Where I live and work, most independent schools are in a box. Their reputation in the local community is fixed. Rarely if ever do they leapfrog the competition or alter perceptions in significant ways.
Independent schools cater to a narrow social segment where attitudes are deeply engrained and hard to change. Day school markets are constrained geographically, so schools do not have the option of expanding into new markets where their image might be easier to change.
I don’t give up hope. I think it’s possible for independent school to move the dial dramatically. Most, you see, are at a pretty rudimentary stage when it comes to marketing. With a little effort and a willingness to topple some sacred cows, a school could make significant inroads in their local market. Here are the steps I would suggest:
- Chuck the viewbook.
Admissions communications efforts at most independent school still center on the production of a viewbook. But viewbooks have a major shortcoming as marketing tools in the independent school communications stream: their impact is largely confined to the moment when they are distributed. A parent contacts a school and is either mailed a viewbook or handed one upon visiting. In a best-case scenario, the parent and/or student spends a good amount of time with the viewbook exploring the programs and attitudes of the school. However, even in this best-case scenario, parents and prospective students rarely if ever refer back to the viewbook later in the process. At the point when they winnowing down a list of schools or when they are selecting a school from a set of options, they do not return to the viewbook. They have moved on to first hand impressions as the basis for their actions. So the ability of the viewbook to influence actions at critical junctures is limited. As such, it does not merit the volume of time and resources directed toward it. (Please note: these comments apply to independent day schools and not to boarding schools where viewbooks play an important role.)
There are some really impressive viewbooks out there. That of the Chicago Lab School is perfect in tone and style. Everyone should call Friends Select in Philadelphia and get a copy of the viewbook they produced last year. But I would like to hear from those schools whether in the time since they introduced their new viewbook they have singificantly moved the dial in terms of perceptions or competitive position. I’m thinking that the answer will be no.
- Invest in a high quality brand strategy and a fresh and comprehensive identity system
Because we’re going to be doing without a viewbook and instead employing a serious of less expensive and shorter brochures and cards for mailing, it is critically important that we have a fine-tuned message and that all our materials convey a consistent set of fonts, colors, design, tone and photographic style. Many independent schools are fairly good at using their logo consistently on all their materials but they need to go beyond that. They need to develop a comprehensive family of colors, themes and tone – in other words, a “look” – for all their materials. It is critically important that this look be carried through consistently in web and print. In most cases, schools need to freshen up their logos so that they are optimized for on-line environments.
- Upgrade your website
All aspects of the website need to be improved. The writing needs to be professional and produced with an eye to readability in an on-line environment. The photography needs to be carefully selected and consistent through. The information architecture needs to be simplified with a clear priority given to first time visitors and those in the course of the admissions process. The design needs to be fresh and engaging. The message developed in the brand strategy needs to ring loud and clear on the homepage and every other page of the site.
- Develop two social media marketing strategies – one directed at upper school prospects and one directed at parents of kindergarten and lower school prospects.
Independent schools are in the exciting situation of having two major audiences for social media marketing. The first are upper school prospects. Today, virtually all middle- and upper-school students are involved with social media platforms such as Facebook. These platforms are probably the best way to reach out directly to students considering one’s upper school.
The second audience is just as, if not more, interesting – the parents of today’s lower school students. These are Gen Xers, the people who pioneered the use of interactive media in their professional lives. This is an audience that will be highly receptive to social-media based strategies. As independent schools evolve, creating dialogue via on-line media will become a more and more important part of the admissions process.
If an independent school got behind a strategy such as this, dispensing with the things that don’t work and focussing on excellent delivery of those that do, they could move the dial. I can’t stress enough the importance of a comprehensive approach. All the messages, look, feel and tone need to be consistent and carried through in all media. That is the way to change perceptions and leapfrog the competition in an entrenched independent school market.
Hi Mark–
I’m the marketing director at Friends Select School. I was very interested to read your comments about view books–when I started here in 2003, I was brand new to the independent school world. My background was public /media relations both at advertising agencies and a large corporation-so I had never even heard the words “view book” before coming here. It was presented to me as a must-have, the major marketing piece of the school, with the single largest budget line of the admission budget. It totally lived in the admission department, which confused me at the time, because it seemed to me that it more appropriately belonged in the advancement office.
Last year we launched our new view book, and this time marketing owned it–concept to execution and launch. Every day I ask myself the same questions you pose–is it worth the huge expense? Well, as a stand-alone tool, no. As part of an integrated marketing program, a cautious “yes.” This will probably be the last view book we do. However, it has been a qualified success in that it successfully articulates our major marketing messages (city, academics, Quaker/community) as part of an integrated marketing program. These messages are carried throughout our ads, our publications, at Open Houses–our faculty and even parents are supplied talking points that cover these main messages, etc.
My department has worked very hard over the last 6 years to be consistent in our messaging, and to clearly define who we are as a school, and it’s working–as measured by increased enrollment (8.1% over last 5 years) and customer satisfaction (as measured by annual surveys of parents). This view book was a radical departure for us–very few words, images to carry the story, an edgy, urban look, black and white photography, etc. I am very proud of it because it accurately represents who we are–anyone spending even .30 seconds flipping through the book will know what we are about, and certainly not confuse us with our many peer independent schools in the region.
Part of the problem is, I’m of a generation very comfortable with print–it’s what I professionally grew up in. There’s something very beautiful about holding a book in your hands. But like you say–they are probably going the way of the dinosaur. I have printed out your article and made it assigned reading for my slender department–and we are starting discussion on it next week.
I’ll let you know what we decide to do moving forward!
Thanks.
Colleen Puckett
Director of Marketing
Friends Select School
Colleen -
Thanks for such a detailed account from the front lines of marketing an independent school. You should be justifiably proud of what you have accomplished at Friends Select. There is no question in my mind that a viewbook of the quality of the one you have produced can move attitudes. I would make two points:
First, the main question is one of allocation of limited resources – both of time and money. Does it make sense to work on such a high production print project rather than, for example, an on-line application that could be more effective at engaging your audience? For a college or boarding school I think the answer is still “yes.” For an independent school, I increasingly feel that the costs outweigh the benefits. And as you say, at most independent schools, the viewbook is given priority not because it is truly the most effective means for getting across the communications point, but out of an unquestioned understanding of what independent school marketing involves.
Second, your viewbook is head and shoulders above the large majority of independent school viewbooks. Most are much more conventional, with predictable photography, text and design. I’m quite certain that there is little value in such conventional viewbooks. Their only purpose is to make the point that one is in fact an independent school. Since the audience isn’t really confused on that point, such a viewbook really isn’t worth the effort. If one is going to produce a viewbook, an unconventional approach such as yours is certainly justified. (The same point, btw, may hold for many independent school websites, which also fall into fairly bland sameness.)
I notice when you talked about the integration of your message across all platforms you left two out – your website and your logo. As a fan, I would love to see both of those brought into line with the messaging in the viewbook.
Good luck with your ongoing work . Thank you for such detailed, thoughtful comments.
Mark
P.S. Since your positioning is urban, how about aggregating a Twitter stream for your upper school students and maybe another one for your GenX parents? That would be out of the box. -;)
Mark thx for this piece of work, we’ve just formed a marketing department in our school of which i’m Team leader we just holding discussion of how to market the school. The school is located in Uganda East of Africa. I ‘ve found your work helping. Thx.
Thanks so much for the detailed posting and responses! I’ve just started working with The Country School in Easton, Maryland in a marketing function and found this string of conversation extremely helpful.
It’s so easy to think along the same old lines of print media, esp when you have found it to be tried and true. Thanks for the fresh insight – I am about to lead a marketing team for our schol in rural New Zealand with a declining role. We are losing our pupils to a city nearby, however what we have not embraced is the city way of marketing. Our target parents are Gen x’s who live and breath online, yet we have a limited and somewhat boring presence there.
Time for a rethink, Youtube, Facebook and better management of social media will now heavily play a vital role.
Thanks
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