Are schools still buying?
I was recently talking with the owner of a modest sized company that sold to schools who said he’d decided to stop advertising for the moment “until things settle down a bit”.
His point was that he felt there was “too much uncertainty” and that schools in some areas might shut again because of the virus, or indeed a shortage of staff.
And of course, there might be another schools’ lockdown – but curiously, even if there, is it won’t affect school purchasing.
School budgets for LA funded schools which run from the start of the summer term to the end of the spring term, are still proceeding as normal. Money provided for the current financial year has to be spent by Easter.
Meanwhile academies have to spend their current financial allocation by the end of the summer term. That is as ever was, and this pattern will continue whether there is another lockdown or not.
What we can say is that the number of companies actively promoting their products and services to schools has dropped dramatically since the pandemic started. In particular, some small firms run by ex-teachers have closed, as the owners knew they would retire sometime and decided now was as good a time as any.
Additionally, the number of new companies entering the education market in the last two years has dropped by around half when compared to pre-pandemic years. This in fact is nothing to do with the school system, but rather a reflection of business start-ups generally.
The net result is fewer companies competing for increasing amounts of school money. As a result of which the number of advertisements being sent to schools is declining.
However, the age-old school rule that money given to the school for one financial year should be spent within that financial year still holds true.
We have once again held the prices of our 4 email and 6 email programmes to schools. These emails are sent the personal email addresses of the selected teachers – and you can as ever choose exactly when you wish to have your emails sent out – and change your message each time.
The prices are
- 4 emails to secondary schools: £215 (£53.75 per mailing)
- 6 emails to secondary schools: £289 (£48.17 per mailing)
- 4 emails to primary schools: £295 (£73.75 per mailing)
- 6 emails to primary schools: £395 (£65.83 per mailing)
For more information please call 01604 880 927 or email Stephen@schools.co.uk
Tony Attwood
