SMC: School Marketing and Communications
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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218: How to fix your OOH ads
05/01/2024
218: How to fix your OOH ads
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan and Rita Kilroy In this episode of SMC, Charlie and Rita Oooh and Ahhh about out-of-home media. In the Making News segment, the team discuss the proliferation of fake ads and what it means for creativity and the advertising industry as a whole. In the Deep Dive, the pair discuss an analysis of out-of-home effectiveness and what all school marketers can take away. Finally, they Rave about a fun (mini) out-of-home campaign for Cadbury Mini Eggs. Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: Survey:
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217: Boosting conversions and why so much advertising is a waste of money
04/08/2024
217: Boosting conversions and why so much advertising is a waste of money
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan, Rita Kilroy and Sophia White In the episode of SMC, Charlie is joined in the studio by his co-host Rita Kilroy, and imageseven Account Manager – Sophia White. In the Making News segment, the team discuss the City of Sydney spending hundreds of thousands of dollars removing out-of-home street furniture, and what school marketers can learn about placements. In the Deep Dive, the team discuss the power of ‘multitouch engagement’ and uniting admissions and marketing, before taking the (click)bait of John Le Cras’ recent piece ‘Why so much advertising is a waste of money’. Finally, in the Rants and Raves segment, the team rant about social media, and the dangers of building your brand on someone else’s (digital) land. Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: · Email: · Survey:
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216: Is your post-tour process up to scratch?
03/06/2024
216: Is your post-tour process up to scratch?
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan, Rita Kilroy and Isabella Tranchita In the episode of SMC, Charlie is joined in the studio by his co-host Rita Kilroy, and imageseven Senior Account Manager – Isabella Tranchita. In the Making News segment, the team discuss the importance of local SEO for school marketers and how to capitalise on this low hanging fruit. In the Deep Dive, the team discuss Open Days and Discovery Mornings, and whether you and your team are maximising the post-tour stage to convert leads. In the Question of the Month, the team are asked about the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and how to get the most out of the question. Finally, in the Rants and Raves segment, the team rave about some great brand videos produced by Malvern College. Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: · Email: · Survey:
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215: Enrolment strategies and great recruitment ads
01/02/2024
215: Enrolment strategies and great recruitment ads
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan, Rita Kilroy and James Tindall In the first episode of the year, Charlie is joined in the studio by his co-host Rita Kilroy, and imageseven Account Manager – James Tindall. In the Making News segment, the team discuss the top 10 most valuable, and strongest, brands in Australia, and what school marketers can learn from these goliath brands. In the Deep Dive, the team discuss enrolment strategies for the new year and what school marketers and admissions teams could trial. Finally, in the Rants and Raves segment, the team raved about some of the great content promoting teaching and teachers from around the globe. · · · · · · Campaign Brief - Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: · Email: · Survey:
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214: Your Data Goldmine: unleashing the power of first-party insights for your school marketing
12/06/2023
214: Your Data Goldmine: unleashing the power of first-party insights for your school marketing
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan, Rita Kilroy and Amanda Reid In this episode, Charlie is joined in the studio for the last episode of 2023 by his co-host Rita Kilroy, and Mentor Marketing Founder and Director – Amanda Reid. In the Making News segment, the team discuss the mass Optus out(r)age and the lack of communication which serves a reminder to school marketers of how (not) to manage crisis communications. In the Deep Dive, Amanda took the team through the importance of First-Party Data to all marketers as the deadline for the end of cookies approaches. The team discuss what a First-Party Data Strategy would look like, and where school marketers should start. Finally in the Rants and Raves segment, the team raved about some self-skipping ads produced by Ikea India. · · Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: · Email: · Survey:
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213: Fantastic surveys and where to find them
11/01/2023
213: Fantastic surveys and where to find them
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan, James Tindall and Sophia White In this episode, Charlie is once again joined in the studio by imageseven Account Managers – James Tindall and Sophia White. In the Making News segment, the team discuss Ticketek’s recent fine for marketing spam breaches and what school marketers can learn. Unfortunately, the Deep Dive was shallower than usual due to a recording malfunction, but the team discuss common survey challenges and how to avoid them. No Rant and Rave segment this episode but expect a bumper SMC to close the year! · · Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: · Email: · Survey:
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212: Preparing your best media plan, and do you have a 'clustomer' problem?
10/04/2023
212: Preparing your best media plan, and do you have a 'clustomer' problem?
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan, Rita Kilroy and Amanda Reid In this episode, Charlie and Rita are joined by Mentor Marketing Founder and Director Amanda Reid. In the Making News segment, the team discuss why a slow economy doesn’t mean that school marketers can pull back on their marketing plans or media budgets. In the Deep Dive, Amanda shares her insights on how school marketers can prepare their best media plan, and how to get the most out of media providers. Finally in the Rants and Raves, the team discuss Mailchimp’s latest ad campaign and whether school marketers might also have a ‘clustomer’ problem. Got more questions for Charlie and Rita? You can ask them via the following: · Email: · Survey:
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211: Engaging your alumni, out-of-home on the rise and the best and worst of the Women’s World Cup
09/06/2023
211: Engaging your alumni, out-of-home on the rise and the best and worst of the Women’s World Cup
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan, James Tindall and Sophia White With Rita away from the studio, Charlie is joined on SMC by imageseven Account Managers James Tindall and Sophia White. In the Making News segment, the team discuss increased spends in out-of-home media and whether URLs or QR codes are the best option for your creative. In the Deep Dive, Sophia reflects on how to get the most out of your alumni and finally in the Rants and Raves, the team discuss which ads from the Women’s World Cup hit the back of the net, and which ones missed an open goal. Got more questions for Charlie and Rita? You can ask them via the following: · Email: · Survey:
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210: Perfect publications, Twitter or Threads and marketing to the mind’s eye
08/02/2023
210: Perfect publications, Twitter or Threads and marketing to the mind’s eye
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan, Rita Kilroy, Vanessa Klomp and Harrison Shearn Harrison Shearn, imageseven Digital Marketing Specialist, shares all the need-to-know facts and statistics of Meta’s new platform ‘Threads’ in the Making News segment, alongside Charlie and Rita. The trio discuss all things Twitter versus Threads and briefly touch on Meta’s history with rivalry. Deep Diving into the art of publications, new special guest Vanessa Klomp shares her expertise and offers some essential factors to be considered when contributing to a publication. Finally, in the Rants and Raves, the familiar duo rave ‘Memorable Marketing Messaging’ and tapping into consumers’ ‘mind’s eye’. Got more questions for Charlie and Rita? You can ask them via the following: Email: Survey:
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209: How to grow marketing’s influence within your school
07/05/2023
209: How to grow marketing’s influence within your school
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan and Rita Kilroy Listen in as Charlie and Rita first discuss why registrations for school tours and events may not be an accurate reflection of promising buyer leads and the data you should be analysing instead. The duo then Deep Dive into how school marketing teams can grow their influence within their school to achieve buy-in from their School Head. In the Rants & Raves, they rant about some ChatGPT ads that might be losing sight of their customer’s objectives. MarCom Society To access the MarCom Society and receive a 20% discount on signup: Got more questions for Charlie and Rita? You can ask them via the following: Email: Survey:
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208: The Google Analytics update you can’t ignore and the battle of radio versus podcast
05/31/2023
208: The Google Analytics update you can’t ignore and the battle of radio versus podcast
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan and Rita Kilroy Tune in as Charlie and Rita Deep Dive into all things audio advertising, debating whether radio or podcasts are the best listening platform for school marketers to spend their hard-earned media budgets towards. In the Making News segment, the pair are once again joined by imageseven Digital Marketing Specialist Harrison Shearn to reveal the Google Analytics update that can’t be ignored any longer. In the Rants & Raves, they heap praise on a campaign for IKEA. Got more questions for Charlie and Rita? You can ask them via the following: · Email: · Survey:
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207: The other AI platforms you should be using and Pepsi's latest rebrand
05/04/2023
207: The other AI platforms you should be using and Pepsi's latest rebrand
In this episode, Charlie and Rita are once again joined in the studio by imageseven Digital Marketing Specialist Harrison Shearn. In the Making News segment, the trio review Meltwater’s 2023 ‘Marketing Trends to Watch’ and provide a half-term report on their plausible predictions so far, before Deep Diving into their prediction on the trajectory of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Later, Harrison takes the team through all the terms that school marketers should be across, as well as sharing a few promising AI platforms that will certainly save school marketers valuable time. Finally in the Rants & Raves, they discuss Pepsi’s latest logo refresh, rolling out in 2024. · · · · Got more questions for Charlie and Rita? You can ask them via the following: · Email: · Survey:
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206: The skills that school marketers need, and do you know your hamburgers from kebabs?
04/05/2023
206: The skills that school marketers need, and do you know your hamburgers from kebabs?
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan and Rita Kilroy In this episode, hosts Charlie and Rita discuss oOh!media's profits, whose surging profits return to pre-pandemic levels, indicating a return to strength for out-of-home media. In the Question of the Week, they explore the ‘hamburger menu’ and other website terms that you might not know. In the Rants & Raves, the hosts debate what the most in-demand skill is for today’s school marketers. Got more questions for Charlie and Rita? You can ask them via the following: Email: Survey:
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205: ChatGPT – to be loved or feared by school marketers?
03/02/2023
205: ChatGPT – to be loved or feared by school marketers?
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan and Rita Kilroy In this episode, Charlie and Rita are joined by imageseven’s resident Digital Marketing Specialist, Harrison, to discuss all things Artificial Intelligence (AI) including ChatGPT, the latest (and extremely controversial) AI language processor you’ve no doubt heard of. The team reveal how this incredible tool can be utilised – from content generation to customer service – by school marketers. In Rants & Raves, they review Adweek’s selection of the top 10 Super Bowl ads of 2023. Got more questions? Ask them via or
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204: 2022 Brilliance Awards
02/02/2023
204: 2022 Brilliance Awards
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan and Rita Kilroy Charlie and Rita are back to discuss all things school marketing and communications. In this first episode of 2023, the pair review the 2022 Brilliance Awards – presented by inspirED School Marketers – revealing their top category picks, from photography to magazine, to video and websites, and those that didn’t quite hit the mark. In Rants & Raves, they rave about the new McDonald’s ad currently winning plaudits throughout Adland. Got more questions? Ask them via or
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203: Time to get off Twitter and onto TikTok?
12/01/2022
203: Time to get off Twitter and onto TikTok?
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan and Rita Kilroy Charlie and Rita once again bring you several interviews to SMC. The pair are first joined by imageseven’s Digital Marketing Team — Alissa Cass and Harrison Shearn — to discuss the current situation at Twitter HQ and whether school marketers need to be concerned. Next, SMC was delighted to welcome Barker College’s Social Media Coordinator, Hannah McGrory, to discuss the College’s TikTok account launch and subsequent rollout. Finally, in the Rants & Raves, they discuss their favourite (and not so favourite) Christmas 2022 ad campaigns. Got more questions? Ask them via or
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202: We’re back out-of-home and nailing your Instagram content strategy
11/17/2022
202: We’re back out-of-home and nailing your Instagram content strategy
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan and Rita Kilroy In a slightly different format, Charlie and Rita bring two interviews to you this episode. First, imageseven Account Manager, James Tindall, joins the pair to discuss out-of-home media – its post-COVID-19 resurgence and what it means for school marketers. Later in the episode, Kirsy de los Reyes, Marketing & Communications Coordinator at Mary MacKillop College in Kensington, South Australia, joins them to discuss the College’s social media strategy and the unique content that is thriving within their community. Got more questions? Ask them via or
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201: Digital marketing updates and does your school need anti-personas?
10/06/2022
201: Digital marketing updates and does your school need anti-personas?
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan and Rita Kilroy In this episode, Charlie and Rita are joined by imageseven Digital Marketing Executive, Harrison Shearn, to update school marketers on the ever-evolving world of digital marketing and share exactly what school marketers need to know. In the Deep Dive, they discuss the concept of ‘anti-personas’ and whether they are relevant for a school. In Rant or Rave, the pair conclude with a rant over a new tourism campaign that might just miss the mark. Antipersonas: What, How, Who and Why? Got more questions? Ask them via or
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200: School marketing and communications bonanza!
09/01/2022
200: School marketing and communications bonanza!
School marketing and communications with Charlie Maughan and Rita Kilroy It’s Episode 200! In this milestone episode, Charlie and Rita are joined by several wonderful team members from imageseven to discuss all things school marketing and communications. We hope you enjoy this special episode! 01:30 – How to execute the perfect video/photoshoot – Dean Smith 06:24 – Perfecting your digital advertising spend – James Tindall 11:13 – Building your online community – Mikayla Coombes 15:25 – Learnings from a designer – Pete Ion 19:32 – How to understand your prospective parent – Suzanne Willcock 24:14 – Determine the right blog content strategy for your school – Eleisha Perez 27:22 – School events as marketing opportunities – Cassandra Kirkpatrick 32:36 – How to deliver the perfect yearbook – Vanessa Klomp 37:24 – Canva – a designer’s working relationship – Imogen Smith 42:02 – Nailing your social media content strategy – Isabella Tranchita 48:19 – What makes school web design great – Jing Song 53:41 – The future of school marketing – Andrew Sculthorpe Got more questions? Ask them via or
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199: Combating low consumer confidence and what the Kardashians did next
08/03/2022
199: Combating low consumer confidence and what the Kardashians did next
Charlie and Rita start this episode discussing the news that social media juggernauts Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian have taken aim at Instagram amid the platform’s latest changes to compete with TikTok. With a combined follower base north of 685 million followers, this is no laughing matter – something Snapchat is acutely aware of. In the Deep Dive, the focus turns to reports from the UK that consumer confidence is sliding to its lowest ever score and how school marketers can prepare to combat parent uncertainty. Finally, it’s Rave time (not that kind of rave!), as Charlie and Rita look at a great graphic from Canva that highlights common design principles school marketers should keep in mind. Episode links: Got more questions? Ask them via or
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198: Is the school newsletter dying?
07/06/2022
198: Is the school newsletter dying?
In this episode, Charlie and Rita discuss the implications of Elon Musk buying Twitter and what the impact might be for school marketers. They Deep Dive into an article that considers whether the death knell has sounded for fortnightly school newsletters, then have a Rant about a piece in The Educator: ‘Schools need dedicated social media staff — principals’ … but not for the reasons you might think. Episode links: Got more questions? Ask them via or
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197: Maximising your school’s anniversary and how to reposition your brand
06/01/2022
197: Maximising your school’s anniversary and how to reposition your brand
This week Charlie is joined in the studio by special guest and former SMC host, Scully, to discuss SMJ podcast’s latest milestone. They consider ways that schools can maximise their own anniversaries and give some tips for school marketers to manage their Heads! In the Deep Dive, the pair get right into brand positioning and how to tell if your school has a positioning problem. Finally, in Rants and Raves, coming off the back of an advertising-laden Australian election season, the hosts cast their votes as to whether schools can (or should) ever run topical ads. Episode links: Got more questions? Ask them via or
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196: Sonic branding, the meaning of colour and optimum blog length
05/04/2022
196: Sonic branding, the meaning of colour and optimum blog length
Charlie and Rita go sonic! In this episode, they get and give the lowdown on sonic branding and discuss whether schools are (or should be) ready for it. They share their insights on the optimum length of blogs to maximise your school’s SEO before heading into Rants and Raves, discussing the meaning, psychology and use of colours. Got more questions? Ask them via or Episode links:
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195: Google Analytics updates and a new way to buy out-of-home advertising
04/06/2022
195: Google Analytics updates and a new way to buy out-of-home advertising
Charlie and Rita get straight into Making News, unpacking updates to Google Analytics and what school marketers need to do to avoid losing their website data. In an interview with Stephen Wruck, Head of Marketing and Enrolments at Queensland’s King’s Christian College, they discuss his experience of CAASie, a new platform that allows you to make low-cost bookings for out-of-home media. Finally, in Rants and Raves, the pair discuss the “world’s first Micro Prospectus”, launched by the University of Nottingham, and try to decide whether they are ranting or raving. Episode links: Got more questions? Ask them via or
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194: Purple cows and your school on TikTok
03/02/2022
194: Purple cows and your school on TikTok
Charlie and Rita begin this episode with a review of the Oscars of Advertising, the Super Bowl LVI advertisements. They choose their favourites and unpack what school marketers can learn from the multi-million dollar spots. In the Deep Dive, the pair discuss marketing guru Seth Godin’s 'Purple Cow' theory and its role in an attention deficit society. Finally, in the Question of the Month, they answer the question of the moment: ‘Should you use TikTok for school marketing in 2022?’ Got more questions? Ask them via or Episode links:
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193: Planning your media spend and the next big social media platform?
02/02/2022
193: Planning your media spend and the next big social media platform?
This episode, Charlie and Rita get stuck into all things media by starting with a review of the Global Ad Spend trends for 2021-22. They then discuss the important role that mobile can play in enhancing out of home advertising before discussing what could perhaps be the next big social media platform for schools – Nextdoor. Got more questions? Ask them via or Episode links:
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192: Top marketing trends in 2022
12/01/2021
192: Top marketing trends in 2022
This episode, Charlie and Rita review the top marketing trends for 2022, as presented by HubSpot. They review which trends make the cut and which should be left behind in 2021. From experiential marketing to influencer marketing and chatbots, our hosts cover off a year’s worth of content in one episode!
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191: Why your school needs negative reviews
11/03/2021
191: Why your school needs negative reviews
This episode, Charlie and Rita start the episode in Making News by discussing a contentious media lawsuit brewing in London over ad placements. They Deep Dive into negative online reviews and how to use them as a force for good, then answer a listener’s question about newsletter platforms. Finally, in Rants and Raves, the pair have a rant (and a laugh!) about Facebook’s rebrand.
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190: TikTok – can school marketers still afford to ignore it?
10/06/2021
190: TikTok – can school marketers still afford to ignore it?
This episode, Charlie and Rita are joined by imageseven’s resident social media expert Alissa to discuss TikTok … should it now have a place in a school's communications plan or is it still too much of a risk? In Making News they consider the future of managing Facebook comments after a recent High Court ruling, then answer a listener question about how to develop school marketing skills.
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189: Measuring return on investment for school marketers
09/01/2021
189: Measuring return on investment for school marketers
This episode, Charlie and Rita take a look at how school marketers can measure and maximise their return on investment (ROI). They discuss the top ten KPIs every marketing team should be tracking, before taking a deep dive into some mind-blowing digital marketing ROI statistics. The discussion then turns to the Visa rebrand … tune in to find out if it’s a rant or a rave!
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