SWAG for language and literacy programs

March 9, 2010

Swag is an important part of your promotional strategy. Otherwise known as “freebies”, “goodies” or “loot”, these are the items you give away to people in the hopes that they remember your program in a positive way.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines swag as:

  1. (slang) ( a) The booty carried off by burglars, etc. (b) illicit gains
  2. (a) an ornamental festoon of flowers, etc. (b) a carved etc. representation of this
  3. (Australia & NZ) a traveller’s or miner’s bundle of personal belongings.

Marketing swag has elements of all these definitions. We hope that people will carry their swag with them in their briefcase or backpack (i.e. their “bundle of belongings”). Swag is now considered de rigueur as part of “table decor” at trade shows. It is a necessary accessory to the adornment of any promotional booth. People love it because it is free, so they make off with it like hot cakes, often sheepishly tucking it into their bags with a slight feeling of either guilt or glee, possibly both.

Recently though, I came across a definition of swag that I like even better. In a 2007 blog post, Suzette Bergeron, a marketing expert in Maine defines swag as “Stuff We All Get”. She goes on to explain different types of swag such as promotional giveaways, prizes and business gifts. For those of you who work in with international clients, you know how important those business gifts can be when working with certain countries.

So rather than the traditional definition, I’m going to go with Bergeron’s. It’s easy to remember and it conveys the idea of marketing swag perfectly.

Swag for language and literacy programs should relate to your program somehow. Remember to include your logo and program name, and if there’s space your website.  The items need to reflect your purpose, your image and hopefully be useful to the recipients. Pens, pads of paper, book bags and even portfolios are all excellent swag ideas for language and literacy programs. Baseball caps, not so much. That is, unless you are offering an ESL program for baseball players. I’d also hesitate to go with items such as breath mints, eye glasses cleaning cloths and toys, all of which I have seen at educational trade fairs. When I see items like this, I scratch my head. I understand that they are novelty marketing items, but I question their longevity in the hands of the recipient once the novelty has worn off. Before you spend your money on swag ask yourself what is going to be most useful to those on the receiving end. You want them to hold on to it, make it part of the bundle of things they carry with them for a long time and most importantly, remember you by it.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

5 Comments | branding, education, languages, Literacy, marketing, swag | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

How to Market Your Language Program – Idea #3 – Set reasonable goals

March 7, 2010

Use the SMART approach to reach marketing goals for your language or literacy program:

Specific – For many language and literacy programs increasing enrollments is a general goal. Make it specific by knowing how many students you have had in the past 3-5 years. If you do not know how many students you had enrolled in your courses over the past year (or 2 or 5), now is the time to find out. This is the kind of information you want at your fingertips so that when you are conversing with colleagues and business associates, you can mention both your current enrollment and your plans to increase it. From there you can set a specific target for increasing your enrollments.

Measurable – A Generally a 10% to 20% growth rate per year is an attainable goal for increasing student enrollments, providing there are no market crashes or other circumstances outside your control that could affect this growth. So, if you currently had 200 students, you could set your goal to 220 or 240 students.

Attainable – If you set the bar too high, you won’t be able to reach your goal. I have found that many “higher ups” in educational institutions insist on goals that are not easily attainable. One university language program director told me that the institution’s V.P. had imposed a goal of 300% increase in ESL enrollments in one academic year, or the program would shut down. Setting this kind of goal sends people (especially program staff) off into a panic. You can set goals, high and still keep them attainable. They key is motivation. In order for goals to be reached, people must believe they can be reached. Your staff have to be motivated to reach the bar you set for them. Ask yourself if the goals you have set motivate your staff to try and reach them. If the answer is yes, your goal is attainable.

Realistic – A realistic goal is one you can reach within a given time frame. If there were currently 10 students registered in your program, it would be unlikely that you could raise that to 1000 students in one year. Generally, the smaller your program, the more capacity for growth you have. It would not be unreasonable to expect a 100% increase in enrollment in one year if your program had only 10 students. However, if you are already at 200+ students per year, you will need to set a realistic goal for growth through your marketing program.

Imagine saying to your colleague, “Last year, we had 150 students. Our strategic marketing plan includes a 10% growth rate. We are expecting to reach 165 students enrolled before the end of the year.” Doesn’t that sound good? Well, that could be you talking in your next business encounter, providing you have your figures straight. That 10-second elevator speech is powerful, clear and conveys strong leadership.

Timely – Set a time frame for figuring out your goals. This can be by calendar year, academic year, semester or month. The time frame itself is less important than your consistency in using it as a measuring tool. For educational programs, yearly goals are common.

For the first year, set modest goals for your marketing program. Let your entire administrative team and teaching staff know what the program’s goals are. An example might be, “Did you know that last year we had 200 students enrolled in our program? It is our goal to increase that number by 20% this year. We’re going for a total enrollment of 240 students and two extra classes. Ask us how you can help!”

This post is adapted from an excerpt from 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

2 Comments | 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program, Communication, education, goals, languages, Literacy, marketing, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

How to Market Your Language or Literacy Program – Idea #2 Create an image for your program

March 3, 2010

Creating an image for your program is an important part of marketing and promoting it. Think about what you want your prospective students to imagine when they see your marketing materials.

Is your program based on strict academics, intense cultural immersion, workplace learning or a fun holiday program? Once you have determined what image you want for your program, you can proceed to create that image through the photos, fonts and layouts that you choose for your marketing materials. For example, a fun holiday program does not need a coat of arms on its letterhead, but a program based on serious academic study may benefit from a more
traditional image. What is the image you want to create?

The creation of a program or school image is one that you may want to develop through a committee. The input from various committee members can help you clarify what message you want to send out to the world and what you want to avoid. Your committee can include a variety of perspectives such as administration, teaching staff, even students and alumni. Having someone with some training in branding or marketing may be helpful, too.

Remember that it is easier to create an image from the beginning, than it is to change an image that has already been established. Your aim is to create a strong image for your program so that when prospects and competitors see your marketing material they quickly associate it with your program.

This post is an excerpt from Sarah’s book, 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

How to brand your language or literacy program

February 25, 2010

Branding is one activity that falls under the larger umbrella of marketing. It’s important to have an overall marketing strategy. Branding is a hot topic though and lots of people ask me about it. So today I wanted to focus briefly just on branding for language schools and literacy programs. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Be clear about what programs you’re offering. If you focus on programs for adults, then be purposeful and decisive about it. Do not try to be all things to all people. Focus all your efforts on programs that fit within your niche. Find trusted colleagues who offer complementary programs so you can refer prospects to them who don’t fit in your niche. So if your specialty is a program for those 18-50 and you get an inquiry from someone looking for a youth program, have somewhere to refer them. That’s just good professional courtesy. Then, send them on their way and stay focussed on your niche. Being clear about who you are and what you do is the first step to marketing yourself successfully. From there, you can focus more on other activities, including branding.

Use your logo widely – If you have a logo, use it on all your marketing materials – not just the website or the brochures. Make sure it is on your business cards, your letterhead and any promotional materials you produce. People associate the logo with your activities , your style and your philosophy. Your logo is a visual, often pictorial image that represents who your organization is and what you do. This idea is very powerful for language and literacy programs where words may be a barrier to your clients! You don’t words on your logo. You can have them, but you don’t need them. Your logo becomes an imprint on the memory of those who see it. Use it widely and people will get to know your program better.

Be clear and consistent -You want to deliver the same message to your prospects with all of your marketing materials. It is important to keep the logo consistent over time and also to use it consistently.  In my experience, programs that have one logo that they use on every piece of paper that leaves their office and every web page are usually very successful. This is because they are sending a message that they are reliable, trustworthy and that they’re here to stay.

Here are a few of my favorite online articles for branding. They’re directed towards business people and entrepreneurs, and what they have to say is also good for educational leaders who are responsible for promoting their programs within their communities or to the world.

Fundamentals of branding
http://www.brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=183

Approaches to branding
http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/managing-products/approaches-to-branding/

How to position a company, product, service or brand
http://www.adcracker.com/position/

and a good articles on the failure of some marketing campaigns (and the resulting failure of the associated products and services):

Product and brand failures: a marketing perspective
http://articles.mplans.com/product-and-brand-failures-a-marketing-perspective/

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Tips for success at educational trade fairs

February 10, 2010

Here are some tips I’ve used myself at educational trade fairs. They could just as easily apply to business trade shows too, I would expect, but since my experience is in the educational sector, I’ll stick to what I know. A few of them were passed on to me by others who were seasoned veterans of the fair circuit, so let me publicly thank them for helping me out when I was a rookie. I’m happy to share all these tips with you:

Think “first aid kit”. First aid kits are full of little things you need in emergencies. Your “trade fair kit” should include tape, push pins, “fun tack” (sticky putty that holds posters to the wall without marking the wall) business cards, markers, pens, elastic bands, a couple of large envelopes, a note pad and a pair of scissors. Bring everything you need to make your booth beautiful. Bonus tip: Using clear packing tape, I always tape a business card to the handle of my scissors so if anyone asks to borrow them, they will remember who to return them to. It’s amazing how many things get lent – and then lost – at a trade fair!

Stay hydrated. Exhibition halls can get hot and usually don’t have a lot of fresh air. You may get dehydrated more quickly than usual. Keep a bottle of water handy and drink from it often. Coffee, tea and colas will dehydrate you (and they’ll look terrible if they spill on your clothes.) If you’re travelling in a foreign country remember to buy bottled water. Make sure the bottle is sealed when you get it. Otherwise, it may have been refilled with local tap water which may contain bacteria that is not agreeable to your system.

Dress for comfort. You’re on the go for 10, 12, maybe 14 hours (or more). You need to look professional, but you also need to be comfortable. If your shoes hurt your feet, leave them at home. If your favorite suit is a bit snug these days, forget it. The bottom line is that if you’re not thinking about what you’re wearing, you’re more likely to concentrate on your work. Bonus tip: Bring some stain remover. In Canada, for example, you can buy a box of individually wrapped stain-wipes and I expect you can get them in many other countries, too. They are great for travelling. If you spill something on yourself, you may not have time to run back to your room to change.

Be a know-it-all. People are more likely to remember you if you are helpful to them. Before the doors crash open and people flood the hall, make a point to find out where the closest bathrooms, exits, water fountain, information booth and cafeteria are. No, it’s not your job to direct traffic, but if you can be helpful to others, they will appreciate it and you’ll leave them with a positive impression.

Smile, smile, smile! Once students, agents and parents fill the hall, this is your time to shine. Make a point to smile to as many of them as possible. Sometimes, people start concentrating on answering questions or focus on how tired or jet lagged they feel. The tough reality is that students and parents have no idea how you feel and most of them won’t care. They will care, however, if you make them feel good. A smile always makes people feel good.

Be a farmer. Trade fairs are a place to plant seeds that will grow later. Collect as much contact information as you can, so you can stay in touch with people later. This is called “harvesting information”. One way to do this is to offer a draw for something that people are really keen on. Free tuition is always a hit. Then, use your entry forms to follow up with people when you get home. Plant the seeds. Nurture the relationships that germinate at trade fairs and some of them will blossom into registrations for you.

Warning – Don’t eat alone. Trade fairs mean networking. Valuable meetings can happen over meals or coffee. Use this time to build relationships with other professionals, agents or a new contact. Remember that the best way to network is to make yourself an excellent resource for others. Be ready to offer your own tips, ideas and information. Doing so will help others remember you – warmly.

(This post is a reprint of an article originally written by the blog author in the October 6, 2003 edition of the “weekly e-newsletter for subscribers of marketinglanguageprograms@yahoogroups.ca”.)

Related posts:

How to find a good ESL agent: Tips from the trenches

Tips for finding ESL educational agents

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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