SMC: School Marketing and Communications

imageseven
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Marketing
  • Semimonthly

Insights into the world of school marketing and communications, presented by Charlie Maughan, Rita Kilroy and the imageseven team. The education industry is an increasingly competitive one - a school is a business, and a marketing strategy can no longer be an afterthought.

  1. 6d ago

    256: What we see in schools that convert with confidence – 4/5

    The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Turning confidence into enrolment momentum – What we see When enrolment pressure rises, the first response is often to generate more enquiries. But what if demand is not the real problem? In the fourth episode of 'Turning confidence into enrolment momentum', Charlie and imageseven Advancement Specialist Pauline Shuttleworth explore what the headline figures can hide. They explore where families slow between enrolment and commencement, why acceptance is not the finish line and what aligned schools do differently. This is a practical conversation about seeing the whole journey more clearly and focusing effort where it can make the greatest difference. Episode Links: Engaging the next generation of school parents – McCrindle  Drivers of School Choice 2022 – Independent Schools Victoria  Independent Schools Snapshot 2026 – Independent Schools Australia  School Choice: A Research Report 2021 – Independent Schools Australia  What Parents Want: Key Findings 2025 – Independent Schools Queensland SMJ 243: Enrolment pressure and the new parent priorities Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate.

    256: What we see in schools that convert with confidence – 4/5

  2. Oct 15

    255: The mechanics of enrolment momentum – 3/5

    The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Turning confidence into enrolment momentum – The Insight After discussing where enrolment momentum quietly stalls, the third episode of 'Turning confidence into enrolment momentum' explores how schools can deliberately create the conditions that make each next step for their prospective families easier to take. For school marketers, it offers a way to look beyond generating activity and examine how communications, enrolments and the wider school experience work together to sustain confidence throughout the whole journey. Episode Links: Engaging the next generation of school parents – McCrindle  Drivers of School Choice 2022 – Independent Schools Victoria  Independent Schools Snapshot 2026 – Independent Schools Australia  School Choice: A Research Report 2021 – Independent Schools Australia  What Parents Want: Key Findings 2025 – Independent Schools Queensland Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate.

    255: The mechanics of enrolment momentum – 3/5

  3. Oct 1

    254: Where enrolment momentum quietly stalls – 2/5

    The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Turning confidence into enrolment momentum – The Reality Your school tour may have been executed to perfection. Your prospective families may have driven home full of confidence that they've found "the one". What happens next is crucial. In the second episode of 'Turning confidence into enrolment momentum', Charlie explores how uncertainty builds through unclear next steps, disconnected handovers and weak follow-up, even when internal processes appear to be working. For school marketers, the challenge is recognising these small points of friction before they make the enrolment journey harder for families to continue. Episode Links: Engaging the next generation of school parents – McCrindle  Drivers of School Choice 2022 – Independent Schools Victoria  Independent Schools Snapshot 2026 – Independent Schools Australia  School Choice: A Research Report 2021 – Independent Schools Australia  What Parents Want: Key Findings 2025 – Independent Schools Queensland Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate.

    254: Where enrolment momentum quietly stalls – 2/5

  4. Sep 24

    253: What actually moves enrolments forward – 1/5

    The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Turning confidence into enrolment momentum – Orientation More enquiries are not always the answer to an enrolment problem. In the first episode of 'Turning confidence into enrolment momentum', Charlie explores why interest and confidence do not automatically lead to commitment. He discusses the difference between generating demand and creating momentum, and why enrolment performance needs to be an institutional responsibility. For school marketers, the challenge is seeing where families hesitate and making the next step clear, timely and worth taking. Episode Links: Engaging the next generation of school parents – McCrindle Drivers of School Choice 2022 – Independent Schools Victoria Independent Schools Snapshot 2026 – Independent Schools Australia School Choice: A Research Report 2021 – Independent Schools Australia What Parents Want: Key Findings 2025 – Independent Schools Queensland Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate.

    253: What actually moves enrolments forward – 1/5

  5. Sep 3

    252: Designing a brand parents can move through effortlessly – 5/5

    The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Creating clarity parents can see and navigate – Applied In the final episode of 'Creating clarity parents can see and navigate', Charlie turns the series into a practical framework for school marketers. He explores why clarity starts with what parents need to understand, not what a school wants to show. Rather than relying on any single asset to do the work, the episode looks at how a connected brand experience can reduce effort, strengthen understanding and make the next step feel clearer. In the next lecture, Charlie explores how to build on that clarity by turning parent confidence into enrolment momentum. Episode Links: Information Scent – Nielsen Norman Group Design Systems vs Style Guides – Nielsen Norman Group Design System 101 – Nielsen Norman Group Top Information Architecture Mistakes – Nielsen Norman Group Minimize Cognitive Load to Maximize Usability – Nielsen Norman Group Got more questions or topics you would like to hear about for Charlie and the team? You can reach us via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate.

    252: Designing a brand parents can move through effortlessly – 5/5

  6. Aug 20

    251: When a school's brand just makes sense – 4/5

    The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Creating clarity parents can see and navigate – What we see A school brand can look impressive and still leave parents uncertain. In this episode of the Insight Series, Charlie is joined by imageseven Account Director Shelley Garcia-Webb to explore the difference between a brand that looks polished and one that genuinely helps parents understand a school. Shelley explains how clarity starts when a school's story, experience and digital presence reinforce each other, rather than asking parents to join the dots. When that alignment holds, the brand feels easier for families to recognise, trust and choose. Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate.

    251: When a school's brand just makes sense – 4/5

  7. Aug 6

    250: Clarity is a system parents experience, not a message they hear – 3/5

    The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Creating clarity parents can see and navigate – The Insight Clarity of message depends less on one strong asset, than on the system connecting every interaction. Charlie explores why a school can follow its style guide perfectly, yet still feel difficult for parents to understand. Exploring the differences between style guides and design systems, he looks at the layers beneath execution, from strategy and message architecture to visual identity and experience design. When those layers connect, parents are less likely to notice the system itself. They simply feel that the school makes sense from every interaction. Episode Links: Design Systems vs Style Guides – Nielsen Norman Group Design Systems 101 – Nielsen Norman Group Information Scent – Nielsen Norman Group Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate.

    250: Clarity is a system parents experience, not a message they hear – 3/5

  8. Jul 23

    249: Where brand and website inconsistency erodes trust – 2/5

    The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Creating clarity parents can see and navigate – The Reality Small disconnects in brand experience can do more damage than a school realises. In episode two of 'Creating clarity parents can see and navigate', Charlie discusses how outdated documents, broken links, mixed messages and confusing website journeys make parents work harder to understand a school. That extra effort can quietly shift confidence into doubt. He explores how a more coherent visible experience can help each touchpoint reinforce the same promise, rather than leaving parents to reconcile or bridge the gaps.   Episode Links: Information Scent – Nielsen Norman Group Minimize Cognitive Load to Maximise Usability – Nielsen Norman Group 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design – Nielsen Norman Group Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate

    249: Where brand and website inconsistency erodes trust – 2/5
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Insights into the world of school marketing and communications, presented by Charlie Maughan, Rita Kilroy and the imageseven team. The education industry is an increasingly competitive one - a school is a business, and a marketing strategy can no longer be an afterthought.

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