School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe

In this follow up to episode 232, Brad and Scully focus on how Heads can turn understanding into meaningful activity that changes behaviour or perception for your audience. They explore how to define success before acting, choose the right measures and build simple systems that keep teams aligned. The conversation highlights how structure prevents drift and sustains momentum through the term. The duo discusses practical steps for maintaining momentum and ensuring insights create meaningful improvement for families and staff.

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School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe

Despite having more data and reports than ever, many schools still struggle to turn insight into meaningful change. Brad and Scully explore why execution often stalls through vague direction, thin ownership and weak inspection, and outline how Heads can close the 'strategy-execution gap'. They share practical examples across enrolment, communication and brand delivery, demonstrating how clarity, cadence and single-point ownership can transform insight into visible, day-to-day behaviour change.

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School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe

Parents are becoming far more sensitive to how schools communicate fees, and fee transparency is now one of the top factors shaping enrolment decisions. In this interview episode, Brad is joined by Anthony McCausland, Founder and CEO of Feesable, to discuss new national insights from the School Fees in Australia: 2025 Report. They explore how Gen Z parents are reshaping expectations, why clarity and simplicity build trust and retention, and the practical steps Heads can take to modernise fee communication and strengthen every stage of the enrolment journey.

Episode Links

• School Fees in Australia: 2025 Report – Feesable

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School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe

Heads feel like they're constantly firefighting. In this episode, Brad and Scully discuss how to replace that reactive cycle with calm and confident leadership through marketing maturity. They explore how disciplined systems create clarity, resilience and trust across your school and outline five practical steps to embed structure, align marketing with strategy and lead with confidence – building stability that lasts beyond any single person or change.

Get in touch at [email protected]

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe

Brad speaks to Sue Ellson, independent LinkedIn Specialist and career development author, to discuss how schools can attract and retain quality staff in a competitive employment landscape. Sue shares practical ways to build a stronger professional presence online, position your school as an employer of choice, and use LinkedIn to reach candidates. Together, they explore how Heads can shape staff attraction strategies that align with a school's values, strengthen culture and enhance reputation.

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School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe

Even the strongest school brands can lose clarity through slow and silent erosion. Brad and Scully explore the hidden danger of message drift: how small, well-intentioned changes can blur your voice and weaken your impact. They discuss why drift is a leadership issue, how to spot it before it spreads, and share a five-step guide to re-anchor your school's story so it stays clear, consistent and trusted.

Get in touch at [email protected]

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe

Brad is joined by US education marketing strategist and Founder of Caylor Solutions, Bart Caylor, to explore how rapid AI advances are reshaping school communication and leadership. With tools like OpenAI's Sora 2 creating lifelike videos in seconds, the discussion dives into what this means for authenticity, brand risk and crisis readiness. Brad and Bart explore the dangers of 'work slop', how AI-generated noise dilutes brand trust, and explain why Heads must become AI-literate, lead with human purpose and set guardrails to protect their school's brand in a synthetic world.

Episode links:

• Caylor Solutions
• OpenAI's Sora 2: AI Video Magic Meets Copyright Chaos – Mike Kaput – Marketing AI Institute
• Sora 2 System Card – OpenAI
• Sora 2 Blog – Sam Altman
• OpenAI launch of video app Sora plagued by violent and racist images: 'The guardrails are not real' – The Guardian
• AI-Generated "Workslop" Is Destroying Productivity – Harvard Business Review

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School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe

In this episode, Brad and Scully explain why consistency is the foundation of every strong school brand, and why it's so difficult to achieve. They explain how inconsistency erodes trust, why chasing the 'new and different' isn't always better, and how brand confusion impacts both parents and staff outlook and communication. To help school Heads lead with clarity, the duo introduces a practical seven-step framework for building strategic, visual and verbal consistency across every touchpoint.

A seven-step school brand consistency framework:

1. Define brand intent: Clarify your school's core values and mission to guide all branding efforts.
2. Customer journey audit: Review touchpoints to identify brand inconsistencies and areas needing alignment.
3. Strategic, visual, verbal lenses: Assess branding through strategy, visuals and communication to find improvement areas.
4. Maintain discipline: Ensure all actions and communications consistently reflect your brand values over time.
5. Foster creativity: Refresh your brand with innovative strategies to keep it engaging and relevant.
6. Generate enthusiasm: Engage your community with exciting content to maintain interest and prevent disengagement.
7. Use the right tools: Use tools for consistency but rely on experts for strategic, creative brand execution.

Get in touch at [email protected]

School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe

Brad is joined by strategy expert Graham Kenny and behavioural data scientist Professor Ganna Pogrebna to explore how school Heads can harness AI to shape strategy with confidence. They examine the creative and practical potential of large language models, from amplifying alumni stories and sharpening communication, to ideating fresh approaches for enrolment and open days. Together, they highlight the opportunities and risks of AI, how to avoid disenfranchising staff in the process, and why the most powerful uses of AI are often intensely practical.

Link to Workshop:

• Boost Your Strategy with the Power of AI – Strategic Factors

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School Marketing Journal with Brad Entwistle and Andrew Sculthorpe

Hiring a marketing professional isn't like hiring a teacher, it requires a different approach. Brad and Scully outline 10 key questions every Head should ask before making a decision. They explain why defining success first matters, how to spot true experience and why strong marketers acknowledge their limits. The duo also reveals how facing failure, the ability to explain and planning systematic approaches to tasks are signs of true expertise.

Link to Article:

• Hiring with confidence: Ten questions for spotting expertise – Term 3, 2024

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