November ~ December 2011 - Independent Schools Magazine

and to life
It has been said that,
in 80% of respects, all
schools are fundamentally
the same. If we do accept
that premise then it is
surely the 20% difference
upon which our marketing
messages should be
focused. The clarity of
those messages, the more
relevant they are and
the more impact they
have, will be in direct
proportion to the response
your communication
material generates and
how the recipient feels
about the sender. If those
messages are repeated in
a consistent, interesting,
innovative, engaging way,
the chances of stimulating
a response are increased
exponentially.
40 Marketing
Bringing your
This is reputation management –
in essence, branding.
It should be at the core of all your
communication with both external
and internal audiences, whether
delivered by word of mouth, in print,
on the Internet, through your PDA
or via a social networking site. If it is,
it will make a huge difference to your
return on marketing investment.
When meeting students to establish
what it is that makes their school
so different and so special I often
think, if only we were filming
this. A film has the ability to
show so much about a school,
really capturing personality in an
entertaining and engaging way. In
short, bringing the brand to life.
With film so accessible via web
sites, social networks and now
augmented-reality, it is a perfect
way to communicate your message,
appealing to students, parents,
and grandparents. And there is no
better way to make your web site
more dynamic and interactive.
However it is essential that the films
you create and produce accurately
Paul Kilvington “the school branding experts” 07831 332904 paul@theschoolbrandingexperts.com
Pippa Bayston “the school film experts” 07801 543798 pip@theschoolfilmexperts.com
reflect your ethos, positioning
and values, complimenting and
endorsing other marketing and
communication material. They
might be short, sharp clips or longer
features, although often no longer
than three minutes. Think emotive,
memorable movie trailer rather than
old school video.
Film maker, Pippa Bayston often
says, “it’s all in the edit” and over the
years this has become her primary
area of expertise. Having filmed
many live events, the preparation
and planning of the filming, with
just that one chance to capture the
moment, is immense. The adrenaline
that goes with the pressure of getting
that shot makes it exciting, nervewracking
and very satisfying when
it’s in the can.
Similarly, parents might have just
one shot at getting their choice of
school right. And schools are often
chosen on first impressions. This
impression can be from the web site,
the prospectus that arrives in the post,
the children they meet on a visit, the
Advertorial Feature
teachers they talk to or any other
element of the school that strikes
a chord with them. In essence it is
their so-called gut feeling. A result of
connecting with the school’s brand.
We can all remember a film or
an advert, which made a huge
impression on us as a child. Some
still have the power to do it now
we are adults. The moment you
see an advert and smile and think,
‘brilliant’, the seed of that brand has
been sown. We still think we glow
after eating ReadyBrek and love
MilkyWays because they won’t spoil
our appetites.
The real beauty of the moving image
is that the brand message can be
communicated in such an impactful,
engaging and memorable way. When
a film is made for a school, when it
comes together after collaborating
ideas to reflect the brand, showing
off the school in its best light and
exceeding expectations, it does leave
a great first and lasting impression
for the viewer. Truly bringing the
brand to life.
www.theschoolfilmexperts.com
Look who’s talking...
Reputation management is a discipline that independent schools simply cannot
afford to ignore. A school which loses its excellent reputation can quickly
find parents abandoning ship – who wants their child labelled as going to a
‘questionable’ school, especially when they are paying for the privilege?
A good reputation is an essential part of recruiting and retaining pupils, and can
often be a deciding factor for parents – they want to know that their child will
not only achieve academically, but that they will have a positive experience of the
school which they will carry with them for the rest of their life.
However, a good reputation can be easily tarnished – and it doesn’t take a huge
scandal to damage it. Schoolyard gossip – especially amongst parents collecting
their children – can be like ‘Chinese whispers’, with the smallest fact twisted into
a destructive force, especially when the story is passed on using social media sites
like Facebook.
So, how can you mitigate against gossip? The simple answer is that it is almost
impossible to do so. However, you can take proactive steps to minimise damage
to your reputation by ensuring that any negatives are seen in the wider context of
all the good work you are doing. For example, by:
• reminding people how good you are – both with direct communication with
parents, and through publicising good news stories, from great exam and sports
results to excellent pastoral care, not only within the direct school community
but also further afield.
• embracing social media as a communication tool for your school to send
reminders about concerts, events and activities to parents, especially as this also
gives you an insight into what parents are talking about, too.
• having a crisis communications strategy in place as part of your business
planning process. This should be ready to kick in as soon as any potentially
negative issues arise to make sure the school has a very clear message which is
communicated well.
• taking proportionate action – your reputation depends on minimising
potential damage, but you can tread a fine line between putting out
a fire and stoking something much larger. If in doubt, call in a crisis
communications expert who can offer truly objective advice.
© Freedomimage fotalia.com
New guide on school fee finance
School Fee Plan (SFP), the leading
school fee finance provider in the
UK, has launched an essential guide
to school fee finance for parents and
a new-look website.
Entitled “Making school fees
affordable”, the guide aims to
build parents’ awareness of school
fee finance to help them consider
whether spreading the payment
of school fees over monthly
instalments is the right option
for them.
Developed for schools using SFP
to send to their parents, the guide
explains how school fee finance
works, how it can be obtained,
an example of the costs involved,
potential benefits and some questions
frequently asked by parents.
www.sfpschoolfees.co.uk
Advertorial Feature
Rumours can be detrimental to
a school’s hard-won reputation.
Bridget Summers is a consultant
with Footprint Impression
Management’s Education team at
www.footprinteducation.org.uk
Michael Swan, Managing Director
of School Fee Plan says: “We
recognise the importance of parents
making informed decisions when
they are considering how to fund
their children’s education. School
fee finance offers a great option for
parents looking to minimise the
financial strain of school fees by
spreading the payment over monthly
instalments.” This guide is just one
of the documents which can be
instantly downloaded from SFP’s
new-look website. The site features
an enhanced level of user interactivity
and provides schools with ready
access to promotional material, a
range of essential forms and a new
library section containing the latest
articles, newsletters and adverts.
Bringing
the brand
to life
www.theschoolfilmexperts.com
Marketing 41