Marketing and Communications Review
St George’s British International School, Rome
We were aware of RSAcademics from recent recruitment projects, but hadn’t realised the extent of the services that RSAcademics offer. Using RSAcademics for a review of the marketing and communications in the school was recommended to us.
After contacting RSAcademics, they were very responsive, and after an initial call, it was clear they would be able to conduct the review we were hoping for in a sensitive but suitably thorough way.
The school has restructured the staffing around MarComs and employed a new Head of the MarComs Team. As the school is undergoing a period of campus and student number expansion, it is particularly important that the marketing team supports the admissions team to achieve their targets. Alongside this, parent surveys had identified school communication as an area requiring improvement.
The main challenges around communications were the increasing complexity of the school, with split campuses and a growing number of communication platforms and channels. We wanted to engage an external company to review this with both staff and parents, provide recommendations, and benchmark against competitor schools to inform our marketing strategy.
The team was highly skilled at probing beneath the surface of issues to develop practical and useful recommendations. At the same time, they were sensitive to the fact that such recommendations could be perceived as criticism, and they created a safe environment where staff could share their experiences without assigning blame. The team was focused and met all deadlines, effectively probing to uncover core issues while remaining sensitive and ensuring no problems were left unresolved after their departure.
It’s early days, but the advice has given us a clear roadmap for improvements, and we are following the advice and seeing benefits already.
In terms of communications, we are gaining clarity on the key issues and identifying ways to achieve both short- and long-term improvements. At the same time, we were reassured that this process takes time, which helped set realistic expectations for the wider community.
The review provided clear targets and helped establish the foundation for a comprehensive marketing strategy. We’ve already restructured our meetings and aligned marketing efforts with the admissions team and their goals, leading to the launch of new campaigns that are already showing measurable results in admission numbers.
We would be happy to recommend RSAcademics for a Marketing and Communications review. The Team showed expertise and sensitivity, and the report gave very helpful recommendations that resonated with us.