When we think of ‘content’ in the modern marketing and communications environment, many minds will immediately go to digital, often bite-sized, content – websites and blogs, social media, video, emails, etc. These are designed to quickly grab an audience’s attention and drive them to action. But in Independent schools, there is still a significant place for long-form publications, especially a prospectus or yearbook. School magazines, a long-form publication featuring bite-sized content, bridges the gap between these categories.
There are two types of school magazines: one created by students, usually aimed at their peers, and the other directed at the wider community. The former is often an internal, educational opportunity to build skills and school spirit among the student body. The latter, however, can be an effective marketing tool to offer an in-depth understanding of your school offerings and benefits, promote the school brand and share engaging stories to generate positive word of mouth.
Should you have a school magazine?
When deciding whether to start up a school magazine or retain an existing one, the biggest challenges are usually obvious: they take time and resources. It takes many people to create a high-quality magazine, including article contributors, editors, photographers and graphic designers. There is also the question of budget, especially if you intend to have it professionally printed. Digital only distribution may be virtually free but, according to a studies, print delivers far greater reader comprehension and brand recall than digital alone (see SMJ: Term 2, 2023, Print or digital publications) and maintains a longevity beyond the original distribution.
However, if you have the support and budget available, the benefits of having a high-quality, purposeful magazine can significantly outweigh these difficulties and shift the return-on-investment conversation. Magazines provide readers an immersive experience of your school. They are your chance to demonstrate real-life examples of your educational philosophy and offerings in action, while celebrating individual and group achievements.
In addition, school magazines can be important historical records of school events and achievements, fostering school pride among your community. They have sentimental value, in a way that is similar to a yearbook, to connect people with specific moments in time. However, unlike a yearbook which is targeted to the students and families of that particular cohort, a school magazine often has a far wider audience reach.
“For Northholm,” says Principal of Northholm Grammar School, Christopher Bradbury “The Arcadian is an important publication in celebrating and recognising the many achievements of our students at the conclusion of each semester. It’s a valuable resource in communicating to our broad community the philosophical approach of a Northholm Education and our ability to execute on our strategic intent in building a vibrant student experience.”
School magazines as a brand tool
Before undertaking a school magazine, it’s essential to define the purpose and audience for your magazine. Are you writing for current families, trying to engage alumni or to reach the greater public? Like blogs, news articles and video content, magazines can be an effective tool to promote your school’s brand and key differentiators both internally and externally.
Defining your audience first can assist in setting the tone and informing any ‘rules’ for your magazine content. You can’t be everything to everyone, and there can be subtle differences to how you frame an article written primarily for parents, alumni or the wider community. Certainly, if you are planning on sharing your publication across multiple platforms, including with prospective parents, you want to ensure that you are weaving your key messages and differentiators through the content, as well as featuring the great experiences and opportunities you school offers.
Visually, the old adage remains true: a picture is worth a thousand words. Using high-quality photos alongside the articles can bring to life your educational and co-curricular activities in a raw and authentic way. When combined with purposeful graphic designs and layouts, in a way that feels organic and aesthetically pleasing, the impact and overall positive appeal of reading the magazine will contribute to a reader’s general feeling of positivity about your school.
Suggested pull quote: You want to ensure that you are weaving your key messages and differentiators through the content, as well as featuring the great experiences and opportunities you school offers.
The Head’s role in school magazines
As with any large-scale project, assigning ownership to run your project to one or only a few people will streamline the process and help build consistency across editions. But, even more importantly, Heads need to communicate the authority of the project manager/s clearly to all those involved in the production. When this person is empowered by the Head, contributors, designers and editors are more likely to respect the deadlines and processes.
Allowing the project managers to set timelines, language and photography guidelines, tone and editorial control will help reduce conflict, especially when contributors find it difficult to prioritise writing an article over other tasks essential to their job. This is where the Head can lead by example, using your article or welcome to rally stakeholders around a shared purpose and direction, helping them appreciate the value of contributing to the magazine. Most teachers are longing to shout their students’ achievements from the rooftop – remind them that this is their chance to do that. And if it can be supplied according to the deadline, word count and pre-defined procedure, then even better!
insight applied
- Consider the real benefits and implications of your team producing a school magazine.
- Define the purpose and audience for the magazine and let this guide the content direction.
- Assign ownership to a person and empower their authority.
