Three ways school Houses build school brands

The House system in schools can take years to thrive in a young school. Well-established schools with House structures often have deep traditions that can create belonging and drive school culture, but are difficult to change as the school and its environment changes. Have you ever thought about the potential value of Houses to the school’s strategic marketing effort?

 

How does it currently work?

 

The concept of Houses in schooling goes something like this:

 

• The school allocates every new child and staff member to a House, keeping families together.
• Houses are named after important figures, places or concepts based on the school’s history or identity.
• Leadership of the Houses appointed annually from the scholars in that House, with staff members supporting and guiding the student leadership.
• A range of regular, calendar events and school-related activities are conceptualised, developed and delivered through the House groups.
• House initiatives may have the objective of community-building, teamwork, leadership development, social interaction or outreach.

 

Is the House system relevant to school marketing?

 

Yes, I believe it is. Of course, it’s largely internal marketing (marketing to your existing school community). And good internal marketing leads to good external marketing (marketing to prospective families), not the other way around. Brands grow from within.

 

I believe that school Houses may represent one of the most powerful examples of customer experience. And they could be valuable resources for building the brand in the school’s target market, as well as in your school’s retention, alumni and development strategy.

 

Here are three ideas, just a few of many. They tend to be tactical, but can definitely be integrated into more of a strategic approach. I get more into strategy later in the blog.

 

1. Community-building and identity

 

Houses bring together students and staff into groups with a unique shared identity that is linked to the overall school identity, but largely driven internally by the members of that House. This allows for heavy student involvement which can create energy and relevance – Student voice. This level of buy-in can be difficult for school leadership to achieve for the entire school at any given point, but when the Houses are strong, the combination of these groups can add value to the whole. Key messages can gain more traction.

Linked into the overall school effort in community-building and identity, the Houses can boost the brand by creating depth and breadth, as long as the core school brand identity is central to the approach and not fragmented into silos and confused messages. Use the Houses to bolster the brand, strengthen and lengthen the communications channels, not to overwhelm it.

 

2. A Constant and Active Presence

 

The Houses’ active presence is a constant reminder of their group identity, through House assemblies, House meetings, House charity projects, House colours and uniforms, House competitions and events. Because the House system is often embedded into the school’s operational processes, it becomes a consistent and active presence, rather than a sporadic or passive one. It’s integrated into school life, yet not curriculum-based.

 

Good marketing is about consistency. The drip-drip-drip approach of consistent marketing messaging means that by having Houses so ingrained into the daily routine of schools, they have life and presence for messaging to land with impact. This provides an opportunity to build culture and spirit, which in turn build the brand. Strategic marketing can help to optimise this further.

 

3. Competitive and fun engagement

 

Those friendly House challenges (House debates, House choir performances, House sports matches) lead to a shared energy that’s spontaneous, contagious, fun. Children learn about teamwork, working towards a shared goal, winning and losing together. This excitement generates and builds interest, momentum and engagement. It can also help dissolve potential conflict as groups of people across ages connect in different ways.

 

How often do we try to create fun, engaging moments in our storytelling on social media? Here we have, inside our school, a home-grown source of unique, student-led, engagement. This may provide authentic content that can showcase the school’s identity in a way that others don’t.

 

How can you build on the efforts of your school houses in your strategic marketing?

 

Your marketing strategy needs to be based on independent market research. You can only do so much of this alone, but do what you can with what you have. A part of your market research can include gathering views on the school House system and its contribution to the marketing effort.

 

Remember, differentiation is key, especially in the eyes of your target market.

 

Copying every other school is not the goal. Creating a compelling positioning that makes your school stand out from the others in the eyes of your target market is the goal. Finding what resonates with your ideal client is much more important than doing what everybody else is doing. So, ask the questions and apply the answers to your marketing strategy.

 

A few suggestions:

 

1. Admissions

 

Bring the House system into your school story and gradually build this up to add value to your school’s identity and community. Develop visuals, create traditions, share the personality of each House and how it builds the whole, inviting new admissions into the houses. Be careful not to fragment the brand, as the Houses tend to have their own sub-brands, but these add character and can add interest and depth to the story.

 

2. Alumni

 

Involve the alumni through the House system, and seek marketing opportunities in this approach. Often, alumni remember House activities better and more fondly than the classroom memories. Find these stories, share them, bring them into the alumni effort, create activities like alumni sports and culture challenges linked to Houses.

 

3. Development

 

Houses usually play a powerful role in outreach into the local (and global) community. We know that social media loves outreach efforts, and they convey the heart of the school that other stories simply cannot match. Find a way to integrate this House outreach work into your marketing messages and link to the overall development efforts. Start small and build momentum, ensuring the student-led approach remains key, grounded, and receives recognition and thanks.

 

4. Retention

 

Use the House system in your school to keep existing families in the know of the activities and the excitement of the achievements and planned events, linking siblings and parents through each House identity to underpin why they joined the school and why they should stay in the school. Retention is often the weakest leg of the marketing strategy, if it is there at all. Existing families are marketed to by competitor schools, and they need to be reminded of what makes your school amazing.

 

House on Houses at Houseway Consulting

 

I realise that House is mentioned a lot in this article, but it’s not all about me! My passion is strategic marketing for independent schools. I also have a keen interest in the role our independent schools play in social development, in life skills and leadership skills. And I do believe this is an underutilised area of our schools. It’s often a strength we keep hidden.

 

The House system is traditionally an operational process in the school. It’s seldom seen as a marketing area, except perhaps in the school tie or uniform use of colours and branding for the Houses. I’m inspired by what I see in the way that House activity can be innovative, giving, and engaging. I’d love to know your thoughts and ideas on this topic.

 

To speak to me on marketing strategy for independent schools, please contact me via my website here.