Head of the Class
Marketing to teachers can be an edifying experience for brands.
Amy Lucius, an American History and Geography teacher at Greene County Tech Junior High School in Paragould, AR, couldn’t resist A&E’s offer.
It was 1999, and the cable network was running a contest promoting made-for-TV movie The Crossing, a re-enactment of George Washington’s historic trek across the Delaware River. Called The Crossing Challenge, the contest required classes to send in creative projects that showed team spirit – much like the spirit Washington and his troops showed on Dec. 25, 1776.
The pieces of poetry Lucius’s class entered were selected as first runner-up in the contest’s creative writing category, which earned the school a $1,000 grant it used to buy a scanner and three color printers for the social studies department. In a small school district where teachers are given only $125 a year for school supplies – and spend about $300 of their own money to supplement that meager allowance – the prize was a windfall. (A&E also threw in a TV and VCR as part of the prize.)
The contest turned out to be a winner for A&E as well. More than 300 schools nationwide turned in projects, and The Crossing drew the largest viewership of any premiere in the network’s history – due in part to the fact that A&E announced the contest winners during the broadcast.
“Talking to educators is a natural extension of what we’re doing,” says Mike Mohamad, A&E’s senior vp-marketing. “We’re selling entertainment that’s educational.”
Marketing Apples Teachers have increasingly become targets for brands looking to peddle their goods while also showing support for education. More than 12,000 companies in the U.S. spend about $10 billion a year marketing to schoolteachers in grades K-12, according to Bob Stimolo, president of the School Marketing Research Institute, Haddam, CT. “You have the gamut from small mom-and-pop organizations to huge corporations trying to get into the classroom,” Stimolo says.
Brand marketers have good reason to be going back to school. Besides the fact that there are about three million school teachers in 16,000 public school districts, the group also provides a direct link to 47.8 million students and their parents. Consider the following:
– School districts, which traditionally consider themselves under-funded by the government, are almost guaranteed to spend all the money in their budgets – unlike corporations which use surplus funds for other purposes, like appeasing stockholders. It is estimated that the federal government will devote $308 billion for public education in 2000.
– Education is considered recession-proof. Even if the economy takes a downturn, children still need to be taught and materials bought.
– There can be a halo effect for the brand – if marketers can portray themselves as benefiting education and avoid the pitfall of looking like sleazy schoolyard hucksters (February 1999 PROMO).
Lucius says she gets about 10 direct-mail marketing pieces per day. Most of them end up in the garbage, unless there is something that catches her eye as important to education and cost-saving – a major factor for school budget-makers, she says.
Hence, the challenge for marketers trying to get into the classroom rests not only in getting to teachers (reps often aren’t allowed to make on-site visits, and cold-calling is virtually impossible), but in capturing their attention. Brands must be sure their efforts aren’t blatant sales pitches looking to exploit budget-conscious educators. “This is not a venue for huckstering packaged goods in obvious ways,” says John Zamoiski, ceo of Vertical Mix Marketing, New York City, which handled many of A&E’s recent classroom promotions. “This is an opportunity to show the value your product has in [relation to] what we are teaching in schools. If not, you will be rejected sorely. You must be credible with what you offer.”
Vertical Mix is currently working on other A&E promotions, including a contest for the Jan. 14 premiere of The Great Gatsby that invites students to reenact scenes from the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic. Elsewhere, a joint effort with the CNBC network will offer educators ways to teach classes about stocks.
“Teachers are looking for ways to make the classroom experience relevant and interesting. It brings the whole education experience alive,” says Zamoiski, while duly noting that A&E is reaping benefits as well.
Teacher’s Pets TV networks are hardly the only brands elbowing for the attention of teachers. Educators around the nation are being bombarded with offers from computer companies, software makers, and food manufacturers, not to mention a plethora of retail chains such as Staples, Zainy Brainy, and Noodle Kidoodle.
Hayward, CA-based Sakura of America’s Cray Pas brand later this month will wrap up a Wonderful World of Color contest that encourages teachers to submit classroom art work and dangles separate prizes for teachers, schools, and students. Prizes for teachers include trips to France, apparel, and classroom-friendly merchandise such as digital cameras and gift certificates for art materials.
“This is a huge market,” says Wayne D’Orio, editorial director of Curriculum Administrator, Stamford, CT. “When you realize how many teachers there are and how much money is spent on education, you can see why brands want to get involved.”
New York City-based Scholastic, Inc. has been well aware of those facts for a long time. The company built its unparalleled reputation in children’s publishing with a marketing program focused heavily on gaining the trust of teachers, who in turn recommend Scholastic books to their charges. Today, the company’s marketing efforts reach an estimated 1.5 million teachers worldwide. It’s no surprise, then, that other marketers often partner with Scholastic. “It’s an opportunity to reach millions of teachers, as well as kids and families, in a very unique way,” says Steve Palm, vp-group publisher.
For Fire Safety Month in October, St. Louis-based Energizer teamed with Scholastic for the 13th straight year to teach kids the importance of smoke alarms. Called Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery, the promotion reached 75,000 teachers with an offer for free storybooks featuring Miss Frizzle and other characters from Scholastic’s The Magic School Bus if they sent in two proofs of purchase from Energizer battery packs. Scholastic developed a fire safety curriculum for teachers that included posters and take-home pieces. The effort also enlisted local firefighters to hand out nine-volt batteries to families who can’t afford them and actor Danny Glover for supporting TV spots.
Last August, Delray Beach, FL-based office-supply chain Office Depot invited teachers into its 850 stores for an “appreciation” breakfast. In addition to a nice meal to start off the day, about 70,000 participating teachers received a tote bag filled with school supplies and 10 percent off everything they purchased.
“We like to give back to the teachers, because we know they often have to reach into their own pockets for school supplies,” says Office Depot spokesperson Brandy Escobar.
She’s right. According to a nationwide survey conducted by Teachers.net, teachers spend an average of about $681 out of their own pockets for classroom needs. Escobar says the teachers welcomed a chance to save some money. “(And they) are fundamentally very loyal customers.”
Office Depot as well as Minneapolis-based Target Stores have been offering back-to-school shoppers a chance to be philanthropists for the school of their choice. Target lets shoppers donate one percent of their purchase to their school if they use a Target credit card; Office Depot offered to donate up to five percent to schools.
Where do marketers draw the line? “Teachers are sometimes either faced with no supplies, or with donated supplies or discounted supplies,” says Patty Yoxall, p.r. director for the National PTA, Chicago. “We welcome businesses who wish to [introduce] their product in the classroom.”
However, the PTA doesn’t welcome companies that appear to make the marketing message a requirement for reaping the benefits. As an example, Yoxall cites New York City-based Channel One (a sister company to PROMO), which provides VCRs and TVs as well as educational programming to teachers. But the catch is that schools must agree to present advertising from such brands as Levi’s and Coca-Cola to kids.
It’s a constant battle that Amy Lucius and her peers must fight: educational content vs. budget-saving offers. It’s often a judgement call.
“As long as they promote education instead of just trying to get us to buy their product, it’s OK,” says Lucius. “You have to pick and choose.”
