Lifting language schools profile crucial

Making a language school profitable takes a long time and margins are often very slim, says Tim Mahren Brown, director of Wellington language school the Campbell Institute.

After rents, salaries, GST and agents' commissions are paid, there is not a lot left, he says. On top of that, schools have to put resources into raising the profile of the country because education agents cannot be expected to sell one country exclusively.

"We are the wholesalers, the agents are the retailers and that's why we're so heavily dependent on the agents because we don't have the budget or the resources to tap into this local market to the extent that you need to," Mr Brown says.

However, agents will not always promote New Zealand above other destinations, which is why the education fairs are important, he says.

"You might get one or two direct enrolments as a result, but, most importantly, what we're doing is supporting our agents in their marketing efforts by raising the profile of New Zealand, by being there so they can call up some interested student and say, `Hey, I've got the principal of the school I was talking to you about last week, would you like to come and meet him?' So that's why the education fair is still a reasonably important part of that mix."

Judy Lang, deputy principal of Lower Hutt girls' school Chilton Saint James, agrees international marketing can be expensive, particularly considering agent commissions range between 15 and 30 per cent.

The Government has recently stepped in to relieve some of the cost burden, for schools at least, by virtually halving the industry levy on student fees.

Some high schools "would be suffering if they didn't have this money" but principals don't always appreciate the costs are an investment, she says.

"It's very hard for educationalists who are not in the financial sector to understand that with the dollars you put in, it takes a while for the dollars to come out." As a marketer, Mr Brown believes New Zealand has to rethink the way it sells itself. Students usually choose the country and city before a school or institution and sometimes all a student will know about New Zealand is its sheep.

While the image of safe, clean and green works well on parents of secondary school students, it runs the risk of being boring to many university students. He notes that a new Education New Zealand poster shows students at night on a busy road, which is a start but "it's a bit like Volvo trying to rebrand itself as sporty, not safe". New Zealand could use some more iconic images, he suggests.

"If you think about the US, England and Australia, they have some strong icons. A really basic example is Australia the Sydney Opera House, koala bear and kangaroo. These are the things the average Asian citizens have in their minds."

In New Zealand's case,"Yes, we've got the Sky Tower in Auckland, Wellington ...

"I think we lost an opportunity with Te Papa, because it's such a strange design, it's not iconic for international reasons."