School District Marketing

School District Marketing

Joe Donovan

School District Marketing

My goals:

1) Provide you with some tools and strategies you can implement immediately.

2) Provide some new perspective that will help you add marketing elements to your future communications.

School District Marketing

Please direct questions to…

Email: joe.donovan@donovan-group.com

Text: 414-418-0512

School District Marketing

I believe there are generally three types of school district

communications efforts:

School District Marketing

I believe there are generally three types of school district

communications efforts:

1) General engagement

School District Marketing

I believe there are generally three types of school district

communications efforts:

1) General engagement

2) Public relations

School District Marketing

I believe there are generally three types of school district

communications efforts:

1) General engagement

2) Public relations

3) Marketing

School District Marketing

Public relations is strategic, often for goodwill. It generally relies on free

media.

Marketing is done for the purpose of compelling someone to do

something specific. It often includes paid advertising.

School District Marketing

I am increasingly of the belief that school districts should have two,

three or in some cases four communications-related plans that

work together.

School District Marketing

Marketing has one very specific purpose: to gain market share.

Marketing is targeted. It is focused. It is direct.

School District Marketing

Marketing is not for every district.

Don’t do marketing half-way.

School District Marketing

The Anytown School District Losing resident students to private

schools and open enrollment. Has a lot of developable land Homes in the community are

affordable and popular with young families.

Has a new charter school

School District Marketing

School district marketing is as simple as answering six

questions.

School District Marketing

Question 1

What are your specific goals?

School District Marketing

Question 2

Who are your targeted stakeholders?

School District Marketing

Question 3

What is your value proposition?

School District Marketing

Question 4

What tools will you use to deliver your value proposition to your targeted

stakeholders?

School District Marketing

Question 5

How will you best use the academic calendar to your advantage?

School District Marketing

Question 6

How will you measure your success and improve your return on

investment?

School District Marketing

Goals

Be very specific about why you are undertaking this effort.

Determine and find agreement on what success looks like.

School District Marketing

Goals

With a great deal of specificity, what do you want to accomplish with you

marketing?

Be aggressive in your goal setting.

School District Marketing

Stakeholders

Who are your prospects? Be specific.

School District Marketing

Stakeholders

My Mom and Dad are not your prospects. Do not market to them!

School District Marketing

Stakeholders

Target your stakeholders like a laser. Know who they are, how they inform themselves, and what is important to

them.

School District Marketing

Stakeholders

Take some time to find out more about your very specific marketing

audience.

What characteristics differentiate them from other groups.

School District Marketing

Messages

After determining you key audiences, think about what you would say to

individuals in that audience group if you could sit down with each one for

coffee.

What would make them nod in agreement?

School District Marketing

Messages

Determine the four or five critical messages that you would like to

communicate to your key audience.

School District Marketing

Tools

Select communications tools for delivering your messages to your

stakeholders.

School District Marketing

Tools

What is the most effective school district marketing tool?

The school tour.

Make your school tours special.

School District Marketing

Tools

Facebook ads and other “pay-per-click” type ads can be very effective

and efficient.

School District Marketing

Tools

I find that direct mail and individual contacts with key stakeholders, is

the most effective.

There is a great deal of “overspray” with television and radio.

School District Marketing

Timing

Try to determine when “buying decisions” are taking place and time

your marketing accordingly.

School District Marketing

Timing

When do your research, make sure to ask those who open enroll out,

“when did you make your decision to leave?”

School District Marketing

Metrics

Do not begin a marketing campaign without first determining how you will

measure its success.

Be specific.

School District Marketing

Metrics

Break your marketing measuring efforts into two categories: output measures and input measures.

School District Marketing

Metrics

The most important metric is your output measure: market share.

For example, the percentage of all school-aged children that attend district schools.

School District Marketing

Metrics

Input measures assess the effectiveness of the various

marketing efforts. The combination of these should lead to increased

market share.

School District Marketing

Metrics

Determine a number of critical input metrics that align with your output

measure, market share.

School District Marketing

Other considerations

Parents increasingly think of themselves as consumers with

choices.

Are you and your staff thinking of them as customers?

School District Marketing

Do not become an educational commodity.

School District Marketing

Effective marketing relies on your ability to explain why your district is

truly different.

Do not be afraid to tell your brand story.

School District Marketing

Joe Donovan