MARKETING & COMMUNICATION
A-9 The North American Boarding Initiative: Program & Campaign Progress Update
December 6 • 10:30am – 11:30am
Join the NABI team for an update on the Initiative featuring:
• Topline results from the early fall marketing campaign
• An early look at the high-pay/full-pay count for the 2019-2020 school year
• Best performing creative and media channels
• Insights into what we’ve learned from our parent and student target audiences
during our time ‘in market’
• Ample time for questions
A-10 Passing the “BS Test” or the Secret to Making Videos That Don’t Make Kids Cringe
December 6 • 10:30am – 11:30am
Marketing & Communications
NABI research reveals kids are the key drivers in boarding school consideration. So, marketers today must use messages and channels targeted to kid consumers, a sophisticated and skeptical bunch. How can adults create videos that catch eyes and win hearts with an audience that has grown up consuming and producing their own great content? The secret lies in the students and bold, new, boundary-pushing approaches.
Meg Colafella, Director of Communications & Marketing, Western Reserve Academy, OH
Alesi Enriquez, Partner, The Film Guys, The Netherlands
Robert Bahou, Partner, The Film Guys, The Netherlands
Adriana Hauser, Director of Strategic Communications, The Masters School, NY
A-12 Digital Marketing for Schools: Leveraging Current Trends & Future Tech for Better Engagement
December 6 • 10:30am – 11:30am
Marketing & Communications
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere, from how you watch Netflix, talk to Siri, or adjust your thermostat, but have you thought about how it could benefit enrollment and fundraising at your school? Join this session for a look into current trends and the future of AI for school marketing, with insight into how these price-effective tools can boost your productivity and engagement. We will explore using AI for effective messaging, better SEO and social media marketing results.You’ll discover tools that can help you share your school’s value better than ever before. You’ll leave with new ideas to help you gain an edge on your competition this year!
Rob DiMartino, Co-Founder, Finalsite
C-6 Crisis 2.0: From Voiceless to Viral: A New Era in Communications
December 6 • 3:15pm – 4:30pm
Marketing & Communications
We’ve all drilled for fires but what about drilling with your crisis team for such issues as a bus accident with the soccer team, a data breach, a homemade bomb and more? To complicate matters, factor in social media which adds to the pressure and can create a separate weather system! While we can’t plan for every crisis, there are processes and protocols you should have in place to help prepare your team for the whens, not just ifs. We will review those along with the first ten steps to take when crisis strikes.
Teddy Ryan, Director of Marketing & Communications, Wilbraham & Monson Academy, MA
Jane Hulbert, Partner, The Jane Group, IL
D-12 How to In-House Your School’s SEO
December 7 • 8:30am – 9:30am
Marketing & Communications
There is a lot of confusing misinformation floating around the Internet regarding search engine optimization. Do keywords still matter? What’s a rich snippet? Why setup Google Webmaster Tools? Should I trust this nice prince from Nigeria looking to help me generate backlinks? We’ve all read the same blog articles and attended the standard search engine optimization seminar. This is something different. We’re going to debunk the myths and give you actual strategies that you can put to work immediately.
Peter Ross, Co-Founder, 829 Studios, MA
D-14 Get over the Tagline – Get on with Branding
December 7 • 8:30am – 9:30am
Marketing & Communications
With a never ending stream of content pushed onto consumers across every platform and every time of day, demands that brands captivate on more than print publications and websites—email writing, social media posts, open house speeches, etc. A tagline is just one way to convey your brand’s message, but a tagline isn’t dynamic and energetic by itself. Participants will be asked to have ready a singular institution message (tagline, belief statement, theme, headline, etc.). This messaging and editorial session explores how internal team members can build on a singular message to keep audiences engaged while maintaining a consistent tone of voice and personality.
Emily Hajjar, Creative Director and Brand Strategist, Creosote Affects, MD
Joe Cliber, Principal, Creosote Affects, MD
E-7 Nobody Puts Boarding in a Corner
December 7 • 9:45am – 10:45am
Marketing & Communications
Marketing is marketing, right? Wrong! The unique needs of boarding school marketing places it in a world of its own. So, how do we tackle marketing the unique benefits of our school with limited communications staff and/or financial resources? The answer is to leverage communication that creates impact across audiences and mediums. This session will cover various scenarios that work for both alumni engagement AND enrollment, enlisting existing advocates through social engagement, and the digital/print partnership. Finally, to ensure that no marketing tools are being left “in a corner” we will leave you with the means to conduct your own in-house communications audit. You will be sure to leave this session thinking “Wow…I’ve had the time of my life.”
Lisa Leidy, Agency Principal, Square Spot Design, NH
Dawn Chmura, Director of Communications, Rectory School, CT
F-2 Relationship Marketing & Social Media
December 7 • 11:00am – 12:00pm
Marketing & Communications
What makes your school stand out? Learn how to use relationship-based marketing to gain a deeper understanding of your market, allowing you to focus your message and tell the story of your school effectively and in a way that resonates with your client base. Through this customer-centric, storytelling approach, you can find families with whom your message resonates, foster connection, improve communication, and move beyond “happy customers” to create brand ambassadors.
Michelle Turner, Director of Communications and Marketing, Dunn School, CA