FEC Marketing Made Easy Vol. 7 – Back to School Edition

FEC Marketing Made Easy Vol. 7 – Back to School Edition

This month we are focusing on back to school. Last week we talked about four school events you should be booking now. You can read it here.

This week we want to talk about marketing ideas for schools. That can get a little tricky. Some districts require you get approval or become an approved vendor before you can work with them. If you create great programs that benefit and inspire students, you are more likely to get in.

Here are eight ideas for marketing to schools and creating long partnerships.

  1. Reading Club

We have mentioned having a reading club for a long time and if you don’t have one in place, start now! Reading clubs are great to host during summer and working with local school librarians is a great place to get the information in the student’s hands before they leave for summer break. If you want to know how to start a reading club, we have a step-by-step manual to help you get started now, market to schools throughout the school year, and have the program built and ready when summer rolls around.

  1. Bookmarks

Reading is always a big push in schools and bookmarks are a fun and inexpensive way to reach out to students. Create a fun bookmark with your mascot and logo and have a free or BOGO offer for students to detach. It’s fun and easy, and you will stay top of mind as they read all year long.

  1. Games for Grades and Attendance

Create fun certificates or coupons you can give to schools for straight A’s, A’s and B’s, and perfect attendance. Make the offers different for each level and drop them off at the front office. Schools are always looking for student incentives!

  1. Donation for Auction

Talk with PTO/PTA presidents. During the school year, the PTO/PTA hosts various events to raise money for the schools. Offer a donation item for them to raffle off. A family four pack or even a birthday party will help the school and bring potential new guests at your door.

  1. Teacher Weekday Discounts

Our teachers work hard all week long and sometimes they don’t want to cook when they get home. Offer discounted meals and bundles for teachers and members of the school district for a day. It’s a great way to drive weekday business to your center.

  1. Back to School Social Media giveaway

One of my favorite parts of back to school is first-day pictures. Host a contest on social media for the most creative back to school picture. Make sure they use a special hashtag, like #tttbacktoschool, so it’s easy for you to search.

  1. Advertise

Advertising with a school is a great partnership and opens loads of doors for other activities. Start research now for how to advertise in the student’s folders for the next school year. Reach out to high school organizations and sports teams to see how to advertise in their programs. Trust me; they are still looking for sponsors.

  1. Free Swag

Everyone loves free swag! From pencils, notebooks, t-shirts, and water bottles, they are all great items teachers can use to incentivize their kiddos. You can purchase them for your redemption area and front desk and tack on a few extra to give to schools. It’s just another great way to get your center to be top of mind and build a relationship.

We hope these ideas help you get into schools and book more events. We would love to hear what’s working for your center! Be sure to comment below or shoot us an email at marketing@trainertianment.net.

Holidays and Events to Start Planning For

  • October 4th – National Taco Day – Everyone is obsessed with tacos! Have a special menu item or work with local food trucks to host a special event in your parking lot.
  • October 31st – Halloween is just around the corner. Plan something fun for your guests.
  • November – Host, a canned food drive, to benefit your local food bank. Offer a special, a free game, or even a fun treat like a lanyard for their game card when they bring in canned food.
  • November 26th – Cyber Monday – Create special offers guests can purchase only online for Cyber Monday. Create special packages they can use before the holiday break or special BOGO offers they can redeem at any time.

 

Four School Events You Need To Book Now

Four School Events You Need To Book Now

It’s August which means administrators and students are heading back to school. In a few weeks our daytime traffic in the center will slow down and we will be looking for ways to fill the center mid-week.

Have you already created a plan to reach out to your schools and organizations? That’s a great way to help fill your mid-week slump. This week I wanted to give you four ideas about who you should be reaching out to and the events to book with them.

Educational Field Trips

Kids love field trips! I don’t know about your school district but for ours, it has become harder and harder to schedule field trips. The key thing they are looking for is an educational piece for their field trip.

Take a look at your center and see how you can provide that for them. Get creative! Use bowling as a fun way for them to do math problems, use an attraction to teach them about science, the kitchen is a great way to use math and nutrition.

Ask team members in your center their ideas of how your center can be an educational field trip destination.

End of Season Banquets

If you have an event space for a banquet, be sure and reach out to all the sports teams at your local high school and area sports leagues. Your high school teams are all looking for spaces that can hold a crowd, doesn’t kill their budget, and is family friendly. Get in now before the season over.

For your local sports teams, talk to the director and inquire about having the price of their banquet included in the registration costs. All teams have to do is schedule a time and purchase additional tickets for parents and siblings.

Teacher and Administrator Team Building and Meeting Space

We know that team building is such an important part of bringing a team together. Team building helps new team members integrate easier, everyone can better understand other’s strengths and weaknesses, it improves collaboration, and helps foster innovation and creativity. A lot of what our teachers teach our students, right?

Talk to principals and administrators about your team building activities and how you provide a unique team building experience. If you need help, get our Corporate Party Playbook – Play Therapy program that can help you get on track.

Don’t forget to let them know you have the space for meetings and events for their teams, too!

Fundraising

Schools and clubs are always looking for ways to fundraise for their school. Budgets are getting cut and money is tight, so they depend on fundraisers to help their organizations work. Talk with PTO/PTA presidents, booster clubs, student organizations, and other similar groups about hosting a fundraiser.

It doesn’t have to be hard. Let the organization select a date Monday – Thursday and for a two or three-hour window and donate a percentage of the sales to that organization. They will be grateful that you are a partner with them and will look to you the next time they want to plan an event.

We hope these tips help you organize your school outreach efforts. Don’t wait to call them. Start making appointments now for the school year.

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