Rebranding for schools

An article published smtmagazine.co.uk echoes our own sentiment and advice when it comes to deciding when is a good time to rebrand your school.

With the level of competition out there and given the choice that parents now have, the challenge for many schools is trying to attract enough students to fill their spaces. A review of the current marketing strategy may suggest that a rebrand is a necessity now rather than an exercise undertaken some time in the distant future.

Look candidly at your current offering and work to understand what works and what doesn’t. Does the entire brand need an overhaul in order to bring in more students or are a few relatively small changes needed with a smaller degree of effort?

There are obviously benefits to totally rebranding namely:

• A successful rebrand will entice prospective parents and students
• There is potential to attract more overseas students
• Higher achieving students could affect school rankings in league tables.

The article goes on to highlight the four basic rules if a rebranding exercise is deemed worthwhile:

Decide on a student profile and stick to it

This will ensure that you get the type of student you want and attract those that best fit with your school ethos.

Don’t underestimate the power of persuasion

Having powerful and emotive messaging is more likely to garner a positive reaction than a cold/distant voice.

Involve the decision-makers

If you don’t, the chances are the project will fail. Your key influencers have to be involved in the change and have the means to communicate this on every level.

Be clear and precise

If your message is garbled then you won’t be convincing. Your school has to be the number one choice with a website that endorses everything that you’re trying to communicate.

For many years now, we have been helping schools achieve what they want, online. A modern school website design serves as a digital prospectus for parents whilst our parent portal offers a digital communication platform helping both staff and parents manage the intricacies of school life. If you would like to know more about rebranding your school, please get in touch and talk to either Adrian Brown or Sarah Lyons, our education experts.