b'FFEEAATTUURREEDD A ARRTTICICLLEELAUNCHING INTO NEW MARKETSIt was time for a situational analysis.When I arrived at Carmel School at the beginning of 2017, I naively thought that school Marketing would be a cinch after all my years of experience in higher education. Ilookingforwardtoaquieterschool in Perth, our target market is niche and as a non-Jewish person I had a was weekly schedule, with fewer meetingslot to learn about the characteristics and motivators of our community. With and fewer people to consult (Carmelthese essentials complete, I was ready by my second year for the challenge of is a small school, with just under 500addressing the decline in market interest for Carmel.studentsandjustover100staff)and arelativelystraightforwardtasklist.An out-of-the-box ideaI quickly discovered my error! Almost on my first day in the role at Carmel, my Principal was pitching what, I admit thinking at the time, was a whacky idea. I absolutely love the pace and diversity of my role because life in school MarketingSheandherfamilyhadmovedfromMelbournetoPerthandwereloving is never dull. It includes everything from:theirnewlifestyle.GiventhatthePerthJewishcommunityinourtarget mediaengagementtocampaigndemographic (young couples) was declining, she suggested to me that we target management, the eastern states and encourage them to pack up and move to Perth. This meant donorstewardshiptointernalthe dual challenge of Marketing both a school and a state, while also not ignoring communications, our Perth families (who had never really been marketed to, given my role was new). recruitment to retention of families, and I realise all school Marketing teams are small, but I want to highlight that, at this Admissionsto(mostrecently)time, we were 1.1FTE and had the priorities of recruitment, Marketing, Admissions, business continuity planning. registrar, Fundraising, internal communications, events and media relations under our remit. Any ideas of a less hectic workplace than the one I had come from, were quickly abandoned and we buckled down to work.My role has many different aspects and goals to achieve and the primary one set by the Principal and the Board is to stopJOIN OUR SCHOOL M ITYthe declining enrolments and grow theFORMING CO MUNCarmel School and the Perth Jewish School. The declinewas unfortunatelycommunity are ready to welcome you.A CONNECTED, HIGH-PERa persistent one and addressing it has Home to a well-established, thriving Jewish takensomeimaginativeapproaches,community located 15 minutes from the city centre, Perth offers an affordable lifestyle within one of which is detailed in this article.a supportive environment that is perfect for young families. With family house prices from $800k and school fees up to 40% less than like-schools, the move to Perth will be financially rewarding as well as enriching for your family.As well as existing business as usual,At the heart of Perths thriving Jewish community is Carmel School, a unique K-12 day school my first year at Carmel was spent re- that offers a nurturing learning environment and is currently ranked as the leading independent brandingtheSchool,designingandSchool in WA, based on median ATAR results.buildingthewebsite,puttinginplaceFamilies relocating from outside of Western Australia may be offered six-months fee relief to some solid strategic plans and ensuringassist with transition (conditions apply).thatmyofficewasrepresentedonEnrolments are now open. theSeniorManagementTeam(not an easy task, as many Marketing andVisit www.carmel.wa.edu.au to find out more.Advancementpractitionerswould know). I also spent a lot of time understanding the culture of the School and the culture of our stakeholders. As the only JewishPress advert that ran in the Australian Jewish NewsOCTOBER 2020 37'