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NAP will have a comprehensive integrated marketing communication (MIMIC) plan. The focus of this report will be to give a detailed look at The New Horizons Preparatory Academes MIMIC plan. Starting with a brief history, the report will present information on the product review (facilities, filing of legal documents, writing a curriculum, target market, and current marketing mix). Section one continues with the need of a private school in Lansing, MI and services of the school. Section two will focus on the competitive review of surrounding schools, segmentation, targeting, and consisting, and end with communication objectives and budget review.
Section three ends the report by focusing on the MIMIC mixes covering advertising, public relations, cause marketing, corporate sponsors, and event underwriting, direct marketing, and the Internet. Section One Industry/Product Review New Horizons Preparatory Academy will be Michigan first private boarding school serving first generation, low-income, and students with disabilities within the new P-14 academic system, all in the heart of Lansing, MI. Brief History New Horizons Preparatory Academy will open its doors to its first full cohort of 1000 dents in fall 2019.
The mission of New Horizons Preparatory Academy is to create and foster a comprehensive learning environment by personalizing student’s educational experiences with cutting edge technology built on a solid foundation of core academics. At present date, the Academy is in the planning stages; securing facilities, filing legal documents as a new educational institution, and writing a curriculum. Facilities For the past several months, The Academy has been looking at securing several properties within the city of Lansing.
The most prominent and promising piece of real state we are looking into is the old Michigan School for the Blind on Willow Road in Lansing. The facility offers enough land and buildings to house classrooms, cafeteria, library, sports center, and boarding for the students and faculty. As The New Horizons Preparatory Academy is a private boarding school, the facilities must engage, support, and foster a safe, creative, and inviting environment for students who are not usually away from their parents or legal guardians for extended periods of time.
Our faculty and facilities become their home so it will be imperative for The Academy to foster an environment that not only creates life-long earners, but an environment that feels comfortable, safe, and enjoyable to its students. [Michigan School for the Blind]. Retrieved January 21 , 2013, from: http://tiny. C/ hovers Follow PAP style to cite this image. Refer to A Writer’s Resource for helpful information. Filing the legal documents For the past year, The New Horizons Preparatory Academy has been working with educators and attorneys to file the proper legal paperwork to register The Academy as a new school in the State of Michigan.
The first step was to register the institution’s name so that no other entity could use it. As of December, we have vomited applications for the rights of the name and are awaiting approval. During the same time, paperwork has been submitted to secure The Academy with ICC status as a non-profit institution. With this step, our Foundations team will be able to plan fundraising events to procure donations from, not only private citizens, but corporations, local business owners, and other foundations with similar missions.
Writing a Curriculum As The Academy progresses with its plans for the school, many questions arise about what the curriculum will entail. At the time of this Status Report #1 , the focus ill be on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Target Market As is the mission of The New Horizons Preparatory Academy to assist first generation (FIG), low-income (L’), and students with disabilities (DAD), our target market is quite diverse spanning marketing segments of not only geography (city of Lansing), but demographic/socioeconomic segments (FIG, L’, DAD), and cryptographic segments.
In addition to promoting The Academy to this FIG, L’, DAD population, we will also promote our school and services to potential educators. Educators will be facilitators f information, mentors, and life coaches to their students; students who will be of varying ages (4-18 years old), ethnicities, genders, and religious affiliations. Marketing to such a diverse audience would be a daunting task for any experienced marketing firm.
The marketing will have to be continuous and cannot only rely on print, media, social media, or TV, but have to play heavily on the personal outreach of the Academy (as we are dealing with a very high at-risk population). Current Marketing Mix The Academes current marketing mix includes the traditional UP methodology of Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. However in recent years, 4 additional As have been added that The New Horizons Preparatory Academy will focus on as well: People, Programming, Packaging, and Partnerships.
Product Review/Buyer Analysis In this section, we will cover the ups to highlight and explain the MIMIC and services of The New Horizons Preparatory Academy. Product, Price, Promotion, Place, People, Programming, Packaging, and Partnerships At the time of this report, The Academy will specialize on STEM academics. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics programs and schools in the U. S. Have been on the rise for the past decade as the U. S. Has dropped dramatically in these academic areas in global rankings. The Academy has several products to market to potential customers, among them are: 1 .
The Academics (STEM specialization with foundation of traditional curriculum; this gives students a strong foundation in which to build upon while giving them the education that will drive the job market in the years to come) 2. The Educators (showcasing their education, skills, diversity, and commitment for the Academy, but especially the students; the strength of this marketing is to show all stakeholders, especially students and parents that our educators are here and committed to assisting the students succeed) 3.
The Boarding School concept (this will be the hardest concept to sell parents on as the audience we are serving to send their children away to be educated. A positive aspect of this is that the students will be part of a community of students and will hopefully feel as though they are part of something greater than themselves. A potential challenge is the fact that they will be away from their family for longer periods of time) 4. The Inclusive Education (selling to parents the services of 24 hour care, education, community, and commitment to oneself.
This will be the most important part of our marketing efforts; the best part of an inclusive education is that the Academy will focus on the student as a whole being, not Just as a student. The greatest attribute that I have learned from Siena Heights University is a part of its mission is to educate the entire person, mind, body, and spirit. This is the driving force of the inclusive education that The Academy will focus on. ) 5.
The Partnerships (marketing the corporate, educational, governmental, and non-profit partnerships The Academy will create to provide its students an education and access like no other school has offered in Michigan… Hopefully, one day, the nation) 6. The Facilities (we will also focus on state of the art facilities to show the students, parents, donors, and partners that the students will have a world-class education and resources to become life-long learners. Additionally, The Academy plans to launch a comprehensive MIMIC plan that highlights the high standard of safety it will provide to its students and faculty) 7.
The Community (the final product The Academy will market is the students, faculty, and institutions commitment to furthering and improving the needs to its community. It is n important objective that our students understand and participate in community service) By conducting these initiatives, The New Horizons Preparatory Academy will attempt to position itself as the school with the highest quality students, educators, facilities, community involvement, partnerships, curriculum, and reputation among schools in the city, the State, the Country, and one day, the World.
Why attend The New Horizons Preparatory Academy The stages to understand why a parent would “buy’ the services of the Academy are as follows: 1. Need: The need for quality education is on the rise in the U. S. With overcrowding schools, decreased public school budgets, and low attrition rates of students within the target market of FIG, L’, and DAD students, parents are in need of better alternatives/solutions to educate their children. Public schools are overcrowded with students and are becoming increasingly dangerous for students to feel safe, inhibiting the learning process.
According to the State of Michigan School Data Dashboard & School Report Card (State of Michigan, 2012), there are over 69. 1% over students in Lansing who are on free or reduced lunch (this is a predictive indicator for students who are typically FIG and Al students). 2. Information Gathering/ Search:, Parents can search for alternatives to make sure their children receive a quality education they need to be successful in the future. With an MIMIC plan that utilizes print, mass media, TV, social media, and personal outreach initiatives, we plan to get the mission and services of The Academy to the parents and students who need the help. . Evaluation of Alternatives: As previously stated, public schools are increasingly being overcrowded and having their budgets cut, parents are evaluating educational alternatives for their children. Charter and Magnet schools often are losing budget, as they are limited to the funds provided by a head count of students and other private donations. Most public schools like these do not invest in a team whose sole purpose is to raise and/or solicit donations. Religious-based and Private schools are great alternatives to overcrowding of schools and offer a solid education. 4.
Purchase of Product/Service: Students, parents, faculty, corporate and community partners will “buy’ our services, as we will show that we are the best alternative to public schools. The New Horizons Preparatory Academy will be a private boarding school that will charge tuition for students who do not meet our income-eligible scholarships and grants. By students, parents, and faculty “buying” into The Academy, they are doing so knowing that they are to have high-involvement in the success and future of the school. Faculty members are to be mentors, life coaches, and facilitators of the academics.
Parents will financially support the school by committing time and their own skills and expertise into the success of the institution. This can range from classroom or meal supervision, guest speaking, and cooking special treats for the children (in The Academes cafeteria), or laundering clothes in The Academes House Services Building. The Academy will not limit how parents contribute to the overall success of their children, the institution, or the surrounding community. 5. Post Purchase Evaluation: The Academy will make all stakeholders feel confident, wise, and proud they chose our school.
One of its top priorities by continuously engaging parents and partners in the daily life of the institution as well s a voice in the school’s future. Section Two Competitive Review New Horizons Preparatory Academy does not believe in the traditional definition of competitors. We are a collaborative institution and plan to work with other local primary schools to assist in the success of their students as well. However, for the purpose of this report assignment, New Horizons Preparatory Academes competitors are as follows: 1 . C. W.
Otto Middle School: this middle school serves Just fewer than 800 students in grades 6-8. A comprehensive report on outcomes can be found at: towpath. Landholdings. Et/files/_Twos_/3d7454b974d0d6e5374I49013852ec4Otto_AEAREpdPDFAs with most schools, C. W. Otto Middle School does not actively advertise to recruit students for enrollment. Most schools are in certain areas of cities and students in such districts are sent to the closest school to the proximity of their house. So it is, that most primary schools do not have a budget to promote services.
In recent years, with new emergent technologies, school districts are having their principals implement accounts on social networking sites to promote the services and successes of their schools and students. C. W. Otto Middle School’s message is “We, at Otto, are striving to help our students make continuous progress toward the achievement of the various grade objectives, continuous development of individual talents, skills, ideas and interests, and an increased acquisition of the necessary social skills for school success. ” 2. Mid-Michigan Leadership Academy: this K-8th grade school serves 226 students (as of the 2010-2011 AY; http:// www. chColeridgecoComo/Ml/schools/0008200546/school. asAsps The schools message is “… stStudententered focusing on the academic success of all students through the raearnersf knowledge from the traditional classroom environment to real world applications. ” A comprehensive report of student outcomes is located here: http:// www. miMichelleorOrgsSurgerieservers/Server_3218283/File/Mid-Michigan Leleadershipdacademyl Educateducation reportShPDFdan Road School: is a primary school that serves K-5th grade with an enrollment count of 505 as of March 2012 (http://www. lawtonps. LaotianslsOrgheridanroshorthandedml). TheHTMLools message is “Sheridan Road Elementary School staff is dedicated to teaching academic and social skills that will prepare our students to be contributing members f their community. ” A comprehensive report of student outcomes is located here: http://sheridan. SheridanchLandholdingss/NetJZq_/ d9Twats9d0d9119bc9d081 and Weaknesses Strengths of the aforementioned schools are their geographic locations to larger populations of children. As most parents send their child to the closest school, a school would be wise to open in areas of high concentration of children.
The aforementioned schools have lower enrollment; this may be due to the district’s “school of choice” policy and parents may have sent their child to another school outside of their geographic locations. This is a strength as it is creating a lower student-to-teacher ratio and thus the students can receive more one-on-one attention. On the reverse side of this coin, a low enrollment could also be a weakness, as they will suffer in the allocation of funds and risk being shut down. Here at the New Horizons Preparatory Academy will keep student-to-teacher ratio low, but enrollment high.
To combat the issue of allocation of funds, the Academy has decided to be a private boarding school; this was one of the main reasons why the Board decided to make the institution private. Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning Target Market but also demographic/socioeconomic segments (FG, L’, DAFIG and pDADchograpcryptographic People, Programming, Packaging, and Partnerships. Communications Objectives & Budget Request In the IMC plan oMIMIChe New Horizons Preparatory Academy, we will focus on the one-on-one attention aspects of the campaign when it comes to brand awareness and image positioning of the institution.
The Board will hire a PR recruitment team to promote the services, faculty, and advantages of the institution by presenting the information at open information nights held at local schools, community centers, and ocal churccoal Our PR team will gather demographic information and create recruitment plans to meet with potential parents individually. As is the trend of new technologies, the Team will combine traditional recruitment techniques with social media to reach our audience. Budget Request In request to allocation of budget, 5% oftotal inpivotalonal budget will be used for advertising, promotion, and recruitment efforts.
Specifically, advertisements in the Michigan Education Association magazine, the National Education Association magazine, TV spots in competing markets, and a full-time team of social media, arketing, racketingic relations. The proposed 2019-2020 AY budget will be 15million.millionld give an allocated budget of $750,000. Section Three Integrated Marketing Communication Mix Advertising 1 . Objectives: Increase awareness of school, services, and mission while showcasing facilities, recruit faculty, and to secure donors and student admissions. . Audience: Students, parents, community members, financial donors, qualified faculty, and other educators. 3. Timing: Initially, 6-9 month TV/Radio campaign will launch prior to the start of school Oust after Labor Day). This will be coupled with F2F recruiOFFnt of ualified fliftednd other educational administration 12-18 months prior to the start of school. Social Media will play a long-term role in the advertising of the school as it can connect the school with other educational institutions, educators, parents, and students.
Social Media will give more stakeholders a voice in the building of the school before it launches and then it will provide a continuous improvement tool. 4. Tools/Media: As budget permits, the use of Television ads, Radio, Newspapers, Social Media, Word-of-Mouth, Educational Magazines and Periodicals, and an Interactive website. Public Relations 1 . Objectives: Inform, educate, and maintain a reputable image of superior services, outstanding faculty, and an effective curriculum to all stakeholders. A PR Officer, in part, will be responsible for objective.
The PR Officer will also train all faculty on how to “present” the best image of the school, services, and the students. This aspect of the IMC plan cMIMICs into play very heavily as the school will host annual education fairs. These fairs will have the purpose of showcasing the services, facilities, curriculum, and faculty of the school. Students, parents, potential faculty, and otential dattentionll have the opportunity to tour the school’s sports complex, dorms, and classrooms (facilities). Games, interactive classroom displays, and food will invite stakeholders of all kind to tour the school.
A real first-hand experience for students and parent will make for an experience in education like none other. Parents and students will have the opportunity to stay the night in the school’s student housing (dorms) to get the “real” experience of daily life for the students if admitted. Parents and students will go through the daily routine of classes, meals, scheduled one-on- ne tutor tneee, group learning dynamics, fitness and wellness, mentor time, bathing, free time, and end the day sleeping in the college-style dorms. 2.
Audience: All previously stated stakeholders including other educators and institutions from other states, and international institutions. 3. Timing: Ongoing for general PR and special presentations at educational conferences; Annually for fairs – although education fairs will coincide with annual admission process which will start every March and will continue until May. 4. Tools/Media: News media outlets such as TV, newspapers, Internet, radio, conference presentations, educational magazines, website, and social media. Cause Marketing/Corporate Sponsoring/Events Underwriting 1 .
Objectives: Increase the financial donations of the school for the purchase of state- of-the-art technology equipment to assist in the education of students, increase the school’s visibility and partnership with charitable organization and causes, all while promoting the services, mission, and successes of the students and school. 2. Audience: Community members, organizations (profit and non-profit), independent financiers, and charitable organizations/foundations. 3. Timing: Ongoing; as New Horizons Preparatory Academy is private boarding school, it will not receive federal funding as public schools receive.