Sunday, June 14, 2015

3 Marketing Lessons for Public Education from Jurassic World



Synopsis About Jurassic World Before Reading my Article

Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond. After 10 years of operation and visitor rates declining, in order to fulfill a corporate mandate, a new attraction is created to re-spark visitor's interest, which backfires horribly. - [imdb.com]

How Jurassic World Can Help Your School Marketing


Jurassic World opened in the summer of 2015 and became the second biggest film opening of all time, banking over $204 million in just three days. It’s entertaining, but also has lessons that a school district can use when planning a new marketing campaign.

Remember, with any big project, always ask yourself a simple question…  

Will this bring us a return on our investment? ROI.

It’s not about being cool, it’s about getting results.

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” - Dr. Ian Malcolm


3 Marketing Lessons from Jurassic Park and Jurassic World


1. Stop to Think if You Should


Just because your communication team can create really cool messages, doesn’t mean you should. Always study your audience and stick to your strategy.

The lesson from the original Jurassic Park, and the newest Jurassic World, relates to Dr. Malcolm’s quote from the above. Strategy must be your first priority!

For example, think of New Coke debacle. It's ranked as one of the biggest mistakes in business history. The Coca Cola Company was feeling major pressure from Pepsico’s Pepsi Challenge* Pepsi claimed that people across the globe prefer the taste of Pepsi over the taste of Coca Cola.

Coke rushed to their scientist and had them change their iconic, 100 year formula. They wanted Coke to taste more like Pepsi. It was a massive mistake. The company forgot that people had a relationship with Classic Coke.

They might have preferred the taste of New Coke, but that does not mean they wanted to throw away their 100 year relationship with Coca Cola. Don’t chase the flavor of the month, or jump on the newest trend, without studying your marketplace and your customers.


2. Don’t Take the Small Dinosaur for Granted


There is a scene from the original Jurassic Park where Newman, I mean Wayne Knight, encounters smaller dinosaurs that spit a poisonous mucus. At first, he thinks they’re cute and won’t cause any harm, but when he interacts with the dinosaur it's a very different story. He is ultimately blinded and eaten by the smaller dinosaurs.

Don’t make the same mistake in your school district. Small charter schools might seem harmless, but they can eat away at your student population. Sometimes being smaller is their biggest asset.

Always study all of your competition. Form a game plan. Sharpen your offensive and defensive strategy when it comes to your competition. Always be strategic. Learn more. Win more.

Kill the small dinosaur, or be killed by the small dinosaur.

3. Birds Evolved from Dinosaurs


To truly grow, and fly above the competition, you have to evolve.

Not moving forward and doing the same thing never works. Many in School Public Relations are guilty of this. They don’t think they need to evolve because everyone has to go to school.

However, with so much competition from private schools, charter schools and home schooling, public education needs to evolve now more than ever.

Be strategic. Study your competition. Look for trends. Evolve from a dinosaur, and soar above your competition. 

Cue the Dramatic, Happy Ending Music


Think, respect, and evolve.

It sounds very simple, but in reality, it can be very difficult.

Public education needs strategic marketing more than ever.  Be great in all you do.

And in the words of Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Jurassic Park, “Hold onto your butts”.

We would love to hear your feedback. Drop us a question in the comment section below.

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