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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In the final episode of SMC for 2025, Charlie is joined again by Senior Account Manager James Tindall and imageseven’s Director of Design — José Caceres — to discuss a new video content solution created to help schools produce consistent, high-quality content – imaginate. The team explores how imaginate supports schools by connecting overarching strategy with the demands of day-to-day content creation. In the Deep Dive, the team assess what makes a design feel truly balanced and ‘just right’, focusing on the importance of visual principles such as grids and structure to typography and colour schemes. In Rants and Raves, the trio dissect this year’s Christmas ads and discuss those that created a compelling story and who missed out.

In this episode of SMC, Charlie and Rita are joined by Senior Account Manager James Tindall to chat about why it’s time for school marketers to stop chasing clicks and start building brands that last. In Making News, the team first discuss fresh data showing CMOs shifting their focus from performance marketing to brand awareness and what schools marketers can take from this. In the Deep Dive, they explore why authentic, experience-led content cuts through digital fatigue, and how live events can spark a real connection with your community. In Rants & Raves, they celebrate Nike’s Chicago Marathon campaign — a masterclass in smart, human, context-driven storytelling.

In this episode, Charlie is joined by Rita and Digital Marketing Specialist, Harrison, to explore some eye-opening stats from the marketing world. From job-switching in the industry, to the surprisingly low awareness of brand purpose, and even why ads perform better when the weather changes. In the Deep Dive, the trio discuss imageseven’s latest analysis of school website traffic and how AI is reshaping SEO for schools of all sizes. And, in Rants and Raves, the team rave about Wesley College’s Centenary Project and its creative community engagement.