Brand on the run

As marketing becomes more integrated into the mindsets of school leaders, the next few years will see an important change in the way schools see themselves. Russell Speirs assesses the impact of brand management

Marketing in schools has become more sophisticated. An ever-increasing number of marketing professionals are now working in the sector and their budgets are increasing in size. Almost all heads of independent schools recognise the importance of marketing for their school’s future.

Accompanying these changes, however, will be a change of another kind; one which will be much harder to measure but which will have an enormous impact on the way schools are managed. It will transform marketing from being a specialist function, centred around promotion, to a whole-school mindset focussed on the school’s spirit and values.

The change is called “brand”.

The most successful schools will be those that develop coherent, competitive and compelling brands, otherwise known as unique selling points (USPs).

Schools as brands
A brand is variously defined as “an emotional contract”, a “product with a personality”, “where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts” or, at its most simple, “a promise”. A strong brand is one you trust.

In commercial marketing, the development of strong brands is now seen as the most effective way of gaining competitive advantage in the long-term. Technical advances, distribution channels, choice of media, pricing... all these can be copied. But one cannot copy a personality.

The future of schools’ marketing is about brands for many of the same reasons. Schools which aim to compete primarily on measurable terms (exam results, fee levels, facilities) are vulnerable in the long-term precisely because these features are measurable and can be matched. When it becomes almost impossible to distinguish between exam results, when most schools have comparable facilities, it will be the schools which project the most coherent and attractive image that will thrive.

Brand extensions
There are a number of other reasons why schools will increasingly consider themselves as brands and manage themselves accordingly.

Parents usually short-list schools for consideration using measurable criteria, but base their final decision on intangible qualities – the “feel” of a school. Brand management is about ensuring that the “feel” is coherently expressed.

The greater the risk of making a wrong purchasing decision, the more weight is given to the reputation of the supplier or company. Choosing a school is a decision with a high degree of perceived risk. The more attractive and compelling the reputation of a school, the more likely parents are to trust its promises. A strong brand is a trustworthy promise.

Parents want to be reassured that their child’s school’s values, outlook or approach match their own. The same is true for potential donors. Brand management is about understanding and matching people’s values.

Some schools depend too much on their head for the school’s reputation or recruitment success. When heads leave or things go wrong, this can undermine both. A school with a strong brand is better able to withstand these changes.

Strength in full
Strong brands are able to charge a premium. To keep ahead of the best rival schools in the state and independent sector, many schools need to be able to charge a premium on fees.

The future of schools’ marketing is one in which schools will need to be managed as brands. School leaders will need to develop their schools with a clear idea of what lies at the essence of their image, personality, strengths, reputation, difference: their brand.

Brand and ethos
A brand is not the same as having a strong ethos. An ethos (from the Greek meaning “nature” or “disposition”) is a set of shared beliefs. A brand is more than that. It is also a shared set of perceptions.

If more schools switch from “having an ethos” to “managing their brand”, two important changes will need to take place.

The first is that schools will need to develop a much clearer understanding of perceptions: they will need to research their customers.

The second change is that, in most schools, a stronger ethos will need to be developed, cultures strengthened and a sense of purpose defined – and, in each case, it will need to differentiate these schools from their independent rivals. The challenge for senior management teams will be to see that their decisions about the development and day-to-day running of the school are integrally linked to a brand strategy.

Brand management will mean more research and more coherent organisational cultures.

What to research?
The competitive battle takes place in the mind of prospective pupils and parents. Effective research allows you to look inside their minds, take notes and act on your insights.

Yet, research currently accounts for less than 3 per cent of the marketing budgets in independent schools, while advertising accounts for over 25 per cent. There is still a huge number of schools that have undertaken no recent market research and yet produce prospectuses, organise open days and spend a relative fortune on advertising.

Brand development research should discover and interpret the components of a brand strategy. The three basic components are:

• what kind of school is yours (in the minds of your prospects)?
• which schools do you compete with and how (in the mind of their/your prospects)? and
• what kinds of people do you attract (in terms of demographics, but also in terms of their attitudes, values and beliefs and anything else that affects their view of your school)?

These are among the key questions one needs to answer before developing a brand strategy.

Managing the school as a brand
Many schools have a statement of beliefs, aims and values, sometimes in the prospectus, sometimes in the school’s development plan. But this is not the same as having a strong brand. A strong educational brand is one where everyone you meet, everything you see and everything that happens, often quite subtly, reinforces the brand identity.

In many schools, therefore, the biggest challenge for school leaders will be to develop their whole school according to the brand strategy that emerges from any research. They will need to base decisions about the curriculum, school rules, management structures, speech day and sports options with reference to a clear brand strategy. For example, many schools claim to develop the potential of their pupils. How? Why should parents believe this claim more than another independent school nearby that makes the same claim?

What if the key claim, or message, was not about developing potential, but “developing self-esteem”? What about “preparing children for a changing world” or “developing the talents of each individual”? Where is the memorable and undeniable evidence? There is a fine line between brand identity and bland identity.

In future, schools will seek to consolidate their claims so that they are undeniably effective in those areas where they claim to have strengths. They will communicate this so that everybody who comes into contact with the school will have their own examples of the school’s unique personality. A strong brand is one which is competitive, consistent and coherent.

Russell Speirs is the founder of RSAcademics, a company that specialises in marketing and management consultancy for independent schools. Russell can be contacted on 01572 821306. The website address is www.rsacademics.co.uk

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