How to Change Parents' Minds About Their Child's School

We are in the business of persuasion.

We persuade parents to reconsider their current choice of school, compare it with YOUR school's promise and reach out to you to schedule a tour.

Persuasion (changing a parent's mind) is not so much about argumentation.
Facts don’t change our minds...

Persuasion is mostly about convincing parents to change their tribe.
It's much more about helping them refine their identity than taking them through a structured sequence of information.

As James Clear writes, "we don't always believe things because they are correct. Sometimes we believe things because they make us look good to the people we care about... You can’t expect someone to change their mind if you take away their community too. You have to give them somewhere to go. Nobody wants their worldview torn apart if loneliness is the outcome."

In our context, we have to help each parent reconsider their current extended tribe and reflect on how they will feel joining your school's family.

We have to help them visualize driving through your school's neighborhood every month, walking into your building, talking to your staff and being welcomed by the PTA.

In fact, you have a 35% higher chance of converting a prospective parent into an enrollment if they have been primed with at least 7 to 8 of our ads before touring.

There are two reasons why our ads are so powerful:

1. They Reach the Parent Prospect as well as Her Close Tribe

When trumpeting your school's brand to the community, both your prospective parents as well as their narrow tribe (friends, neighbors, family) are seeing your ads.
We are showing all of them a high-quality story (through a set of sequential ads) about your school and persuading them all about your school's value. This way, it is easier to trigger a conversation about your school among them as momentum builds and viewing frequency increases.

2. The First Conversation Happens Internally, in the Parent's Mind

As Jame Clear states, "In simple conversation, people have to carefully consider their status and appearance. They want to save face and avoid looking stupid. When confronted with an uncomfortable set of facts, the tendency is often to double down on their current position rather than publicly admit to being wrong."

Our ads help resolve this tension. With our ads, the conversation takes place inside the parent's head and before needing to defend herself against potential criticism.

When the parent eventually reveals her intention to seek out a new school, she has built greater confidence in her thoughts and feels less defensive about her decision.

She is better able to answer her sister-in-law saying, "but all our family has gone to Springfield High, why isn't it good enough for your Trevor?"

In addition, given that most of your prospect's narrow tribe will also have seen our ads (back to point #1), it is more than likely that she will not face criticism.

She will, in fact, find mostly convinced supporters among her immediate family and friends making the change all the more likely.