smj: school marketing journal

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe Despite staggering inflation costs, many schools have increased their fees well below the current inflation rate in recognition of the cost-of-living pressures on families. In this interview, Edstart founder and CEO, Jack Stevens dives into Edstart's School Fees Report 2023 to summarise the surprising tuition trends across the coun...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe The future of artificial intelligence (AI) is here and with it comes the need for an answer to the big question: What does this mean for the future of school marketing? In this episode, we take a look at ChatGPT, the AI software stirring controversy, and reveal how you can utilise this powerful technology to augment and enhance you...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe As a leader of school marketing, there are two simple questions you should be answering: Who are you as a school and why do you matter? In this second half of two parts, we continue analysing the complexities of your positioning and reveal how you can unravel what your school does at its core. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe When thinking about your school experience strategy, you must consider all the moments families will have as they journey through the lifecycle of your school experience – from the first time they ever connect with the school – all the way through to becoming members of the alumni community. In this episode, we speak with David Wil...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe As a leader of school marketing, there are two simple questions you should be answering: Who are you as a school and why do you matter? In this episode, we analyse the complexities of your positioning and reveal how you can unravel what your school does at its core. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

Subtitle: School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe From the ongoing repercussions of COVID-19 to extended waitlists, prospective parents face uncertainty in many areas of their child's education. In this interview, CEO of Knuckleball Consulting, Mike Vachow joins us to discuss what he's learnt after serving in five independent schools, sharing his eight tips for eliminati...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe It's easy to lose focus of your external audience – prospective and current parents – when internally marketing your school. We explore where you should place your focus in a world of endless distractions and growing demands as the end of Term 4 approaches.  Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe Often, school Heads find it difficult to prioritise the workload of their development team to maximize the dollars raised with the number of staff they have. In this interview, Jill Goodman shares the seven-step framework you can follow to meet your development and fundraising targets regardless of the size of your team. Get in tou...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe Everything your customers know about your brand comes from what they see, hear, watch, and read … so all of your content advertising needs to adequately represent your brand. In this episode, we continue discussing why consistency is the key factor in building customer trust and how this consistency can be translated through a writ...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe When it comes to fundraising for schools, it seems everyone has an opinion, a favourite campaign format, or rules that should always be followed. These opinions are usually based on past success, but what works in one school won't necessarily work as well in another. We interview Dr Wendy Scaife, the Associate Professor and the Dir...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe Your brand can only remain consistent if every team member is following the same decision-making process when creating content. We talk you through everything you need to know about writing and style guides, what a comprehensive branding guide looks like and how to avoid inconsistent messaging creeping into your content. Get in tou...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe Every school has a brand. However, perceptions and expectations of your school brand are constantly evolving. We interview the Director of Solutions at McCrindle, Geoff Brailey, to learn a thing or two about brand tracking and discover the brand-related questions school Heads should be asking. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe As a school Head, you have a vision for your school. Persuading your school community that your vision is worth pursuing is the most important challenge you will face in your career. While trying to sell this vision, it can often feel like no-one is listening, which can be equally as frustrating as it is disheartening. This week, w...

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe When choosing a school, one of the first questions a prospective parent asks is, "Can I afford the fees?" Having designed a fee calculator which delivers a transparent fee experience to parents while generating valuable enrolment enquires, Founder of Feesable, Anthony McCausland, joins us to discuss the standout insights this data...

Leaders have an obligation to be looking around corners and seeing what is ahead, even if it's not fully in focus yet. In this second half of two parts, we continue to look at some of the trends to watch in marketing and discuss why you and your team need to be thinking about them now. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au  

We sit down with expert in all matters of school financial management and Partner at Resolve Consulting, David Bartlett, who guides us through school fees increases. We look at the economic factors that you must communicate to the school community as the school Head in order to give parents greater financial confidence. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

This week, we try to predict the future! Well, not quite. Leaders have an obligation to be looking around corners and seeing what is ahead, even if it's not fully in focus yet. In this first of two parts, we look at some of the trends to watch in marketing and discuss why you and your team need to be thinking about them now. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

Experiences lead to enrolments. It's that simple. And also that complex! In this interview with Dr David Willows of [YELLOW CAR] , we look at why that's the case, what the barriers are to designing good customer experiences and how you can overcome them. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

"I don't need marketing or a marketing plan." If you've said (or even thought) this, you aren't alone. But is it true? As a school Head, it would be unthinkable to begin a school year without a plan for how you will educate your students. Yet when it comes to attracting, enrolling and retaining students, many school Heads face the year without a plan, or think that they don't need one. We dig into...

Where you set your school fees is one of your clearest positioning signals to prospective parents. With annual data obtained from over 500 independent Australian schools, CEO of EdStart, Jack Stevens, joins us to discuss the ins and outs (and ups and downs) of school fees, sharing his top tips for how to communicate them well. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

Having a vision and a strategy for your school — and your school marketing — is not enough. The long-term key to success is execution. Relentless consistency. Every day. Every term. Every year. Without a system for getting things done, your strategy will forever remain an unrealised dream. We discuss what it takes to make that dream a reality. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

There are things you can and can't control when it comes to managing your school's online reputation. Brendan Schneider, specialist in inbound marketing for schools, joins us to discuss what your school can and should be doing, along with what questions to ask your marketing team. We also share real-life examples of search engine optimisation done well … and really badly! Get in touch at smj@image...

When we at imageseven look at a school through the lens of a prospective parent, we often discover a confusing maze of competing market positions. But you cannot win the positioning war with a positioning strategy that is constructed like a Swiss army knife. You need to be something ... for someone. In this episode, we show you how. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

Conducted by Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ), What Parents Want is the longest running survey in the country exploring why parents choose independent schools. CEO of ISQ, Chris Mountford, helps us dig into the goldmine of insight gathered in their 2021 research , highlighting the factors that matter to school Heads. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

Through our experience working with schools, we have identified three foundational building blocks of a robust school marketing system. In this episode, we chat with Claire Jones, our own Head of Strategy and Programs, to walk you through building a communications and marketing operation that's built on a solid foundation and minimises the 'trip hazards'. Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au