Communication Tools for the Overseas Audience Michael Lloyd-Stern Digital Marketing Solutions for Schools

Communication Tools – the Options School Communication Tools Letters Telephone & Voice Broadcasts NewslettersSchool Magazine Prospectus Website

Today a complete Digital Communication Strategy is the Best Choice For the End Audience They expect it They are used to it They want it Saves paper “muddle” For the School Increased productivity of school staff Cheaper Immediate delivery More environmentally friendly Highly measurable

The Website as the Central Hub Website Video Clips Extranets/ Portals Blogs Facebook Twitter ENewsletters Digital Prospectus

Ensuring Your Website Appeals to the Overseas Audience For international audience video is the most effective sales tool Some e commerce sites have found that video on their home page increases their conversion rates by 80% Compelling video clips convey emotion in a way that plain text and photographs on your website can never match. They add depth, familiarity and trust to the marketing of your school. DVD’s are the past. Bite sized video clips on your website are best.

Feed Everything Back to Website E Newsletter Example Everyone checks their inbox every day Drive audience back to website for info Allows you to send out colourful s with photos and video clips Very cost effective Immediate Highly measurable

The Digital Prospectus & the Website Website may have upwards of 100 pages. No control over order or which pages the audience views. Takes audience by the hand and leads them through page by page everything you want them to know about your school and why prospective parents should choose you, over the school down the road. An Interactive Digital Prospectus is NOT a PDF version of your paper Prospectus or a page turning version of your printed Prospectus "Once I had seen the mlsMEDIA interactive digital Prospectus at work, I needed no convincing that this was the way forward for those schools who wanted to communicate with their parents and alumni/ae in a modern and immediate way. It should be high on the "to do" list of any school as it is undoubtedly the way forward.“ Peter Anwyl, President of Admis

The Printed Prospectus vs the Digital Prospectus Printed Prospectus Very expensive to print…. And reprint Very expensive to post anywhere, especially overseas Gives wrong environmental message Cumbersome to keep up to date Digital Prospectus Video, audio & animation to really bring your school to life in a way that words and photographs never can Highly measurable Zero distribution costs to anywhere in the world Environmentally friendly

Peter Anwyl, President of the Association of Marketing and Development in Independent Schools, representing over 400 members throughout the UK, has no doubts about the significance of this exciting new breakthrough: “Once I had seen the inter-active digital Prospectus at work, I needed no convincing that this was the way forward for those schools who wanted to communicate with their parents and alumni/ae in a modern and immediate way. It should be high on the ‘to do’ list of any school. As with all the material produced by mlsMEDIA, schools are guaranteed high quality production values, an unerring sensitivity to the needs of each individual school, with first class technical service and back up. This is undoubtedly the way forward.”

The new Digital Interactive Prospectus “We have moved away from the expensive and environmentally unsound printed prospectus to the new digital interactive Prospectus from mlsMEDIA. We have been delighted with the outcome and overwhelmed with the positive response it is already getting. The savings on print and postage will continue to add benefit to one of the best marketing decisions I have made.” Nick Irvine, Director of Marketing, Bloxham School ”We recently decided to change from the printed version of our Sixth Form Prospectus to a new interactive E-magazine created by mlsMEDIA. They had really innovative ideas for the design and composition, and we are delighted with the final result. This is very much in line with our sustainability policies at Kingswood in helping to reduce the amount of paper we use as well as saving on postage and packaging. It also provides prospective families with a much more dynamic way of considering a school when making decisions about which school to choose. “ Angela Dudley-Warde, Director of Development & Marketing, Kingswood School.

Q & A Michael Lloyd-Stern