Schools must try new promotional mix to win the admission battle!

The admission time is the most dramatic time of the year when parents do every bit of research to get the admission seat for their children in the best school.  The admission season usually begins from December and lasts up to April. This period is very crucial for parents as they make conscious decision about selecting the school for their child based on the parameters of school fees, facilities, security, teaching staff and hygiene.

The admission season can also be considered as battle between the schools to get the most admissions done. But here, the war gear for fighting out the admission battle is advertisements and promotion on various media.

What shall be the right promotional mix of various Ad Media?

Keeping in mind the current media trends and the innovative methods that are being used by educational institutes to shine out from the rest, the correct promotional mix shall be the balance between the traditional and the new age media. For schools the right media mix would be:

• Digital advertising: Search ads, video ads and internet ads are the most economical means of advertising. They can cost between Rs.15000-20,000. They are very impactful as people resort to search engines and school websites for getting complete information about the school.

• Newspaper advertising: Newspaper is the most credible source of the information that reaches the masses every morning. Therefore, newspaper advertising through pamphlet ads or print ads in the paper reach majority of people who sought the information through these ads. Newspaper ads can cost from 3-5 Lakhs depending on the size, quality and the newspaper brand used for advertising.

• Radio ads: They are very effective as they convey valuable information in short, crisp and clear radio ads. The ads contain precise information about school motto, admission dates and other vital information and can be customized in various languages depending upon the city of operation of the radio channel. The ads in regional languages help the message to reach target audience more effectively. The radio ads can cost from Rs. 20-25,000.

• Outdoor ads: Outdoor ads are the most impactful in reinforcing the name, motto, and location of the schools and educational institutes. The school can put up digital as well as static hoardings at prime locations such as residential areas, highways and busy markets to reach maximum audience. The messages like ‘admission open’, ‘opening soon’ and ‘smart-class education’ etc grab maximum eye-balls. The outdoor ads can cost anywhere between INR 30K-50K.