Marketing campaign for UK boarding schools in East Asia

British Council East Asia will launch a marketing campaign to help UK boarding schools’ marketing and student recruitment needs. We recognise that each school has unique marketing needs and budgets, so the campaign is flexible in terms of which markets and activities you participate in.

Through the marketing campaign, British Council East Asia will help UK boarding schools to:

1. Identify the ‘right’ target audience
2. Communicate messaging that speaks to  East Asia parents and students decision making factors
3. Enhance your positioning, profile and attractiveness in East Asia
4. Boost your international student recruitment numbers
5. Meet new agent partners

MARKET CONTEXT

China

The number of Chinese students being educated at British independent schools is growing rapidly. According to the UK Independent Schools Council 2017 census there were 6,599 students from mainland China studying at UK independent schools, a 6.5% increase from 2016. Chinese mainland students currently make up over 20% of the total number of international students studying at British independent schools. This figured is expected to continue rising as parents not only seek to prepare their children for entry into a UK college or university, but are also recognising the positive benefits a UK independent school education can have on their children from an early age.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong continues to be the global second largest source market for international students to UK boarding schools. UK education, and boarding schools in particular, enjoy a reputation for academic excellence, and parents look to send their students in order to avoid the high pressure local education system. Despite a fall in the youth population in Hong Kong the number of Hong Kong students in UK boarding schools has increased 2.4% in 2017, although the number of new students fell slightly by 1%.

Japan

While the Japanese market for UK boarding schools is a modest size, interest has increased with general growth in demand for international education.  In total 924 students from Japan (those with parents in the UK or overseas) were studying at independent schools in the UK in 2016/17, a 38% increase since 2013/14. Growing awareness among parents of the importance of gaining study abroad experience from an early age combined with the extremely favourable exchange rate will further help market growth, as will the growing recognition within Japan of the IB Diploma and A-levels.

Thailand

The number of Thai pupils enrolled at UK independent schools increased by 4.3% in 2017 compared to the previous year, according to the ISC Census. In addition, the number of Thai students attending UK First degree and other Undergraduate courses in 2015/16 has grown by 6%. 

Most agents are increasingly interested in the pre-university and boarding schools market due to increasing demand from parents and students.

UK Boarding schools have long held an excellent reputation in Thailand due to the Thai Royal Family studying there in past years.

Vietnam

The Vietnam market for UK boarding schools is currently small, at around 100 students. However Vietnam has the fastest income growth rates among the middle class in Southeast Asia (source: Boston Consulting Group), and also high growth rates in terms of the number of very wealthy. In a survey conducted with 70 agents in the British Council Agent Network in April 2017, 91 % of them said they want to represent more UK boarding schools in Vietnam market. UK boarding schools are perceived by Vietnamese parents to provide world-class quality, good discipline and excellent student care.

CAMPAIGN INCLUSIONS

1) Market Messaging

We will provide support on content creation and advice on messaging that speaks to the target audience and will ensure the content would be interesting to each audience segment in different East Asia countries.

2) Implementation of integrated marketing campaign

Depending on which activities you select, the campaign can assist with the end to end process for student recruitment, from finding the right target audience, raising the school profile, to gaining and converting enquiries into enrolments.  The campaign includes:

1. Support and advice on content creation for online and offline promotion
2. Market briefing at Face-to-Face events
3. Advertising at our Boarding school guidebook
4. Digital and social media promotion
5. Face-to-face direct recruitment events
6. Networking events with local agents

3) Market briefing sessions

Market briefing sessions will be provided by our local experts before every face-to-face event, so that you will:

• Gain the latest market trends in East Asia
• get prepared before talking to the target audience of parents and students
• understand the opportunities and threats in EA countries

4) Campaign Analytics - Measuring and Assessing Results

After the campaign, we will send a post-event reports, including the click-through rate for the social media posts, the audience reach for online promotion and visitor registration data gathered from face-to-face events.
 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE?

Please let us know your marketing objectives, markets of interests, and approximate budget if appropriate. We will then reply with suggested options or are happy to discuss. Please send an e-mail to Steven Corry, Head of Education Marketing Services (Hong Kong) at steven.corry@britishcouncil.org.hk to discuss further.
 

PROGRAMME SCHEDULE

*Market briefing session will be provided on the F2F event date

For full details of this opportunity and the booking form, please refer to the attached PDF.