City Escapes: How to use Trends and Data for Campaign Planning
Ways to capitalise on predicted counter urbanisation
If the last six months have taught us anything, it’s that we all need a bit more fresh country air in our lives. As lockdown measures were introduced, city-dwellers hit the road and left the confines of urban-living for suburban spreads and country lanes. As proximity to the office became negligible and no one was able to take advantage of cultural and gastronomic benefits, the pros of urban jungle-life are less obvious.
In the UK, the number of buyers registering with estate agencies outside London has doubled in the last three months and realtors across the USA - especially Connecticut and upstate New York - have reported a similar trend.
It’s probably too early to tell when (and whether) families will follow through with their initial investigations, but it provides a real opportunity for independent school marketers to increase brand awareness and fill the pipeline with admissions enquiries. Rather than a family moving to an area and then choosing a school, there’s a real opportunity for schools to be the catalyst for the move.
Driven by Data
Strategists at Interactive Schools have collated data from various sources and gained some incredible insight that will help #SchoolMarketers plan campaigns that lure families out of the city and straight into the admissions funnel.
USA
This graph shows Google searches for the term ‘private schools’ in the past 12 months.
School leaders should be incredibly optimistic as they study this trend line, which shows a clear correlation between the start of state lockdowns (star) and families searching for more information on private schools. In fact, searches for private schools are as popular as they’ve ever been!
26 July, 2019 - 26 July, 2020
This is particularly true in the District of Columbia, where our research shows that the majority of private schools are at or very close to capacity (boarding schools take note!), Maryland and Florida.
Big Winners*
District of Columbia 🥇
Maryland 🥈
Florida 🥉
Hawaii
New Hampshire
Connecticut
Vermont
Massachusetts
Nevada
*As shown at 4.32pm GMT on Tuesday, 28th July.
United Kingdom
There are lots of promising signs for #SchoolMarketers in the UK too! Although there isn’t such a prevalent upward curve, there are some significant signs that more and more parents are looking to the sector to ensure their children don’t miss out on any more learning!
Over the last 90 days:
650% increase in searches for ‘private school fees’
325% increase in searches for ‘independent school near me’
40-110% increase in searches for private schools in Kent/Surrey/Berkshire/Essex
70% increase in searches for ‘tutoring’
Do you have a plan?
The way that independent schools across the world adapted to the lockdown period through outstanding online learning and enhanced parental engagement has been truly inspiring and should be applauded, but it’s time to start looking to the future.
Whatever your school’s size, ethos and budget there are ways to capitalise on this once in a generation opportunity and ensure that you can look to the future with optimism.
Not sure where to start? Don’t hesitate to drop one of our #DigitalJedi an email!