Increasing numbers of schools are using digital marketing to spread the word to prospects, whether it’s to target highly specific audiences with paid advertising or provide useful and engaging articles via content marketing. However, you will see brilliant results if you use a combination of digital and traditional marketing as part of a well-rounded campaign.
Digithrive’s successful print magazine titles, Absolutely London, Absolutely Weddings, Absolutely Mama and Absolutely Education are read by highly engaged audiences. To find out more about the benefits of print advertising, check out this post.
Creating a great print advert is key to ensure the effectiveness of your campaign.
Your school’s advert should be:
Eyecatching – A bold and beautiful image is likely to catch someone’s attention as they turn the page. Hire a professional photographer to take images, whether it’s a proper photoshoot in a studio or candid photographs of children playing sports or in class. First impressions are everything, so make them count.
Readable – Remember, your audience will be a lot more relaxed when they are reading a magazine than, for example, looking at a bus stop ad or looking at their phone when on the go. Take advantage of this and include some text explaining the vital information you want to get across in your ad. However, it’s important that the advert is readable. Too much text will make everything too busy and be off-putting.
Colourful – A print advert is a brilliant way to showcase what your school has to offer. Use the school’s signature colours on your print advert to keep it in line with your school’s branding and ethos. More traditional schools may want to stick to more conservative colours, whereas a more specialist or creative school may take more of a risk. This communicates with readers what your school is all about without them having to read a single word.
Easy to understand – Pick one clear message and purpose of your print advertising campaign and stick to it. It could be to showcase a new building, share your excellent exam results or simply raise awareness about your school. Make sure that every element of your advert works towards this purpose. For example, if your goal is to let parents know you have just opened a sixth form, don’t have an image of a Prep student on the advert. Keep it relevant and show sixth-form students instead. Make sure the text explains that your new sixth form centre is now open, and how people can get more information.
If you want to raise brand awareness, build trust, and communicate with a receptive audience through print advertising but aren’t sure what an effective advert looks like, here are five examples of outstanding school adverts.
5 Examples of Excellent School Print Adverts
Repton School
Repton is a co-educational independent day school in Derbyshire. repton.org.uk
Mayfield School
Mayfield is an independent day and boarding school for girls in East Sussex. mayfieldgirls.org
Southbank International School
Southbank is an International Baccalaureate school catering for children from 3-19 years old. southbank.org
Emanuel School
Emanuel is an independent, co-educational day school in southwest London. emanuel.org.uk
Hurstpierpoint College
Hurst College is a coeducational day and boarding school in West Sussex. hppc.co.uk
All of these adverts are simple yet effective. They are bold and visually appealing while containing all the relevant information parents and students may need, including web addresses, open day information, and the school logo. Follow these tips and your print advert will look incredible and garner the results you need.
If you would like more professional tips on marketing your schools do get in touch with the Digithrive For School’s team who are always happy to help. contact us here