smj podcast

The way that a school Head responds to issues can have a significant impact on the school’s reputation, trust and most importantly, the wellbeing of their students and staff. This episode, Brad and Scully discuss how the key lies not just in appropriately reacting to issues, but proactively managing situations with a strategic approach to communication. We share our framework which details on how to assess the impact, develop a clear response plan and how to decide what to say, when to say it and to whom.

In the second part of this four-part series with Maria Kadison, President and CEO of EdwardsCo, we discuss some of the things successful schools are doing to uncover valuable data and how to identify the sources of this data. We analyse the different groups relevant to schools and dive into how each demographic can be useful in gaining information to improve the enrolments process and retention. Maria then gives us seven questions that schools can ask prospective families in order to gain a clearer picture about their school. 

Deepfakes are where Artificial Intelligence is used to create or alter video and audio recordings with remarkable realism. In this episode, Brad and Scully discuss the rise of deepfakes and how, for schools, the advent of deepfake technology brings a host of communication, reputation and safety concerns with a range of opportunities for misuse. We present a multifaceted approach for schools to mitigate the risks associated with deepfakes, including key actions for school Heads to prepare for deepfake challenges.

This episode, Brad is joined by Maria Kadison, President and CEO of EdwardsCo, a branding, marketing, strategy and design agency for independent schools across the United States. In the first episode of a special four-part series, they discuss how school marketers can deeply understand their school’s mission and how to turn that into the school’s brand. They explore how creating a meaningful brand creates trust for the community and prospective parents and eventually leads to school growth.

Looking into the future, Brad and Scully discuss the ‘Martec Revolution’ and the implications and challenges that schools will face adapting to rapid technological changes. They provide an action plan for school Heads to implement to ensure their schools are embracing change, aligning technology with their overall strategies and adapting to the dynamic marketing environment. To conclude, they discuss the role of the school Head in all of this and how to balance expectations and practices within your team.

This episode we talk to multi-award-winning speaker, change strategist and bestselling author of ten books, Michael McQueen. Michael discusses how to master the art of changing people’s minds and persuading stubborn people, and how to apply this in the context of a school Head. We investigate a number of education industry examples, including how faith-based schools can effectively target a wider audience, strategies Michael finds particularly effective for schools, and the common mistakes people make when trying to persuade others.

This episode we talk to Anthony McCausland from Feesable, who has been analysing nearly 31,000 fee estimates from July 2022 to June 2023. Anthony shares his insights on all things school fees, from how schools are fine-tuning levies and early payment discounts to meet their financial objectives, to what strategies schools can use to ensure they are meeting market demand, and importantly, how school Heads can communicate fee changes effectively to maintain trust and retention.

As Heads start to think strategically about their 2024 marketing and communication plans, we take this opportunity to share what we see as some of the key pitfalls and challenges likely to affect school Heads in the next 12 months. We have an in depth discussion on how a lack of differentiation, ineffective communication, neglect of storytelling and oversight across the digital landscape are some of the major challenges facing your School in 2024.

Today we chat with Bart Caylor, President of Caylor Solutions, about the incredibly rapid rise of AI, what it means and some of the incredible things it allows us to do. Fresh off recently hosting the HigherEd Marketing AI Summit, Bart shares his knowledge with us on how to leverage AI in school marketing, emerging AI trends and everything Heads need to know to navigate this fast-evolving landscape.

This episode we are joined by Stuart Meade. Reflecting on his career – which included 21 years as a school Head at Hale School, Perth and Mathew Flinders Anglican College, Sunshine Coast – we discuss how marketing and communications in schools has evolved over the years. He shares priceless advice for school Heads, as well as what he wishes he had known when he started his career.