headmaster

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, we look at why your message often fails to capture your audience’s attention and the six principles that will get your message to well and truly stick.

Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

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 reveals.

Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

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.

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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 what it means and what it might look like for your school.

Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

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@imageseven.com.au

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

Welcome to the 100th episode of the SMJ podcast! To celebrate this milestone, we talk to Dr Alec O’Connell, Headmaster of Perth’s Scotch College, where they’re about to mark the College’s 125th anniversary. We discuss what it looks like for schools to celebrate and capitalise on significant events, to enhance both your fundraising and your brand.

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How do parents choose schools? What motivates them to ‘buy’ your school experience? Dr David Willows, Director of Advancement at The International School of Brussels and Co-Founder of [YELLOW CAR], joins us to discuss his article, ‘Dual-Factor Theory’. He highlights the important questions you should be asking in the wake of a pandemic and gives you the tools to answer them.

Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

Historically speaking, marketing activity for schools can be summed up in one word: relationships. However, market changes mean this is no longer enough. Despite this, many schools are resisting new ways of building their brands and marketing themselves. We explore why that is and discuss how your school can join the marketing revolution.

Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

What do school Heads need to know about the intersection of schools, marketing and the law? With over 30 years’ experience advising Australian educational institutions, David Ford, a Partner of Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers, is known for his expertise in education law. In this interview, we pick up on some of the topics addressed in his contributions to the School Marketing Journal, discussing enrolment contracts, sending emails to prospective parents and how to handle online reviews.

Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

“We’re not rebuilding, we’re building.” Schools have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build fit-for-purpose communications and marketing, rather than rebuilding from a pre-pandemic plan. We dive into Real Insurance’s Real Education Report to find out what parents are thinking and how you can build your messaging to speak directly to their concerns.

Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au

A quiet revolution has been happening in marketing technology, particularly in the world of digital advertising. In this interview with Unify’s Josh Krueger, we pull back the curtain on some of this wizardry and look at how your school can benefit from it.

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School web projects generally require a sizeable investment of time and resources. By asking the right questions in advance, your team can work efficiently and you can be confident your new website will meet your school’s requirements. We discuss seven questions you should ask to ask to keep your website project heading in the right direction.

Get in touch at smj@imageseven.com.au