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 founded 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 in both an agency and campus setting 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.

  • Brooke Zimny

    Brooke Zimny

    BRAND STRATEGIST

    In her 15+ years working in higher ed marketing and communications, Brooke has seen a range of evolving challenges and trends. She understands our clients’ perspectives—and enjoys partnering with them to move projects forward to meet their needs. Her keen attention to detail, broad skillset and cabinet experience ensure work is delivered with excellence and effectiveness.

  • headshot of katy cramer

    Katy Cramer

    PROJECT MANAGER
    Katy began her marketing career in higher education and brings a decade of experience in digital marketing, social media, and project management. She understands the importance of balancing overarching strategy with the day-to-day details that keep projects moving forward, and enjoys partnering with clients and teams to ensure projects stay on track and deliver high-quality results.

  • Katie Laric headshot

    Katie Laric

    WEBSITE PROJECT MANAGER

    With years of experience in advertising and communications, Katie specializes in website project management and optimization. For the past fourteen years, she has worked in higher education, where she has successfully managed website projects from concept to execution. Her expertise includes enhancing user experience, optimizing site performance, and working across a variety of content management systems. 

  • Abbey Russell

    Abbey Russell

    ART DIRECTOR

    With 14 years of creative and marketing experience, Abbey has honed her skills in crafting visually captivating designs that effectively communicate the unique identities and messages of educational institutions. Abbey's creative approach is characterized by attention to detail, innovative concepts, and a commitment to delivering outstanding results.

  • headshot of becca powell

    Becca Powell

    ART DIRECTOR

    Becca brings 20 years of higher ed experience, including leadership roles overseeing brand strategy, visual identity, and marketing communications. Whether designing an ad, conceptualizing a magazine or developing a logo system, Becca loves creating work that is both beautiful and effective.

  • Greg Elliott

    Greg Elliott

    LEAD DESIGNER

    Greg brings over 20 years of experience in creative and branding roles, with a focus on higher-ed since 2018. Prior to coming to 5°, Greg led marketing and creative strategy in both agency and client environments, focusing on visual identity development, brand messaging, and marketing collateral design.

  • Abby Perry

    Abby Perry

    WRITER

    Abby is a writer and editor whose clients include award-winning magazines, best-selling authors, and leading brands. On each piece she works on for 5° clients, she prioritizes empowering the reader to envision themselves as a participant in the story.

  • Jessica Fralin

    Jessica Fralin

    WRITER

    Jessica is a published author who's found surprising joy in writing for others. With over a decade of experience, Jessica specializes in long form content for clients that both captures the heart of their brand and crafts messaging in their own voice. She is also the founder of Sparked Studio, a creative consulting and content writing agency that helps small businesses and nonprofits find their brand voice and connect to the right people.

  • Kathryn Watson

    Kathryn Watson

    WRITER

    Kathryn is a writer, editor, and journalist with over a decade of copywriting experience. Her writing has been featured in dozens of national publications, including Forbes, Insider, Vox, and Allure. Whether it's whipping up sponsored content, coming up with creative branding concepts, or crafting a lyrical essay in her spare time, Kathryn loves working with words of all kinds.

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.”

  • — Jordan Christner I Campaign Director, Wheaton College

    “5 Degrees is a highly relational, responsive, and strategic branding partner that quickly understands our goals and culture, making collaboration seamless. They bring the expertise of a larger agency without the logistical complexity, delivering tailored solutions that help us achieve key objectives."

  • 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.”

  • — 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.”

  • — JENNIFER MCCHORD | Vice President of Enrollment & Marketing, Asbury University

    “Partnering with 5 Degrees Branding to develop our new Asbury.edu website has been an outstanding experience. Their team deeply understood both the mission of Asbury University and the practical needs of today’s prospective students. The new site is visually compelling, mobile-first, and highly intuitive — exactly what we need to engage students and families as they navigate the college search process. The 5 Degrees team brought expertise, creativity, and a true partnership mentality to every step of the process.”

  • — 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.”

  • — Mike DiBartolomeo I Vice President for Enrollment Management, St. Thomas Aquinas College

    “We wanted to partner with a team that understood that defining the value proposition of St. Thomas Aquinas College was going to be essential to re-launching our brand. It was important that whoever we worked with understood small colleges, the challenges in defining a brand, and the advantages that a successful brand launch could have for us.”

  • — 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.”