Marketing is “a core driver of school success” that is “as strategic as finance and as critical as curriculum”, a leading head told a conference this week.
Speaking to more than 300 delegates at the聽, Irfan Latif,聽headmaster of the Royal Hospital School in Suffolk, urged school leaders to reframe how marketing is perceived and positioned within independent schools.
鈥淚f the ELT sees marketing as 鈥榡ust social media鈥 or 鈥榯he people who design the open day banners,鈥 then we鈥檝e got work to do,鈥 Irfan told the room of admissions, communications and marketing professionals.
鈥淢arketing is reputation. Marketing is recruitment. Marketing is retention. It is as strategic as finance and as critical as curriculum.鈥
Mr Latif, who also led DLD College London before joining RHS, argued that schools ignore the strategic power of marketing at their peril, particularly in an era defined by digital disruption, shifting parental expectations, and intensified competition.
鈥淎t RHS, and at DLD College London before that, the directors of marketing sat on ELT 鈥 there was no question about it. Their knowledge and insight are crucial in strategic decision making,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to stop viewing marketing as a support service and start seeing it as a core driver of school success.鈥
Throughout his speech, Irfan spoke directly to heads 鈥 encouraging them to move from a culture of delegation to one of integration.
He urged school leaders to rethink how trust is built and how first impressions are now formed 鈥搊ften before a prospective parent even visits the school.
鈥淪ocial media is now the front door of your school,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not just being Googled 鈥 you鈥檙e being judged in 30 seconds on TikTok or Instagram. You might never get a second chance to make that first impression.鈥
He emphasised that today’s school marketing is not about 鈥減olish or prestige,鈥 but about purpose and personality聽鈥 building trust and driving enrolment.
He also said marketers should not be on their own in their endeavours.
鈥淢arketing needs to be a whole-school culture, not a department in the basement,鈥 he said. 鈥淔rom the receptionist鈥檚 greeting to the head鈥檚 LinkedIn post, every interaction is part of your brand. If we want authenticity, we need consistency 鈥 and that starts at the top.鈥
Mr Latif acknowledged the challenges of operating in an age of AI, information overload, and parental scepticism 鈥 but said they were in fact opportunities for heads to lead with vision.
鈥淲e are not just in the business of education. We are in the business of emotion, trust, and transformation. That is what our marketing must reflect 鈥 and that requires strategic leadership, not just creative flair.鈥
He concluded by urging heads to back their marketing teams not only with resources, but with authority聽鈥 and to recognise their work as an essential element of future-proofing the school.
鈥淟et marketers shape not just the story, but the direction of travel,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ecause in the end, we are not just filling places. We are shaping futures.鈥
