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Creating The Marketing Function In A School. Nadir Farrell Communications Manager St Paul’s Catholic School. Creating the marketing function in a school. Communications audit – looked at existing channels and materials Competitor research
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Creating The Marketing Function In A School Nadir Farrell Communications Manager St Paul’s Catholic School
Creating the marketing function in a school • Communications audit – looked at existing channels and materials • Competitor research • Formal/informal discussions with school leadership, teachers, support staff and governors • Online research with parents
Creating the marketing function in a school Discussions highlighted: • Strengths included community, care, inclusivity, broad and balanced curriculum, support, pastoral care, opportunities • Weakness included poor communication, dated image, reactive, insular
Creating the marketing function in a school Research with parents showed: • 27% visit website regularly, 66% regularly but 63% only sometimes find what they’re looking for • 72% used Facebook • 40% would definitely follow us on social media • 37% would maybe follow us on social media • Liked newsletter but wanted more varied content
Creating the marketing function in a school Our priorities: • Brand refresh • Strengthen online presence • Improve quality of marketing materials • Introduce social media • Proactive media relations
Brand refresh • Invited three companies to pitch • Reviewed competitors, visited school, talked to staff, students, governors • Consulted with students, staff and parents • Process took from June - December 2015 • Brand rollout from February 2016 • Produced brand guidelines (and quick guide)
Website revamp • Tender process – June/July 2015 • Wireframing – September/October 2015 • Design/build – November 2015 – January 2016 • Website population – February/March 2016 • New website went live April 2016
Improve quality of marketing materials • Invested in professional design/photography • Created PowerPoint templates • Revamped prospectuses • Annual reports • Leaflets • Updated internal publications • New signage
We’re proactive about sharing our good news • Regularly featured in local press • BBC have filmed our last two GCSE results days • Our website and social media are key to delivering good news
Some observations • There is an appetite to change/do things better • Research, strategy, priorities • Schools have plenty of good news • The workload can be overwhelming • The communications role is not clearly defined • It can be a lonely role • The job is rewarding and frustrating in equal measure • Implications for future recruitment?