The Importance of Team Culture: How Lexia’s Marketing Team Reaches New Heights
In 2019, I joined Lexia as the company’s VP of Marketing, leading a team of about 10 people. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of growing that team to almost 100 individuals, each with their own specific and thoughtfully crafted role to help advance each customer’s journey.
Despite the many external changes and challenges facing the education sector over this time, our team has been able to continuously adapt to the needs of our customers. This is in no small part due to the culture of our team, and it’s been a joy to watch each member propel Lexia into the marketing innovation leader it is today.
Prioritizing Team Culture
On our marketing team, we’ve intentionally fostered an environment where each team member feels valued and empowered to contribute their best work. The culture has been carefully crafted and curated by every leader and upheld by every team member. It’s a place of inclusivity, collaboration, continuous improvement, and gratitude.
Together, we solve problems and reach our marketing goals by focusing on three strategic initiatives.
- We embrace campaigns and programs, and understand that both must work together in order for us to succeed.
- We plan quarterly and annually to ensure all activities are aligned as a team.
- We establish standard operating procedures for all activities to ensure content aligns with our purpose and branding. We then turn these operating procedures into blueprints in our project management software so any activity done in the future can be done the same way.
This year, our team introduced a High Five Kudoboard where we encourage our marketing department to give a shout out to their colleagues. It’s a fantastic way to recognize and appreciate the extraordinary work everyone is doing across the team.
As part of this initiative, we started a gratitude board during a recent team retreat, providing space for team members to share why they appreciate one another. Reading their comments was an incredibly meaningful experience for me. I was humbled to see my name included among their expressions of gratitude. That moment reinforced a belief I hold strongly: trust and unity are not the result of chance. They are built through deliberate effort and intentional leadership.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t share that this wonderful team culture, and the work we’ve done together, recently resulted in some amazing content marketing industry award wins.
- Lexia’s “Leading literacy in a year of transition” campaign won the Content Marketing Institute Award for Best Content Marketing Program in Education Strategy.
- Christine Carter, Lexia’s Director, Campaign Strategy & Management, won the Women in Content Marketing Award (WICMA) for Content Marketer of the Year – Large Companies.
- Brittany Beaulieu, Lexia’s Campaign Marketing Manager | Content Strategy Manager, won the Women in Content Marketing Award (WICMA) for AI Innovator of the Year.
- Christine Kemker, Lexia’s Content Marketing Manager, won Ragan’s Top Women in Marketing Awards, Class of 2025 for Content Marketing.
Finding Marketing Success in a Changing Edtech Environment
The world of education has shifted drastically since I first joined Lexia. Less than a year after I started working here, the pandemic began, moving classroom learning online before eventually returning to in-person instruction. These shifts have challenged our team to stay agile and continuously adapt our approach to meet clients’ evolving needs.
Despite all the changes, our mission remains clear: to help our clients navigate challenges and excel in what they do best.
We do this through two interconnected teams that revolve around our target personas — or customers — including administrators, influencers, and teachers. Each persona has its own messaging framework, which is led by a content marketer and updated at least annually.
Having these personas clearly outlined allows us to reach current and potential customers wherever they are in their buyer journey, and gives us the ability to demonstrate how Lexia can help them improve their work and support the students they serve in new ways.
Our annual survey showed an increase in brand awareness among our target demographics.
- Overall brand awareness: 21% aided awareness (+6 points YoY)
- #1 in literacy professional learning awareness: LETRS leads in both aided and unaided awareness
- Brand + product connection: 49% of district administrators know Lexia is the provider of LETRS
- Administrator awareness: Moved to #2 in unaided awareness
- Teacher affinity: Core5 is teachers’ most preferred literacy program
Helping Teachers and Students Feel Seen, Valued and Supported
Everything we do is tied back to the Cambium family purpose: ensuring all teachers and students feel seen, valued and supported. This purpose is grounding, and a great reminder to us that we’re here to make education accessible and joyful for all young learners.
By focusing on our mission and this purpose, our team is able to change with the tides, continuously formulating new ideas and revising our strategy to reach the right people.
To stay updated on what our team is doing next, connect with me on LinkedIn.