing strategy, and project management, Kim can navigate between the big picture phases of a project and the “in-the-weeds” elements that can sometimes be make or break.

  • Ryan Morabito

    SENIOR ADVISOR, STRATEGIST

    A brand marketing expert, Ryan has partnered with over one hundred colleges and universities in the development and implementation of long and short-term marketing initiatives. He is an intentional and creative thinker, and a proven leader at delivering high quality market research initiatives, optimizing brand awareness, and developing strategic models that focus operational efforts and drive results. 

  • Tara Miller

    WRITER, RESEARCH ANALYST

    Tara is adept at showcasing the distinct qualities of each client. She believes that getting to know her audience is the most important part of the writing process, and that’s why her background in marketing management and research is a perfect complement to her writing skills.

  • Jenna Pace

    DIGITAL & BRAND MANAGER

    Jenna has over 10 years of experience in higher ed marketing, including working in-house prior to her role with 5°. Having previously been a 5° client herself, her background helps her facilitate a seamless experience for partnering schools by anticipating and solving their needs preemptively. She is keenly aware of the relationship between the small details and an institution's end goal, and manages projects with both structure and flexibility.

  • Brooke Zimny

    Brooke Zimny

    BRAND STRATEGIST

    From working in her alma mater’s public relations office as a student to ultimately serving as its CMO, Brooke has seen a range of evolving challenges and trends in higher ed marketing—and helps move projects forward for clients to best tackle theirs. Brooke also helps 5° tell its own story through content management across platforms.

Kind words from good people.
The feeling is mutual.

  • — Jenna Johnson I Executive Director of Marketing and Communication, Charleston Southern University

    “From our initial meeting until the last phone call (and even after that), 5° displayed unparalleled expertise, judgment, creativity, and substance in their approach to our plan. I have worked through branding and website reconstruction projects before and was blown away by their attention to detail. They certainly exceeded my expectations! They were inclusive of our research and ideas, and married their own experience in Christian higher ed to present a final product that fulfilled and surpassed our dreams.”

  • — Brent R. Burks, Ed.D. | Director of Admissions & Recruiting, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

    “UMHB certainly values our partnership with 5° Branding. We have had the opportunity to team up with 5° for several enrollment campaigns and each time the product seems to be better because they take the time to get to know your campus. A lot of UMHB’s success can be attributed to the wonderful partnership we have with 5°.”

  • — STACY BARTLETT, Ph.D. | Vice President and Chief of Staff, POINT UNIVERSITY

    “I enjoyed working closely with 5° on a redesign project for our adult and traditional admissions materials. They took the time to get to know our institution and the similarities and differences between the various program formats we offer. They offered creative approaches that led to amazing finished products! People still ask us all of the time who designed our materials, and we are quick to point them to the folks at 5°!”

  • — RICHARD “CHIP” HINTON | Former Assistant VP of Enrollment, CARROLL COLLEGE

    “Searching for the right consultant to assist with communicating our brand is like agreeing to pose naked in front of a professional photographer. There are no secrets. If you’re smart you get professionals who make you feel comfortable being who you truly are (scars and all) and the outcome is authenticity. That is what 5° provided for the team at Carroll College. We were pleased with the process. We are ecstatic about the outcome. We are grateful for the enduring relationship.”

  • — TERRY DALE CRUSE, PH.D. | President, Mississippi State University, Meridian

    “I’ve worked with the team of 5° at multiple institutions. Projects we’ve collaborated on range from a comprehensive branding initiative to targeted recruitment campaigns. In each project they’ve exceeded institutional expectations. Most recently, LeTourneau needed a cohesive recruitment campaign to communicate its position as a national leader among Christian universities in STEM, while also marketing the strengths of Business, Education, and liberal arts programs. 5° Branding nailed it!”

  • — HEATHER LEVESQUE, PH.D. | Assistant VP & Executive Dir. Of Undergraduate Admissions, ETSU

    “Working with 5° has been unlike any vendor partnership we’ve had. We genuinely feel like they’re team members in our own office. They know our institution, they are attuned to our audience, and their expertise in design and storytelling have allowed us to share the ETSU story the way it deserves to be told. What we’ve created with 5 Degrees has been transformative.”

  • — THOMAS M. HUEBNER, JR., PH.D. | PRESIDENT, MERIDIAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

    “I have worked with 5° Branding for many years on a multitude of projects and have endorsed them to colleagues on countless occasions. They are on target and reliable and I couldn’t imagine working with a better group. Their work will absolutely get the attention of your prospects and I recommend them strongly.”

  • — WILLEM DE RUIJTER | VP Enrollment and Marketing, Geneva College

    “We asked 5° to meet an aggressive timeline, work extremely collaboratively, and provide us with a new brand identity that spanned 175 years of history yet communicates clearly today. The short answer is they delivered on all these things. They were receptive to our extensive feedback and partnered with us on creating the best brand for Geneva.”