SMC: School Marketing and Communications

Hosted by imageseven

Business Marketing Education

Website RSS feed

Episodes

246

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

About the show

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.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

June 11, 2026Episode 24624 min

246: What changes when strategy aligns with how confidence is formed – 4/5

The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan and Suzanne Willcock – How parents form confidence - and what it means for your marketing strategy – What we see In episode four of the Insight Series on how parents form confidence, Charlie is joined by imageseven Group Account Director Suzanne Willcock to explore what happens when a school's marketing, enrolment and leadership teams are working from the same understanding of how confidence is built. Drawing on her experience working with schools across Australia, Suzie explains why prospective parents rarely arrive at tours and open days as blank slates. Instead, they arrive carrying a level of confidence that has been shaped long before those interactions take place. Together, Charlie and Suzie discuss how misaligned messaging creates friction, confusion and unnecessary pressure on enrolment teams, while strategic clarity helps parents arrive better informed, ask better questions, and seek confirmation rather than persuasion. Episode links: The 2024 B2B Buyer Experience Report – 6sense Determinants of Parental School Choice: A Systematic Review of the Literature The Components and Determinants of School Reputation: Insights from Parents' Voices Brand familiarity and confidence as determinants of purchase intention: An empirical test in a multiple brand context Drivers of school choice: The role of behavioural science in parental decision making – Independent Schools Victoria Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate

May 28, 2026Episode 24514 min

245: Confidence is built in systems, not moments – 3/5

The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – How parents form confidence - and what it means for your marketing strategy – The Insight In episode three of the Insight Series on how parents form confidence, Charlie discusses why confidence is rarely built in one standout moment. While open days, tours and campaigns all play an important role, he argues they usually confirm what parents already believe, rather than create that belief from scratch. Charlie explores how confidence is built over time through repeated, consistent signals across the prospective parent journey, and why strategy matters in aligning people, messages and touchpoints so confidence can be built purposefully. Episode links: The 2024 B2B Buyer Experience Report – 6sense Determinants of Parental School Choice: A Systematic Review of the Literature The Components and Determinants of School Reputation: Insights from Parents' Voices Brand familiarity and confidence as determinants of purchase intention: An empirical test in a multiple brand context Drivers of school choice: The role of behavioural science in parental decision making – Independent Schools Victoria Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate.

May 14, 2026Episode 24414 min

244: Where schools unintentionally create doubt – 2/5

The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – How parents form confidence - and what it means for your marketing strategy – The Reality In this episode of the Insight Series, Charlie examines why schools do not usually lose enrolments because they lack visibility, but because prospective parent confidence has been gradually worn away. As part of the Insight Series on how parents form confidence, he explores how inconsistent messaging, unclear differentiation, unsupported claims and internal misalignment can create doubt at key points in the enrolment journey. Charlie also explains why simply producing more content or launching more campaigns will not solve the problem when the signals parents receive from your school are mixed. Episode links: Determinants of Parental School Choice: A Systematic Review of the Literature School Choice: A Research Report 2021 – Independent Schools Australia The Components and Determinants of School Reputation: Insights from Parents' Voices Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate

April 30, 2026Episode 24312 min

243: How parents form confidence long before they enquire - 1/5

The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – How parents form confidence - and what it means for your marketing strategy – Orientation In episode one of 'How parents form confidence – and what it means for your marketing strategy', Charlie explores why enquiry is not the beginning of the school choice journey, but a sign that a decision is already taking shape. He explores how parents often form views of a school well before making contact, drawing on reputation, word of mouth, lived experience and repeated brand signals over time. Charlie also probes the commonly held belief — usually outside of marcom offices — that success for school marketers is measured only by enquiries. Instead, he proposes that it's about building clarity and confidence long before families are ready to act. Episode Links: The 2024 B2B Buyer Experience Report – 6sense Drivers of school choice – Independent Schools Victoria Determinants of Parental School Choice: A Systematic Review of the Literature School Choice: A Research Report 2021 – Independent Schools Australia The Components and Determinants of School Reputation: Insights from Parents' Voices Brand familiarity and confidence as determinants of purchase intention: An empirical test in a multiple brand context Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate

April 17, 2026Episode 2427 min

242: Applying brand clarity in schools – 5/5

The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Why school marketing works differently – Applied In the final episode of 'Why school marketing works differently', Charlie explores what it looks like to apply brand clarity to a school. He explores how a school brand is shaped by far more than marketing outputs alone, with every touchpoint contributing to how families interpret the school and how confident they feel in their decision. Charlie then shares a practical framework for assessing brand consistency, encouraging marketers to gather staff perspectives and opinions, testing the enrolment experience through mystery shopping, and auditing your school's communications and collateral to check whether your messaging is clear and aligned. In the next topic, Charlie will unpack how parents form confidence — and what it means for the marketing strategy. Episode Links: The B2B Buyer Experience Report – 6sense School Choice: A Research Report - Independent Schools Australia Parents often lack metacognitive insight into what drives school choice decisions. - PLOS ONE The B2B Buying Journey: Key Stages and How to Optimize Them – Gartner Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate

April 2, 2026Episode 24113 min

241: What new school marketers learn the hard way – 4/5

The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Why school marketing works differently – What we see In episode four of Why school marketing works differently, Charlie is joined by imageseven Account Director Cassandra Kirkpatrick to discuss what marketers often underestimate when they enter the education sector. Drawing on her own experience, Cas explains why school marketing is rarely limited to campaigns or advertising, requiring marketers to wear many hats, translate complex educational language, and build support for marketing inside the school. Together, Charlie and Cas explore the assumptions marketers bring with them, the challenge of long enrolment cycles, and why listening to stakeholders is often the key to understanding what makes a school genuinely distinctive. Episode Links: The B2B Buyer Experience Report – 6sense School Choice: A Research Report - Independent Schools Australia Parents often lack metacognitive insight into what drives school choice decisions. - PLOS ONE The B2B Buying Journey: Key Stages and How to Optimize Them – Gartner Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate

March 19, 2026Episode 24014 min

240: What school brands actually are – 3/5

The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Why school marketing works differently – The Insight In episode three of 'Why school marketing works differently', Charlie reframes what a school brand actually is — and why clarity and consistency often matter more than creativity. For prospective parents, brand is not decoration. It's a risk-reduction mechanism in an emotional, high-stakes decision. What builds confidence isn't novelty, but familiarity, proof and alignment across every touchpoint. Charlie explores why school marketing behaves less like traditional B2C and more like B2B —where reassurance, accumulated trust and long decision cycles determine whether families move forward with confidence. Episode Links: The B2B Buyer Experience Report – 6sense School Choice: A Research Report - Independent Schools Australia Parents often lack metacognitive insight into what drives school choice decisions. - PLOS ONE The B2B Buying Journey: Key Stages and How to Optimize Them – Gartner Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate

March 5, 2026Episode 23912 min

239: When schools get marketing wrong – 2/5

The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Why school marketing works differently – The Reality In episode two of 'Why school marketing works differently', Charlie explores the reality of how school marketing can go off track when it borrows from the wrong playbook, especially a bottom-of-the-funnel mindset that overweights performance marketing and underinvests in brand-building. Charlie discusses what's often misunderstood about marketing in schools: the long decision journey, the need to build confidence and trust, and the hidden cost of campaign-only thinking. When a brand isn't doing its job, enquiries arrive with less conviction, comparison shopping increases, and admissions teams are left to do the heavy lifting. Episode Links: The B2B Buyer Experience Report – 6sense School Choice: A Research Report - Independent Schools Australia Parents often lack metacognitive insight into what drives school choice decisions. - PLOS ONE The B2B Buying Journey: Key Stages and How to Optimize Them – Gartner Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate

February 19, 2026Episode 23810 min

238: Why school marketing works differently - 1/5

The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan – Why school marketing works differently – Orientation Welcome to the first topic in The Insight Series. In this orientation episode, Charlie sets the context for why school marketing often feels harder than it should — and why that tension isn't accidental. School choice is a high-stakes, identity-driven decision shaped by long timelines, multiple influencers and emotional weight. Parents are often well advanced in their thinking before they enquire, reshaping how marketing must work. Charlie explores what this means for school marketers, often carrying responsibility without full authority, and why brand building in schools is less about promotion and more about reducing risk and building confidence. This episode begins a five-part exploration of why school marketing works differently. Episode Links: The B2B Buyer Experience Report – 6sense School Choice: A Research Report – Independent Schools Australia Parents often lack metacognitive insight into what drives school choice decisions. – PLOS ONE The B2B Buying Journey: Key Stages and How to Optimize Them – Gartner Got more questions for Charlie and the team? You can ask them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to imageseven.com.au/imaginate

February 5, 2026Episode 2376 min

237: Welcome to The Insight Series

Introducing The Insight Series with Charlie Maughan In the first episode of 2026, Charlie introduces a new format for SMC – The Insight Series. These short, focused mini chapters are designed to make big school marketing topics easier to tackle, with clearer priorities and practical next steps. Each topic follows a structured flow: Orientation sets the context, Reality names what gets in the way, Insights shares useful frameworks, What We See brings in what's happening in schools, and Applied turns it into next steps for you. Got questions or feedback for Charlie and the team? You can send them via the following: Email: smc@imageseven.com.au Have you heard about imaginate? The bespoke video solution for schools. If you're ready to take your school's video to the next level, head to www.imageseven.com.au/imaginate