smj: school marketing journal

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this milestone 200th episode, Brad and Scully reflect on the history of the School Marketing Journal Podcast, whilst hearing from a selection of previous guests and listeners. As they look back on the biggest shifts in school marketing across the years, they consolidate the lessons they've learned from a range of experts across...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this episode, Brad and Scully discuss why school Heads must take ownership of their school marketing. They investigate the three main roles of marketing in schools, highlight where leadership is essential and examine the leadership mindset required to balance strategy and promotion with the goal of helping Heads recognise their...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this special interview episode, Brad is joined by Graham Kenny, an expert in strategy and performance measurement, who has helped leaders across business, government and education navigate complex challenges, as well as being Australia's only regular author to the Harvard Business Review . This episode, Graham reveals some lesso...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe   Choosing a school is an emotional decision for families. Whether it's about finding the right academic fit, culture or values, each family has unique criteria. Your school competes with dozens of other schools, all vying for a place on prospective families' shortlists. To truly stand out and secure your spot, you don't need to be...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe   In this special interview episode, we are joined by Ashley Fell, the Director of Advisory at McCrindle, to discuss the tool they have developed, the Thriving Schools Index. This tool delves into understanding the school experience from a range of stakeholder perspectives, to give a score across a number of areas. She also shares...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this special interview episode, we are joined by Peter Baron , who served as the Chief Member Relations Officer for the US Enrollment  Management Association, directing their marketing and communications, member recruitment and retention, leadership training programs, and research. He introduces us to his new business, MoonshotO...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe Managing enrolments is about more than just filling seats. It's about building a secure and sustainable future for your school, and that takes an approach that goes beyond surface level fixes. Introducing imageseven's newest offering: the Enrolments Practice. In this episode, we are joined by imageseven's Belinda McCubbin and Pauli...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this episode, we discuss the importance of delivering on your brand promise. Prompted by a case study of a school in America, we explore how moving away from your brand promise as a school, risks losing its distinctiveness in this increasingly competitive market. We also share some tips to help you get on the front foot to ensur...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this special interview, we dive into a case study of how one school has successfully differentiated itself from the competition. Clayton Johnston, Director of Admissions at Brentwood College in British Columbia, Canada, shares the College's journey of developing 11 differentiators which align with the College's values, enabling...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe A brand video is more than just a promotional piece – it's a powerful tool to tell your school's story, showcase its values and connect with the community. In this episode, we dive into the importance of brand videos for schools and introduce award-winning producer and director Gavin Carroll to unveil our exciting new video service...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe Heads of independent schools confront a conundrum: how do you introduce change and innovation while preserving the traditional values that resonate with their community? How can you strike a perfect communications balance between progress and maintaining a reassuring sense of stability? In this episode, we discuss the MAYA (Most Ad...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe   School communication and marketing is changing, and whether you like it or not, this means your school marketing will need to change. However, the most significant barrier to your school's adaptation to this new landscape is not the customers nor the technology, it's managing the change required. This episode, we discuss how we b...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe   To do great school communication and marketing, some of the most impactful levers you can pull don't depend on the size of your budget. This episode, we discuss six things you can do that won't put any strain on your school financially. But we warn you, it's not going to be easy. Through our experience of working with hundreds of...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe There is a problem that is deeply ingrained into the structural fabric of Australia's independent school sector. Schools need high-level marketing support, but only a few of the largest schools can access this type of talent. A concept borrowed from the commercial world might be the answer. This episode, we discuss the role of the...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe For generations, we've been told that logic dictates our decision making. However, a growing body of research suggests that it's our emotions that drive our decisions, especially when it comes to complex purchase decisions. This episode, we discuss how you can lead your communication and marketing team to limit the logical and elev...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this episode, we dive into the topic of AI and how it can be used in your school marketing. We discuss a Hubspot article surveying over 1,000 marketing professionals to discover trends in AI usage. We also share our thoughts on how your school marketing team can use this technology to become more efficient by freeing up their ti...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this special interview episode, we are joined by Tom Olverson, a veteran school Head of 27 years across the United States who is now a specialist search consultant, as well as a mentor to Heads. He is also the author of Leading Through Strategy – How Business Principles Can Help Independent Schools Thrive . He talks us through w...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In the world of independent schools, clear communication isn't just beneficial — it's pivotal. The pitfalls of misinterpretations, ambiguous roles and inconsistent messages can profoundly inhibit a school's growth on all fronts. Schools, like all organisations, face challenges in achieving effective communication. And it's holding...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this special interview episode, we are joined by Dan Oshinsky, owner of Inbox Collective, an email consultancy that helps brands grow audiences, build relationships and gets results through email. We discuss the future of email marketing and the differences and similarities between brand email marketing and school email marketin...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." That's only partially true. Brad and Scully discuss this further in this episode, delving into how – within the school marketing context – your second chance is to iterate and improve before your next opportunity for another first impression. In today's interconnected worl...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this episode, we are joined by psychologist Dr Matt Pfeiffer to discuss his model TXcel Education, which aims to enhance the educational effectiveness of teachers. TXcel is a professional development model which uses surveys to allow teachers to receive a range of feedback and help them enhance their teaching effectiveness. Matt...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe After presenting at the 2024 International Boys' School (IBSC) Annual Conference held in London, United Kingdom, Andrew Sculthorpe (Scully) shares his learnings from picking the minds of school Heads from 145 countries around the world. Focusing on the Conference's theme 'Tradition, leadership and innovation', he shares some of the...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this episode, we are joined by Brendan Schneider, an expert in digital marketing for schools and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution. We discuss the growth in AI and break down some of its accompanying terms and jargon. Brendan tells us how he believes AI is going to (and has already) change the world of school marketing...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe In this episode, we pick up where we left off from SMJ175, continuing with our list of marketing jargon that school Heads might encounter in order to help you interpret what you are hearing from your school's marketing team. We discuss all the terms you might often hear, from 'social media marketing' to 'CTAs' and we try our best t...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe There comes a time in the life of every school when the time is right to make a permanent record of the school's history. This episode, we are joined by Associate Professor David Hastie to understand the pitfalls and the benefits of writing your school history. David takes us through the steps of approaching such a project, and sha...