School is cool. Make the most of your school-material promotion.

Time flies. And never more than during the school holidays. Because the new school year always approaches at breakneck speed. Especially for brand managers who are active in the exciting area of school materials and equipment. Today, they’re facing an important exam. They need to demonstrate how best to promote their brand to make an impression on their target group: schoolchildren and their parents.

Understanding your target group, creating enticing displays for stores and making the most of season-related needs ... They’re just a few of the challenges you have your hands full with as a brand manager. But don’t stress too much: HighCo DATA is your loyal mentor. We have the in-house expertise to raise your promotion to a higher level. This article is full of valuable tips and strategies for you to enchant your clients and make sure your brand for school materials and equipment succeeds with flying colours! 

Know your target group: the key to success

A promotional campaign will stand tall or fall flat based on your understanding of your target group. It’s always been the case. As school children are the most important end-users of school materials, responding to their specific needs is what it’s all about for you as a brand manager. Make sure your school materials are attractive, sustainable, long-lasting and functional. Fulfil every expectation of your target group. And if you want to score even more highly, think about trendy design and lively colours. Or handy functions that make the learning experience that much richer.

We are living in the digital age—a strong online presence is crucial for increasing your reach. Make sure that you say a word or two on social media and e-commerce platforms. React with your target group, share inspiring content and keep clients informed of new products and promotions. 

Collaborating with influencers, such as Jonathan Medart and Stien Edlund, often leads to greater visibility and credibility for your brand. The same applies to working with relevant brands in the education sector or working with education-focused organisations (Bednet, SOS Kinderdorpen, Red Nose Day, Jeugd Rode Kruis). You’ll also want to make sure your partners attach great importance to your mission and values too.

Even though they’re the end-users, children are not the only members of your target group, no matter how much they might like to be. You also need to take their parents into consideration. They play an active role in any decision-making. Parents usually focus on different factors to their children: quality, sustainability, durability and affordability are the most important criteria for school materials and equipment to fulfil. Parents want value for money and mostly prefer brands that are environmentally conscious and socially responsible. If you succeed in communicating these aspects, you’re guaranteed to keep parents on board. 

Create an attractive store display: the ultimate eye-catcher

Stop searching for ways to draw customer attention to your school materials ... We have already found the best one: an attractive, eye-catching store display. Discuss and negotiate with retailers to ensure you have the perfect place for your products to be displayed in their stores. Make the shelving so attractive passersby will be unable to resist the displays and posters. Use visual elements, such as colourful images, to make your school materials stand out. And why not see what our Shelf Service has to say? They have years of expertise in making shelves attractive, as well as stable partnerships with Delhaize, Carrefour and others. 

Feel like giving it a go? Let HighCo DATA advise you. We have the know-how and the solutions to optimise your promotional campaigns. We will encourage your customers to sign up for your school materials through the use of digital discount coupons and promotional codes. The same methods also draw the attention of potential buyers and boost your sales figures. 

This year, we have also made available to our customers a consumer platform - WOWI deals - which will lighten the purse of your shoppers. This activation will be repeated for the holiday season. Feel free to take a look.

Season-related promotions: Back to school = Your moment to shine

Thoughts about the first day of school give a lot of children nightmares. But for you, the first day of school should be a dream that raises your sales. Schoolchildren and their parents are looking for new school materials and equipment—which is great news for your brand. Make sure you shine in this period by offering special discounts. Or promotions that convince consumers to purchase their school essentials—the category where your promotions perform best—from no one but you. Examples of these school essentials include backpacks, lunchboxes and of course, all the countless different items of stationery they’ll need. 

When determining your strategy, make sure you consider offering group purchases via the schools. Think about how websites like studieshop.be and iddink.be might benefit you. Enter into a collaboration with these sites and, for example, play the gamification card to optimise your presence. HighCo DATA will happily accompany you as you venture forward, with all kinds of tangible solutions to increase your visibility and attract clients. In short, solutions that are designed to deliver immeasurable value. 

Customer reviews and testimonies: the secret to trust

Would you like to win the trust of potential clients? You need to be aware of the influence of positive customer reviews and testimonies. Encourage satisfied clients to share their experiences and post positive stories on your website and social media. For potential buyers, this will be a powerful impulse to choose your school materials. 

HighCo DATA will gladly help you to collect loving customer reviews. We reward customers who leave a review with promotion codes or, for example, by setting up ‘Satisfied and refunded’ actions. In doing so, we boost trust and confidence in your brand while stimulating sales. 

Evaluation and optimisation: keep growing

As a manufacturer, it’s advisable to regularly measure the performance of your promotional campaigns against your goals and KPIs. Analyse your sales data and the feedback from your customers to gain insight into the effectiveness of your strategies. Also take a peek over the wall at the competition. You might learn something. With a slight adjustment to your campaign, you’ll then find yourself on the way to even better results. 

Do yourself a favour by calling on the expertise of HighCo DATA for fine and final touches. We make the most of data analysis, using it to optimise your promotions. Together, we raise your brand to new heights. 

Did you read this article as the manager of a brand for school materials? Remember that a carefully thought-out promotion strategy is crucial for making your brand flourish. HighCo DATA is ready to support you in this. With a lifetime of experience and a network of clued-in contacts across the market. 
At the moment, we are also working on our WOWI deals for the back-to-school period. Sound like something you’d be interested in? Put your brand in the prominent position it deserves in the market for school materials and equipment and keep it top of mind with your clients. Get in touch with us today!