School district marketing shows results
The initial bi-fold mailer that was sent to 4,600 targeted households in and around Manchester to attract school-of-choice students and retain local students as well.
Whether we like it or not, it is a fact of life of Michigan’s educational environment these days, that school districts need to “market” their services just like every other business. Manchester’s newest marketing campaign appears to be successful, with many more school-of-choice students registering than in previous years.
When $7,511 per-pupil is at stake, retaining or gaining just a few students can make a huge difference in a district’s financial stability It is this reality that has resulted in today’s competitive atmosphere as a new norm in education. “In this day and age, when school of choice students are constantly changing districts, we need to showcase our district,” said Superintendent Cherie Vannatter. “This goes back several months; the board and I started talking last fall about how we could market to school of choice students.”
In January, the Manchester Community Schools Board of Education voted to form a marketing committee, comprised of representatives from the board, administration, teaching staff, support staff, Chamber of Commerce, and Village, charged with looking at ways to increase enrollment, which, if successful, could increase revenue by attracting new students to the district. After a few months of discussion and a presentation at the June 20 board meeting, Bob Michaels, of the RJ Michaels marketing firm (RJM) in Jackson, went to work on “branding” the district.
“We asked RJM to help us make Manchester stand out when other districts are marketing in our community,” Vannatter explained. “They had also worked with the DaVinci Institute (a Jackson charter school), to develop their marketing and branding, and has had good success there.” In addition to schools, RJM has worked with other local companies and public entities to enhance their marketing campaigns, including Krupa’s Boat Mart, Experience Jackson (formerly the Jackson Area Visitors Bureau), the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, and Vista Grande Villa.
“They provided us with targeted marketing pieces,” Vannatter said. “RJM purchased mailing lists for Manchester and surrounding school districts, targeted to people with school-aged children. Each of the three mailings that were sent out included 4,600 pieces.”
As of August 25, Vannatter said, a total of 42 new students are registered for the school district. Of that number, at least two have said their decision to come into the district was a direct result of the marketing campaign. “The 42 new students is a much higher number than we’ve had in previous years,” Vannatter explained. “We typically have 25-30 new students, so that is a significant increase. We don’t know, of course, whether this is because of the advertising, but it could have had a positive effect. We also don’t know yet how many students will transfer out of the district this fall.”
The cost for the RJM marketing campaign was $10,000, which was contributed by an anonymous donor after the marketing committee made its recommendation to the superintendent. Vannatter explained that by state law (supported by Board Policy 3660), a bid process is required for materials, supplies, and equipment over a specified amount that is adjusted by the state annually, but that when services are sought, the superintendent has discretion in expenditures up to $20,000. The board also was not required to vote on the acceptance of the donation.
The cost of printing and mailing the pieces was separate and came from General Fund monies. The initial mailing was $7,495; with the second and third mailings costing $6,879 each. Because each expenditure was a separate payment, the cost of these mailings also fell within the superintendent’s discretion.
Vannatter also checked with other districts within the county and within the Cascades Conference, to see what was considered reasonable as far as marketing costs. These costs ranged from $13,800 in Michigan Center, to $35,000 in Whitmore Lake. Methods used in other districts included radio, public access TV, Chambers of Commerce, expensively produced packages, and billboards. “The marketing committee spent a lot of time trying to determine what would be most effective for our district,” she said. “We settled on Facebook ads, Google ads, and the mailers. All were targeted to families with children between 4-17.
“We also spent a lot of time surveying current students, gathering data, and looking at what we offer to students. When Bob came in and sat down with us, he asked what we do in Manchester to support our students, and we had an extensive list to share. Based on our surveys, the top reasons for people choosing Manchester schools were the small town atmosphere and the staff’s knowledge of the children’s needs. From that, he developed the brand statement, ‘Great Education Made Personal.’ And that brand is what we focused on in our advertising.”
Vannatter said that the highest number of School Of Choice students come to Manchester from the Columbia Central district, followed by Napoleon and Clinton. The School of Choice enrollment window closes Friday, September 9.
She added that many students who had previously left the district to attend Ann Arbor, Lenawee Christian, and Napoleon Schools, are planning to return to Manchester this school year. Historically, the district has been retaining about 87.9% of those who live within the district boundaries.
“We are doing our best to track the data of those who are attending Manchester Schools,” she said. “When students enroll we ask how they learned about us and why they are coming. When students leave, we ask them to tell us why they left, and what we could do differently in the future. However, we don’t get a very good return of responses from those families.”
So despite the departure of migrant students from the district as reported in last week’s issue, it appears that Manchester Schools are beginning the year on a positive note.
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