For most schools, particularly those targeting secondary level students and their parents, the school prospectus forms a big part of the introduction of the school.
It provides potential students with information about the curriculum, learning styles, grade statistics, and the wider school life. A traditional prospectus is something that a student and their parents can take home and read long after the tour. It is something that keeps the school front and centre of their minds and, if designed and created effectively, can be the deciding factor in whether a school is right for a particular student.
How do we know this?
Here at Cleverbox, school prospectus design is a big part of our service offering – meaning that we not only know what a great prospectus looks like, but we also know how innovation and modern demands have changed the way that prospectuses are used. Enter the online school prospectus.
What is an online school prospectus?
Even with the disruption to our daily lives experienced over the last year or so, some staples of school marketing stay relevant, even if they evolve into a different guise.
As the name suggests, an online school prospectus does everything that you’ve come to know a traditional printed prospectus does, but now available on a channel that is readily accessible to a much wider audience. The online prospectus can now be accessed by anyone, anywhere.
Home working has also become the norm over the last year, and it shows no sign of changing, which means that your audience of prospective parents have been spending a lot of time at home, making impactful decisions online rather than in person. Even with restrictions bound to ease in the Summer, some of the lifestyle tendencies that we have become accustomed to will undoubtedly remain in place. As we mentioned previously on our blog, you need to make your offering as easy as possible for them.
Typically used by schools as a focal point on their website, the online prospectus showcases various areas of the school, including the curriculum, past grades, learning techniques and teaching styles, head of department testimonials and comments, student reviews, and plenty of glossy photographs.
As a creative agency focussed on school prospectuses as part of our core service offering, we know what it takes to separate your school from the pack, while depicting your school’s ethos, culture and values in an easily accessible online format.
However, instant download and online technology may not be for every parent. Moving forward, some parents will always need to experience the look and feel of a school in person, which is why crucially, the online school prospectus should not be viewed as a replacement for the hard copy.
How to set your prospectus apart from the rest…
As soon as a parent receives the prospectus, it is important for the values and vision of the school to come to life. Through our work with various schools across the nation, we have implemented and brought a variety of different concepts to fruition, whether it be through strong and vibrant imagery for a sports college, a focus on the value of the curriculum for a grammar school, or the broader school ideologies of a catholic school – all of which use their prospectus as a high level selling point, designed to entice parents and give them the information they need.
All of our prospectus designs are bespoke, but there are some elements that are proven to be differentiators across the board, such as:
- High quality, professional photography
- A focus on the school’s branding throughout
- Typography and overall design, which can influence the way that your school is interpreted
- A strong focus on content, delivering the information both parents and potential pupils need.
Why is an online school prospectus such a valuable resource?
The simple fact is that Covid-19 has changed the way schools operate, and has forced many school and community touchpoints online; including school open days which have commonly been held virtually, teaching resources for existing pupils, and prospectus brochures.
The value of an online school prospectus is simple. It gives the school website a key focal point through which to share some of the most vital information and best features of the school in an easily accessible format.
For schools considering the value of an online school prospectus, here are a few quick tips learned from our years of perfecting them:
- Just because a prospectus can sit online, it doesn’t mean that selecting the right font, font size, design & layout, and size of the pages is not as vital as ever. If anything, an online school prospectus needs even more focus on the specification, because you need to ensure it will be shown in an optimum resolution regardless of the device it is being opened on. This is something that our team at Cleverbox are able to provide guidance with.
- Consider how you can use your online school prospectus creatively. This is a high value offering that can be shared via email, with some schools successfully creating videos and even social media campaigns which provide sneak previews at the various parts of their prospectus, to draw in extra attention.
- An online prospectus doesn’t have to be static. Include clickable links and videos, share pupil and teacher testimonials, and get creative with innovative visuals and designs.
- Remember that your prospectus can also be used to help draw in the best teachers in the industry too. Use your prospectus as a feature alongside any teaching vacancies and advertisements you post.
- Never EVER skimp on the photography! Professional photography can elevate a prospectus into something which truly stands out and is highly effective in converting parents into becoming a part of your school community.
To summarise, while online school prospectuses are on the rise, and will continue to have a place in your marketing plan once full lockdown restrictions are eased, you cannot discount the immense value of a quality hard copy prospectus as well. Having this staple of your school marketing strategy combined with its new digital version, is the antidote for giving your school an edge over the competition.
We have extensive experience working with a variety of prospectus formats to attract and inspire the right target audience for every school – check out our past case studies and client work. If you’d like to chat to one of our team about how you can improve your prospectus offering to prospective parents, both online and in your hard copy, get in touch with us today.