Marketing Adventist Education in North American Don Tucker, DRS Marketing

Phase One: (A) Marketing Research  Objectives –To discover the strengths/selling points and weaknesses/fix-it points of Adventist Education in North America –To identify why the majority of SDA students are not enrolling in SDA schools. –To determine how best to market SDA education throughout the North American Division.  Focus Groups –Superintendents, Teachers/Principals, Parents/Laypersons, and Pastors  Telephone Surveys –SDA parents who have chosen to not utilize Adventist education

Phase One: (B) Development of a Corporate Identity and Tagline Logo Objective  To create a visual identity that uniquely brands and unifies Adventist Education in North America. Tagline Objective  It’s the “Now” and the future  States accountability and excellence  Ties in with the mission statement and document Journey to Excellence

Focus Groups Focused On Three Questions 1. What are the strengths/selling points of Adventist education? 2. What are the weaknesses/fix-it points of Adventist education? 3. How do we market for the future?

Unions Represented  Atlantic Union  Lake Union  Pacific Union  Southern Union  Southwestern Union

Number of Focus Group Responses by Union  Atlantic Union = 76  Lake Union = 198  Pacific Union = 160  Southern Union = 160  Southwestern Union = 119

Number of Responses by Focus Group  Superintendents and Associates = 154  Principals/Teachers = 156  Parents/Lay persons = 212  Pastors = 191

Top Strengths/Selling Points (3% or more of total responses) 62 SDA/Christian Beliefs 61 Safe Caring Environment 27 Quality Academics 24 Teacher/Student Ratio 10 Leadership/Administration 9 Cost versus Value 7 Extra/Co-Curricular Activities 6 Instruction 6 Other 5 Student Discipline 5 Promotion 4 Ethnic Diversity 3 Parent Support/Loyalty 2 Communication 2 Enrollment 2 Identity/Image 2 Physical Plant 2 Special Education 2 Technology 1 Customer Service 1Pastor Support/Loyalty _________________________ 243Total

90 Leadership/Administration 37 Cost versus Value 33 Quality Academics 31 SDA/Christian Beliefs 23 Extra/Co-Curricular Activities 22 Identity/Image 22 Special Education 19 Safe/Caring Environment 19 Promotion 18 Teacher/Student Ratio 17 Physical Plant 14 Parent Support/Loyalty 14 Pastor Support/Loyalty 13 Other 13 Teachers Wages 11 Enrollment 10 Customer Service 10 Instruction 10 Technology 9 Home School 8 Ethnic Diversity 7 Student Discipline 6 Transportation 5 Communication 3Constituents ______________________ 464Total Top Weaknesses/Fix-It Points (3% or more of total responses)

Top Strengths vs Weaknesses Atlantic Union (76 total responses) Strengths Weaknesses

Top Strengths vs Weaknesses Lake Union (198 total responses) Strengths Weaknesses

Top Strengths vs Weaknesses Pacific Union (160 total responses) Strengths Weaknesses

Top Strengths vs Weaknesses Southern Union (160 total responses) Strengths Weaknesses

Top Strengths vs Weaknesses Southwestern Union (160 total responses) Strengths Weaknesses

Top Strengths vs Weaknesses Superintendents (154 total responses) Strengths Weaknesses

Top Strengths vs Weaknesses Principals/Teachers (156 total responses) Strengths Weaknesses

Top Strengths vs Weaknesses Parents/Laypersons (212 total responses) Strengths Weaknesses

Top Strengths vs Weaknesses Pastors (186 total responses) Strengths Weaknesses

Focus Groups Selected Marketing Activities  Launch a nationwide marketing campaign  Clarify the mission and vision of SDA education  Focus on education as a major player of evangelism  Go back to the core values of SDA education  Testimonials/success stories from students, parents, teachers, alumni, etc. in SDA journals/publications, brochures, website, and newsletters  Involvement by students in local church services, community activities, and/or civic events  Student concerts/performances/presentations at churches and schools  Introduce student recruitment incentives (i.e. cash, discounts, meals)

Focus Groups Selected Marketing Tools  Logo and tagline  Educational web site with links to all schools  Professional education promotional video  Print material designed/developed to be adapted for use by each school (i.e. brochures, posters, direct mail pieces, bulletin inserts, ads, newsletters, etc.

Where do we go from here? 1. Continue with Phase One -- Market Research –Telephone Surveys 2. Start working on re-defining the Product –Vision and Mission Statement (qualitative and quantitative ) –Begin developing a comprehensive school improvement program that deals with overcoming the top weaknesses 3. Begin Phase Two – Develop a comprehensive marketing plan

Phase Two: Marketing Plan  Objective: To reach the internal and external target audiences by developing a family of visual promotion, advertising, and communication tools that: –Outlines the marketing and recruiting strategies/tools to best communicate the vision/mission, and promote Adventist education to SDA constituents in North America –Generates greater awareness of SDA education among new Adventist’s and non believers –Establishes continuity within the North American Division educational system –Provides tools to be used by all schools –Sets SDA education apart from the competition

Internal Target Groups  Executive Officers (Division/Union/Conference offices)  All Education office staff (Division, Union & Local Conferences)  Superintendents  Education Advisory  Principals  Teachers  Pilot Teachers  K-12 Board of Education  College Professors  Trust Services Directors

Internal Marketing Objective All stakeholders to understand, communicate and portray the corporate vision/mission, philosophy, values and strategic direction.

Recommendation: Internal Marketing Packet  Brochure  Video/CD/DVD  PowerPoint Presentation  Handbook

External Marketing Audience  Students (elementary and secondary)  SDA Parents  School Board members  University and college students (education majors)  Alumni  Churches  Pastors  Donors

Marketing Tools to Reach External Target Audience  Web site  Direct mail pieces  Brochures  Bulletin inserts  Posters  Ads  Videos/DVD ’ s/CD ’ s  Newsletters  Exhibit displays and specialty items

Recommended Order Of Development/Production 1. Graphic Package Business cards StationaryEnvelopes

Recommended Order Of Development/Production Cont. 2. Brochure General information with logo and tagline, photos of students, educators, facilities, and copy that provides testimonies, highlights the mission/vision, the strengths/selling points, and contact information Video/CD/DVD (Inspirational/promotional/testimonial) To be used by pastors, superintendents, teachers, and others to incorporate into a sermon on Christian education to incorporate into a sermon on Christian education To be used by school recruiters for promotion To be used by school recruiters for promotion To be used by all stakeholders to promote Adventist education To be used by all stakeholders to promote Adventist education To include school catalog and other information

Recommended Order Of Development/Production Cont. 3. Web site Bulletin Inserts PostersAds Direct Mail Pieces Exhibit Booth with Specialty items Newsletter

Recommended Order Of Development/Production Cont. 4.Specific marketing tools as requested by each union/conference

Web Site  Educational  Informational  Promotional  Ties in with the campaign theme

Basic Web Site Content  Home Page  Contact  About Us, History, Mission  Staff, Board, Administration  Links and External Resources –linked to all Conferences and SDA school sites

Complex Website Content  Calendar, Schedule, Events  News, Press Releases, Articles  Chat, Forum, Discussion Groups, Message Board  Full site search  Site map  Polls, Survey  Directory  Photo Gallery  Resource Library  User Database, Mailing List  Audio, Video  Newsletter Dynamic content, some pages require ongoing technical and content management

Bulletin Inserts  Family Of Three  Ties in with established campaign look  To be inserted into all church bulletins throughout North America

Posters (with reply cards)  Family Of Three  Ties in with established campaign look  Posted in all Churches throughout North America  Reply cards with local school mailing address and contact information

Publication Ads  Family of three targeted to reach all stakeholders throughout the Division  Ties in with established campaign look  Placed in Adventist publications (Adventist Review, Insight, Union papers, Conference newsletters, etc.)

Direct Mail Pieces/Post Cards  Family Of Three  Ties in with established campaign look  Mailed to SDA households with pre-school and school aged children

Exhibit Booth  Ties in with campaign theme  Used to exhibit at conferences, conventions, camp meetings  Specialty items to be used as give-aways during conventions/conferences

Newsletter  Design ties in with established look  Highlights events, special programs, success stories, pilot programs, etc.  Mailed to all parents on a quarterly basis

Image Branding Marketing Tools

Promotional Marketing Tools