Wally Young Young Communications 20 Lower Baggot Street Dublin2 14 th October 2011

Is your School on Message? ‘Good communicators think audience first’ Audience Message Means of delivery Me!

Is your school on message? “There is no magic wand in marketing” “For big organisations its about ideas and money for small organisations its about ideas, graft and no budget”

Is your school on message? Marketing is a scary subject for educators You have a responsibility to inform potential users/students; more especially if the service is unique in an area. Hard working staff can be demotivated by lack of recognition Focused marketing does work – be positive

Marketing a school means: Showing what happens to students inside the premises/grounds What parents can expect their children to gain This is relatively simple; it must also be credible

Marketing your school! What are you doing?

Audiences Who are you trying to/should you be marketing to?

Audiences Parents, potential parents Students, potential students Past pupils Community, leaders in the community Partners, potential partners Funders ‘Those who can recommend’ Media, local, national Staff!

Key Messages What are we about? How are we different/unique? What do we do well? What is our ethos our philosophy? What can we do for each pupil - the individual? What about our staff? – their attitude and expertise Describe the physical structure….grounds etc Is it a safe place? Will parents be involved and kept informed?

Message drafting and placing Where do your key messages emerge from? Are they lived within the school? Who drafts the ‘key message’ material? N.B. What, When, Where, How - is the means of delivery of ‘key messages’ to ‘key audience’?

‘PR and Marketing is a Living Thing’

A Living Thing…. Are we on message internally? Do those working with us, and attending understand what we try to do? Do we engage with parents; not lecture them, just engage and let them see and experience? Are we welcoming?, Are we transparent? Are we honest? Do we practice what we preach?

A Living Thing… Do we listen, good PR is as much about listening as it is about informing When we listen and respond we build relationships People who have a good relationship are more likely to be happy with the service/product Good relationships lead to satisfaction and positive sentiment

The Marketing Devices Website Letters / correspondence Interviews / meetings with parents, pupils Past pupil involvement Parent events Parent involvement Open days/sports days Phone manner and efficiency Newsletter / Brochure National/Local Media

Local and Specialist Media Local media do follow good news stories about local schools Specialist media, e.g. Education Correspondents, do follow new angles and developments, positive and negative Watch out for parental permission on all media interaction with pupils

When it works its seamless… “Its more about the day to day activity and effort being witnessed, experienced and communicated than the development of slick marketing material and gimmicks, that don’t add up” “For most parents its one of their biggest decisions – they will dig deeper than the website to establish the facts”

Then is goes wrong…

React in difficult situation Media are interested in negative so are the readers…it’s a story Get the facts; if you have a problem Inform internally Inform parents, trustees, board etc Partners should not be informed through the media Prepare a media response

Your rights…. Media have a right to ask questions They have no right to enter your premises, take pictures there or talk to you students They can film from outside the premises and take pictures They can talk to pupils outside the grounds You do not have to respond to queries, ignore or indicate, ‘no comment’

Your response…. Generally better to respond Draft statement which deals with the issue Show action and responsivness Don’t try to achieve too much Remember the main audiences – if you were one of them what would you want to hear You may need to do an interview, be selective and be prepared

Your response Always have a second person look over the statement It can always be issued tomorrow, it can never be taken back Don’t be pressurised, work at a pace that you can manage Remember that all difficult situations pass The aim is not to win but to deal with it as best you can - and to communicate this

Finally.. You are what you are… Do you know and value what you are? Do you communicate this to the wider audience? If you had a problem at the school, have you considered how you would respond internally and externally? What is success for your school?