So why does marketing matter to schools?

Effectively schools are learning from big business and developing their own form of corporate marketing. Not only does this give them the competitive edge (schools get funding based on the number of pupils they have) but it also ensures that they remain a popular choice for pupils within their own community. Having a cohesive identity can also encourage ‘stakeholder’ buy in, in that it helps staff and parents identify with (and take responsibility for) the school’s success.

According to the Bradford School of Marketing. Successful Corporate marketing is made up of six interrelated parts. We’ll be looking at why having a hot prospectus tick so many of the boxes and how good graphic design is used to articulate the marketing message.

Six Cs of corporate marketing.

• Corporate identity (character):  what we are
• Corporate communication (communication) : what we say we are
• Stakeholder management (constituencies):  whom we seek to serve
• Corporate brand management (covenant):  what is promised and expected
• Corporate image and reputation (conceptualisations): what we are seen to be
• Corporate values (culture): what we feel we are.

Corporate identity (character) – what we are.

Is this a primary school? Emphasise this with the use of bold colours, simplistic text.

What’s unique about this school? Is it a small village primary, set in the countryside? A multi-cultural community school? Use photographs to illustrate the school’s character.

Corporate communication (communication) – what we say we are.

Highlight the benefits of this school. Show that it’s healthy, vibrant, safe, inclusive.

Stakeholder management (constituencies) – whom we seek to serve.

Describe what the pupils and teachers look like, where they are from, what they do?

Corporate brand management (covenant) -what is promised and expected.

Emphasise the school ethos, for example, ‘Success for all’.

Corporate image and reputation (conceptualisations) – what we are seen to be.

Ultimately this is up to the community to decide (and OFSTED) but the school can manage this by creating links with the local community and welcoming the wider community into the school.  Use the prospectus to reflect some of the wider community’s views of the school.  For example, ‘a popular school’, ‘rated by OFSTED as excellent for…’.

Corporate values (culture) – what we feel we are.

This involves incorporating the views of the school community and in most cases offers a chance for those involved in the school to ‘show off’ what they feel their achieving.  A word from the headteacher or an interview with a new member of staff can help the school to express its values.

So, is it worth it?

We spoke to a few parents to find out how much emphasis they placed on the school prospectus and here are some of the comments:

‘It’s good to see that the school has put the effort in’.

‘It shows they take pride in what they do’.

‘It’s helpful to have something to take away when you have lots of information to remember’.

It’s reassuring to see the pictures of the children enjoying themselves’.

With schools becoming more commercial they’re bound to take tips from big business and as we’ve seen that many are adopting some of the tried-and-tested corporate approaches. The results can be fantastic.

But what do you think of ‘designer learning’?

• Key to success or waste of resource?
• Did you compare prospectuses for your child’s schools, what did you look for?
• Are you a teacher who’s been tasked with collating a prospectus? If so get in touch! We’d be happy to advise you on this topic.

Let us know by leaving your comments below.

Althea and CoCo x

Business cards make great marketing tools because there so portable and compact, but with so little space it’s hard to know which information is most important to your costumers.

Potentially, you’ve got:

• Your Name
• Your business name
• Logo
• Images
• Your product/ service name
• Qualifications
•  Product description
• Address
• Phone number
• Email address
• Website
• Mobile Number
• Smart phone code
• Prices
• Offers…

But it’s only a tiny card. So, which information should you put on?

The most important thing is to establish the purpose of the card.

Is it a product marketing tool? In this case you need information about the product in the most prominent spot; this may not leave much room for a full address.

Or, will the card be used to ‘market’ the person? If your aim is to network, having comprehensive contact information is the most important factor. Try not to alienate any potential customers, by only having a virtual address – remember not everyone is as internet-savvy as you are.

Another reason for choosing a physical address for your card is to build credibility. It may suggest that you, or your, company is more trustworthy. This is of greater importance to particular businesses; for example, accountants and lawyers. Professional advisors will expect to have access to their clients’ confidential information and finances, so it’s reassuring if they have a physical address. Perhaps it makes them seem more traceable and accountable. However, if someone is, say, selling trainers, at a reasonably low cost, it may not matter that they have only a web-based address.

What do you think? Would you do business with someone who had no physical address on their business card?

For further ideas about information to put on a business card information visit:

http://www.businesscarddesign.com/reports.html

Legal Requirements:

The legal requirements for what information is needed on a business card is a little vague.

According to The Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008,  all business letters, order forms and websites need to clearly display a company’s registered office. There is no specific mention of business cards and whether they need to have one too.

See The Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 at:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/495/pdfs/uksi_20080495_en.pdf

It would be great to have clarification from a legal whizz about this. Please comment if you have any professional experience.

Hope you’ve found this blog helpful, we look forward to hearing your thoughts,

ADS and CoCo x.

It will cover topics of interest to bosses in the West Yorkshire region and will encourage the sharing of best practice, in topics such as:

• Networking and social media
• New product/service launches in Yorkshire
• Image and corporate ID

Please note:

ADS recognises that business owners are busy people, so each blog should take less than five minutes to read. Please read the blog entitled ‘Disclaimer’ before following our Take Five blog.

Thank you for your time so far.

Please also note that this blog is not intended for use as an instructional guide in any way. Please contact the event or group organiser before attending any of the activities mentioned and ensure that you exercise the correct amount of caution as recommended by the organiser of the event.

Today Bradford continues to be a leader in graphic design and it’s creative prowess is fuelled by a wealth of freelance designers and creative agencies. Indeed with a long heritage in design Bradford Graphic Designers create some of the best known campaigns in the UK.