If you're like me, you're squeezing it all in, in a relaxed way, of course. All while reflecting and planning.
One reflection that comes to mind is from a previous boss, who I considered a design genius. He kept three words on repeat: "Make it new." It was the North Star behind constant improvement and keeping it simple. It's stuck with me for two decades.
In that spirit, I'm highlighting a series that will help you plan for the year to come, to move families from being curious about your school to coming to campus for the tour, for the revisit day, for their first week of school.
The throughline
Market research tells you what will resonate.
Positioning tells you how to claim it.
Gratitude moments are the proof that it's true.
Skip one of the three, and the other two aren't working as hard as they should.
Discovery is listening to the people already inside your school to learn what's true and authentic about who you are, your proof points. Market research is listening to the market itself: prospective families, including those who inquired, those who were accepted but chose to go elsewhere, and those who are newly enrolled for the coming year. Discovery tells you what your school has. Market research tells you what your school is worth, and to whom. Discovery alone has a blind spot the size of your entire prospective market.Both matter.
Your brand pillars can be sharp, provable, and true, but if your faculty, staff, and parents can't say them in their own words, in a real conversation, the market never hears them. A brand pillar that lives only on your website or in your viewbook is a promise. A brand pillar your whole community can tell a story about is proof. Word of mouth is the number one way families learn about schools, and word-of-mouth marketing for schools is carried by people, not PDFs. Strategy without activation is a very expensive way to stand still.
Teachers didn't sign up to sell. But nobody resists being asked, "Tell me about a moment this year that made you proud." When the noticing aligns with a research-backed strategy, it becomes the most credible marketing a school can have; it's simply people telling the truth well. Positioning tells you what to claim. Market research tells you which claims win with the families you haven't met yet. Gratitude moments are the daily, specific, interesting, human proof that your claims are true.
If so, join Delvin Dinkins, Head of School, Gill St. Bernard's School, and me as we discuss how strategic planning and brand work, when developed in parallel, make each other stronger. Same interviews. Same surveys. Same data feeding both.
About StoryScape: Refreshing perspective and deep expertise in strategic marketing tailored specifically for private and independent schools. Specializing in market research, compelling messaging, distinctive positioning, word-of-mouth management, and authentic branding.
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