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If you’re at any number of public places in Pennsylvania during the school year, perhaps you’ll witness what Joe Lyons describes as “The Sea of Orange” – dozens or even hundreds of school children clad in orange shirts imprinted with a white bell. You might guess it’s a field trip, but it’s not the school you’d expect. The kids, after all, attend virtual school. “We’re very dedicated to the social development of our students. It’s part of our mission,” explains Lyons, executive director of communications for the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School (PAVCS).
The sea of orange reveals just one major way the face of education is changing. Online K-12 learning is a $300 million market representing over 1 million students and growing, at an annual rate of about 30%. The PAVCS alone enrolls 3,800 and holds events across the state, including a “Discovery Days” event that functions both as a year-end celebration and the school’s open house/enrollment kick-off. During those events, the school hands out a variety of logoed merchandise, including imprinted apparel, journals and visors. In addition, the school advertises in print, radio, television and Internet media.
“Charter-school laws in Pennsylvania require that you install open enrollment,” says Lyons, “which means that you have to be open to everyone. The way they ensure that is that we are all required to do marketing.”
Virtual charter schools may represent the wave of the future, but it’s quickly becoming the reality of the present. Students across the country and world now enroll full-time or can supplement their normal classes by taking additional ones online.
For Mike Connor, president of school consultancy Connor Associates Strategic Services, online learning has arrived. “In terms of mastering educational content, it’s going to be more cheaply delivered and delivered toward the way a kid learns through online learning,” he says. “I think that’s going to change the whole ball game.”
Schools were always believed to be beyond the effect of recessions, and colleges flourished in the past decade, increasing enrollment of 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. by 4% from 2000 to 2008. But both public and private schools have begun to flinch. “Education used to be recession-proof, at least until the last economic downtown,” says Fritz McDonald, vice president of creative strategy for Stamats Inc., a leading higher-education marketing firm. “But in this particular recession, endowments took a huge hit, and obviously state budgets have taken a huge hit, and those two events are having a huge impact on the college and university world.”
One study by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (an association of private colleges) "predicts that by 2025, half of all the private colleges or universities in this country are going to have to close, merge or change their missions if they're going to survive,” says Mike Connor, president of Connor Associates Strategic Services, a school marketing and planning consultancy. “That's a pretty sobering fact because we're only 15 years out from that."
As a result, schools must visibly change the ways they market themselves. McDonald points out that colleges have become conservative with their marketing plans, yet they’re adopting social media at a faster rate than Fortune 500 companies. “They’ve been in the old recruiting model for a long time, and what they’re going through is a kind of sea change because of digital technology,” he says. “They’re confronting the fact that, for example, the Web is becoming the hub of their marketing and recruiting.”
Yet, it’s still proven that promotional products have a lower cost-per-impression than even prime-time television, with just 0.5 cents per impression as compared to TV’s 1.8 cents. When social media is paired with promotional products as a marketing strategy, several audiences can be conquered at once.
Connor sees value as becoming even more important for schools to justify, starting with what he terms “internal marketing” (word of mouth among a school’s current students and parents) and coinciding with regarding the entire school as a marketing organization. “They just can't claim it,” he says about schools’ demonstrating their value. “They can't just say, 'We're the best.' They got to be able to prove it."
The task for schools is going to be incredibly difficult as they grapple with what exactly constitutes a 21st-century curriculum. The standard brick-and-mortar school is no longer the only game in town. Home schooling is increasing by 15% per year. Charter schools now enroll over 1.5 million students in more than 5,000 schools. Independent study, online education, specialty schools and more all threaten the current order of education. “Education is going to be available anywhere, and from a variety of different sources,” proclaims Connor.
Even in the big-time world of college athletics, the new Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center made a monumental splash. With a price tag of $19 million, the Syracuse University practice center garnered national attention – not only for its fancy accoutrements, but for the $3 million individual donation that came from the school’s national-championship-winning alumnus and the facility’s namesake.
The dedication for the building was packed, featuring the men’s and women’s coaches, current players, Anthony himself and 250 donors and invited guests. To commemorate the event, which took place in September 2009, Syracuse put out a call to several promotional product distributors to solicit ideas. Creativity ultimately won the day when one distributor presented his idea: a navy mug with a picture of the building and the university’s trademark “S” logo. The kicker: special ink that caused the image to change when the mug is filled with liquid.
The Melo Center dedication showcases all the best qualities of a successful promotion in the education marketplace. The never-ending slate of events. The multitude of departments and student groups. The constant emphasis on marketing and recruitment. And lastly, a reward for strategies that go beyond just the cheapest price.
A business study conducted in fall 2009 found that nearly half of educational institutions expected to spend more on marketing in the second half of 2009 than the previous year. (The next-closest industry was only 27%). Nearly two-thirds (64%) of schools increased or maintained their promotional product spending in 2009. And out of all the industries surveyed, the education market had the highest number of respondents who believed promotional products deliver a positive return on investment.
Promotional marketing in the education sector is typically steady, because the market is believed to be a recession-proof one. “I don’t think it’s as adversely tuned into the peaks and valleys of the economy,” says one promotional products distributor. “I think it is more stable. Yes, during down times they may have fewer students. But they don’t eliminate departments, and their budgets may be reduced, but they’re not eliminated.”
Not only is the face of school marketing changing in the digital revolution, but the very idea of what constitutes a school is being radically transformed. The result is great challenges for those who fall behind the curve – and tremendous opportunity for those who can forecast the future of education.
Schools’ schedules are jam-packed with events. “There’s always something on a college campus that they want to commemorate,” says an account executive for an ad specialties company that works with schools like Texas Tech, Loyola-New Orleans, Auburn and many more.
A huge variety of items cater to educational institutions, thanks to the number of people involved and the wide range of individual preferences. When it comes to alumni groups and administrators, “They’re very concerned about how their logo looks, and they’re looking for classics,” says a rep for a custom-apparel company. “They’re looking for mugs, stainless-steel thermoses, things they know will last five or 10 years and alumni will look at and say, ‘Yeah, that’s something I want.’ ”
In comparison, the rep adds, “The students are looking for what’s hot now.” In translation, that means fashion that’s in tune with the times and tech toys that appeal to students’ electronic interests.
Business owners who underpay themselves year after year are costing themselves in the long run.
Lots of business owners underpay or altogether forgo paying themselves in the interest of “investing” in their business and its needs. In the initial stages of a start-up or in tough times, one might have to make sacrifices, but doing so year after year points to a much bigger problem. To promote profitability, it may seem to make sense to habitually pay yourself less. In the long run, however, it will cost you and your business more than you might anticipate.
As the business takes off, it’s essential to start taking a decent salary for yourself and your partners. Whatever you pay yourself, it should be enough for you to live comfortably and allow you to save and invest for your future. Let the power of compounding work for you. If you own the building, make sure to charge the business a fair rent. You aren’t doing anybody any favors by hiding the actual expenses and giving yourself a false sense of profitability.
One of my consulting clients, let’s call him Steve, was in his 15th year in business but was paying himself barely enough to meet his household expenses. His wife also worked in his business. They hardly took any vacations or saved for their kids’ education or their own retirement. After I had a few meetings with him, he finally understood and realized the importance of taking care of themselves first. He gave his wife and himself a decent raise. They went on a family vacation that they thoroughly enjoyed, and came back rejuvenated with a new vigor. The following year, their business experienced a 10% growth in revenues and a 5% growth in profits.
Steve realized that he hadn’t performed at his best for several years. With the excessive number of hours he was putting into his business and the small return he was getting, he had lost the needed energy and motivation to think creatively and focus on profits. With the rotten mood he brough home at the end of the work day, his relationship with his family had also taken a hit. As a result of increased compensation, things were looking up. Not only could he pay for his immediate needs, but he could also sock away enough and invest for a comfortable life in his golden years.
How much should you pay? This question comes up all the time, and there is no one formula that fits all. It depends on variables such as type of business, legal structure, profitability percentage, tax bracket and others. Some possible solutions are:
Family business dynamics. I have seen situations where the father, who has owned the business for years, hires children to management roles and pays them more than his own salary in order to “keep them motivated.” I find two issues with this situation. One, the children must earn their way up to management by proving their worth. Two, paying more than your own salary sends the wrong message of you being of less worth – it undermines your credibility as the leader.
Greed can kill the business. I have also seen the opposite happen. I knew an owner of a printing business who treated it as her ATM machine. She kept taking money out of her business to splurge on her luxurious lifestyle, including building a second house and taking multiple vacations a year. The number of employees went from seven to two. Sales kept shrinking. She lost most of her customers. The only reason she’s still in business is because of a contractual agreement with one large client.
You’re the one taking all the financial risks, having sleepless nights and making sacrifices; there’s nothing wrong with reaping the rewards. If you have managed your business with a focus on profits, you should not have to worry about finances after your exit – which, by the way, you get to decide, not your age, personal situation or circumstances.
The company announced two new giveback programs for 2024, including a partnership with two organizations dedicated to saving coral reefs.
The Baltimore-based supplier has launched a new environmentally focused giveback program this year, donating a portion of all sales of its new Coral Reef towels.
Coral reefs are one of the most important ecosystems on the planet, supporting 25% of all marine species. They’re also a source of food for hundreds of millions of people; they power coastal economies through tourism, fishing and recreation; and they shelter coastlines from storms and erosion. However, due to factors including climate change and direct human impact, half of coral reefs around the world have been lost, and scientists have projected that more than 90% will have died by 2050.
One solution to the problem is to create high-tech coral farms that can grow coral up to 50 times faster and boost their resiliency against warming and acidifying oceans. Once the new coral is grown, the organization says it can plant it into degraded reefs to bring them back to life.
In addition to its coral reef giveback program, the supplier has announced that it will be donating a portion of all sales to the Melanoma Research Foundation.
These two new giveback programs build on the company’s established philanthropic practice of donating towels and blankets to the Salvation Army, particularly in areas suffering the effects of natural disasters.
The pastel neutral is on trend for apparel, accessories and other promotional products.
Expect 2024 to bring warmth and comfort – at least in terms of color. Pantone has announced Peach Fuzz as its 2024 Color of the Year, describing it as a “clean peach tone with a vintage vibe.”
The Pantone Color Institute says the subtle hue is meant to evoke a message of caring, collaboration and sharing.
“A cozy peach hue softly nestled between pink and orange, PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz brings belonging, inspires recalibration and is an opportunity for nurturing, conjuring up an air of calm, offering us a space to be, feel and heal, and to flourish from, whether spending time with others or taking the time to enjoy a moment by ourselves,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.
The 2024 color is a departure from the more saturated hues Pantone has chosen for other recent Colors of the Year like 2023’s Viva Magenta and 2022’s Very Peri. It’s similar, though, to the 2019 pick Living Coral. Pantone’s announcement also marks the 25th anniversary of the Color of the Year program, which was instituted in 1999, with the color Cerulean Blue.
Trend watchers say Pantone’s latest color of the year is a win. “It perfectly represents trends we’re seeing in the market now ... a rise in neutrals, emphasis in timelessness and attraction to the softness found in nature,”
Others also said, the color “is giving me all the summer sunset vibes” and is the “perfect neutral yet fun color” to complement a brand.
Peach Fuzz works well for athleisure and other apparel basics, lifestyle drinkware and various accessories. Consider these ideas for upcoming trends: