Podcast Archives - imageseven

243: Enrolment pressure and the new parent priorities – Interview with Chris Lang

In this interview episode, Brad is joined by Pauline Shuttleworth, imageseven Advancement Specialist, and Chris Lang, co-founder and head of sales for Asia Pacific at Digistorm, to examine the changing enrolment landscape for independent schools. Using the findings from Digistorm’s 2025/26 State of K–12 School Admissions Report, they discuss how softening demand and growing enrolment pressure are shifting admissions from reactive management to data-informed planning. This requires Heads to sharpen their positioning and take a more intentional approach to the parent journey.

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

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.

242: Is your brand yours to reshape or yours to steward?

In this episode, Brad, Bel and Scully explore why school brands are not personal platforms for leaders to reshape They explore the difference between ownership and stewardship, explain why a school’s brand is inherited rather than invented, and discuss how leaders can renew and clarify its message without distorting what families already trust. The trio also examines how pressure can tempt schools to broaden or soften their story, and why steadiness, coherence and conviction give parents confidence when enrolment decisions feel uncertain.

242: Applying brand clarity in schools – 5/5

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.

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

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.

241: Are you leading or just explaining?

In this episode, Brad, Bel and Scully discuss a confronting principle for school Heads: leadership is communication. Every decision, silence, delay and repeated phrase signals what matters most, and families read into those signals long before they read a strategy document. The trio explores why enrolment confidence is shaped by coherence, not volume, how pressure reveals a school’s true priorities and why clarity cannot be delegated.

240: School fees, affordability and enrolments – Interview with Jack Stevens

In this interview episode, Brad speaks with Jack Stevens, CEO of Edstart, about what findings from Edstart’s 2026 School Fees Report mean for school Heads. The discussion explores why fee increases have remained steady, yet continue to outpace inflation, how staffing costs and government funding pressures are reshaping school budgets and why parent perceptions of value matter more than ever. Brad and Jack reveal how flexible payment options can reduce friction, improve parent experience and support both enrolment and retention.

240: What school brands actually are – 3/5

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.

239: Is your brand a strategy or a symptom?

A school’s brand is not owned by marketing. It is shaped by leadership clarity, consistency and decision-making over time. In this episode, Brad, Bel and Scully discuss why brand is a leadership responsibility, how mixed signals create uncertainty for families, and why enrolment confidence is built through coherence rather than volume. The trio explore the danger of reactive branding, the role of tone and direction, and why every major strategic decision becomes a brand decision, whether leaders intend it or not.

238: Is your mission decorative or directional? – Part 2

When your mission is clear, it does more than guide strategy; it prevents misalignment before it starts.

In part two, Brad and Bel explain why mission clarity should narrow your messaging, your promises, and the families who naturally feel called to your school. They discuss why broadening language can feel rational under enrolment pressure, but often creates confusion, hesitation and superficial comparison. The duo explore how mission-fit enrolment conversations reduce friction later and share a practical test for leaders to audit what parents would conclude from the last month of your communications.

239: When schools get marketing wrong – 2/5

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.

237: Deep Dive – Interview with Dr Mark Merry

In this special Deep Dive, Brad sits down with Dr Mark Merry, long-serving Principal of Yarra Valley Grammar and former National Chair of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools Australia (AHISA), for a conversation about leading a school through scrutiny, crisis, criticism and change. The duo explore why authority is earned through relationships and how culture is shaped in the small everyday moments. Mark also shares a grounded approach to media and reputational pressure including why staying silent can backfire, how to front issues without becoming defensive, and what it looks like to hold the narrative when emotions are high and information is moving fast.