October 4, 2018 | The Oakwood School

8:30-9:00am       Registration

9:00-9:15am       Introductions

9:20-10:40am     Session 1: Finding Your Brand | Is a school's brand something the admissions director decides? Maybe it's something that the board chooses? According to author Seth Godin, "a brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer's decision to choose one product or service over another." By uncovering and celebrating the most compelling aspects of your school, you can work to differentiate yourself in the marketplace, thereby attracting best-fit families to your school. In this session, you will learn which voices determine your school's brand, and how to capture those voices in a way that will unify and uplift your school community.

10:45-11:00am    Break

11:00-12:25pm    Session 2: Grassroots Marketing | After uncovering your brand messages, how do you get the word out to those best-fit families? With a limited staff to undertake marketing and the restricted budget that most small schools have, you will learn where to focus your energy and scarce marketing dollars. In this session, you will take a closer look at website content and consider the different benefits and audiences of various social media and traditional marketing channels.

12:30-1:30pm     Lunch

1:35-3:00pm       Session 3: Cultivating and Securing Major Gifts | How many times have you thought, or even said aloud, "We need to find more/bigger/happier donors?" Learn the steps to cultivate an ethos of philanthropy at your school so that potential donors see your school as a stable, viable organization worthy of their support. With unified messaging, strategic planning, compelling cases for support, and a fired-up team of staff and volunteers, you will be able to identify and attract major donors to your school confidently.

3:00-3:30pm      Informal Sharing and Q&A

3:30pm              Adjourn