Business and marketing strategy

Situation analysis

Background of the training and development agency for schools

The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) is the national agency responsible for the recruitment and development of teachers for schools in England and Wales.

The TDA exists to support prospective teachers along every step of the process towards becoming a teacher. The first role of the TDA is to make sure that a career as a teacher is part of the career ‘consideration set’.

The TDA's current position

The TDA's Mission Statement is ‘Developing people, improving young lives’.

The TDA is looking to recruit quality teachers who are ‘high flyers’ with academic ability and communication skills, particularly maths and science graduates as there is a shortage of teachers in the maths and science subjects.

Our task is to persuade students to reappraise the perception of teaching by highlighting the benefits of teaching: fulfilling and challenging job with career prospects and financial rewards.

Micro analysis

To determine the business strategy, we use the Ansoff matrix to look at the products and markets. The TDA operates in the existing market with the existing products and they aim to increase their market share in the maths and science segment.

The TDA has advertised to students in the past and, through our direct marketing campaign, aims to increase its market share of a particular segment — maths and science students in their final and penultimate years, as well as those who graduated in the previous 2 years with a 2.1 grade or above in England and Wales.

SWOT analysis

We use the SWOT model to assess the TDA's current position in terms of its internal strengths, weaknesses and any external opportunities and threats. Table 1 lists the most pertinent points.

Table 1 SWOT analysis
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Macro environment

PESTEL analysis The TDA's performance can be affected by forces in the external environment in which it operates. We use the PESTEL model to analyse these forces and their effect on the TDA. Salient points are contained in Table 2.

Table 2 PESTEL analysis
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Competitor analysis

  • The Guardian reports that ‘the starting salaries for science and engineering graduates are among the highest, with only graduate managers and lawyers earning more in their first job. New engineering graduates earn on average £22,000 and new science graduates £21,000 — more than those entering finance, IT, sales or human resources’.

  • Large organizations such as food retailers, financial institutions and research companies are among the biggest recruitment competitors of the TDA.

Market research

Secondary data Our secondary research consisted of articles from newspapers, magazines and the internet. Data collected from the Data Monitor and Mintel are used throughout this report.

Primary data In order to better understand the target groups’ career choices, we conducted a small survey among 30 maths and science students who expect to graduate with a 2.1 degree or above from the University of Leeds. Full survey results are shown in Figure A1 in the Appendix.

The most common factors considered when choosing a job were money, job satisfaction and career prospects. The teaching profession was seriously underestimated by the students we surveyed. Money, job satisfaction and career prospects were generally not associated with teaching. This strongly proves that the target audience has a low perception of teaching and does not place teaching as a career in their evoked set. It also demonstrates a clear gap between what the TDA brand wants to achieve and what the reality actually is.

Communication channels Our survey shows that new media in the form of internet, social media (eg Facebook, Twitter) and email was by far the favourite method of communication among students, followed by TV. Most companies that advertise on Facebook have a page where ‘friends’ are updated with the latest news and where everyone can comment. The TDA has recently changed its Facebook page to a more interactive one where it displays interviews, latest news, routes into teaching and details of different events and promotions. Live internet chat is also an option that students enjoy. In order to successfully communicate the right message to the target audience, we have adopted these communication methods preferred by the students for our campaign.

Marketing strategy

Our marketing strategy looks to change the perception of teaching among students from an easy, safe and boring option to a challenging and fulfilling job with comparable financial rewards and good career prospects.

The purpose of our strategy is to position teaching in the evoked set of our target groups, a job considered and chosen by students at the end of their studies.

Objectives

The objectives are quantified into the following key performance indicators:

  • Stage 1: Register interest for teaching with the TDA Our target is to acquire at least 40,000 enquirers who are interested in teaching maths and/or science in secondary schools, and persuade them to register with the TDA for more information. The eligibility of a prospective teacher is the holding of a 2.1 degree or above (although there is slight ambiguity in the assignment brief as to whether 2.2 degrees are also considered eligible).

  • Stage 2: Apply for teacher training Our target is to persuade a minimum of 30 per cent of these 40,000 students (12,000) to then apply for teacher training, particularly in the subjects of maths and science.

Market segmentation

The geographical segmentation of the TDA's target market is England and Wales.

Our marketing plan is focusing on maths and science students to be trained for secondary school teaching in the following three segments:

  • Current students in their penultimate year, with an anticipated of 2.1 degree or above.

  • Final year students who expect to get a 2.1 degree or above.

  • Graduates within the last 2 years with a 2.1 degree or above.

According to the results of our survey (Appendix Figure A2), our target audience's preferred media are internet, social media and email. Our campaign aims to attract them to participate in the Einstein competition whereby we can obtain their details for a direct marketing database.

The Einstein campaign aims to start and develop a relationship with the participants during which they will be contacted with information about the benefits of teaching, schemes for in-school experience, and process and guidance for teacher training, and practical support for each step towards becoming a teacher.

Consumer decision

Deciding which career path to take is a very important step in a person's life. It is not an easy decision and, as shown in our survey, salary and career progression are the priority factors for career choices with our target audience. Teaching is often seen as a soft option and one that does not offer a good salary. Our campaign aims to promote the benefits and incentives of teaching to our target audience, and persuade them to change their perception and put teaching into their consideration set.

Marketing mix

The marketing mix will help our plan get closer to the target groups through the seven Ps: product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence.

Product

  • The service product offered by the TDA is teacher training.

Place

  • The product is offered via the TDA website and marketed through ‘above the line’ and direct marketing campaigns.

  • We will introduce our dedicated Einstein prize draw web pages, which are built onto the existing TDA website.

  • Our student-specific campaign is a combination of ‘above the line’, on-campus and direct marketing programmes.

Price

  • Current students undertaking teaching courses in both England and Wales have a set tuition fee of £3,290 per year. The fees are set to rise throughout the UK in 2012.

  • The current bursary of £9,000 and maintenance grants of £2,906 are financial incentives to entice students into teaching.

Promotion

  • We have chosen to use an Einstein-themed prize draw competition to attract maths and science students.

  • Leaflets with differentiated messages will be targeted to the three different groups to create different appeals: job prospects and incentives for training for final year students; fulfilling job and financial rewards for past graduates who may still be job hunting or in employment; and early career planning for penultimate year students.

  • The TDA runs a general ‘above the line’ campaign, a direct marketing programme and promotional events.

  • We will run an online Einstein prize draw competition where students can win a top of the range laptop by solving the puzzle ‘T=MC2’. The competition will be promoted on buses, through an inflatable Einstein mobile advert placed at heavy footfall areas, on TV screens, with posters and leaflets around the university campuses in England and Wales.

People

  • The TDA have an experienced team to provide assistance and help with enquiries from prospective teachers.

  • Assumptions are made that the TDA will allocate appropriate and sufficient human resources for our campaign.

Process

  • Our campaign is designed to take the eligible students through a process starting from ‘considering teaching as a career’ to ‘registering online for more info’, and ultimately ‘apply for teacher training’.

  • We will employ ‘above the line’ and direct marketing methods to raise awareness, generate interest and desire, and encourage the target groups to apply for teacher training.

Physical evidence

  • In the absence of branch offices, the TDA relies on websites, workshops and job fairs for physical presence. Our campaign involves physical leaflet distribution and direct mail with stickers and bookmarks to enhance the physical presence.

  • The giant Einstein inflatable advert will also help attract students’ attention and interest.

Database strategy

The database strategy is a key element of the entire project. The acquisition of data is of particular importance but the way in which it is then used is critical. It is necessary to outline the requirements and functions of the database in order to give reason for our proposed construction and its use. The requirements of the database are as follows:

  • to store information about potential target groups regarding:

    • personal details (ie name, age, address),

    • contact details,

    • educational status (ie university graduated from, grade obtained, degree subject), and

    • current career status;

  • to monitor the current level of interest in teaching as a career;

  • to monitor their awareness of the TDA brand; and

  • to be able to effectively target individuals based on certain criteria.

The data will be recorded via an online form for the Einstein prize draw. The form will be completed when an individual enters the competition outlined in our marketing strategy. The information will be automatically transferred to the TDA's internal database and then used to target those individuals and encourage them to make an enquiry (Stage 1).

When individuals make an enquiry at Stage 1, their details will be checked against the data collected from the competition to determine whether they have enquired as a result of our competition strategy. This enables us to record the success of our campaign.

The TDA was unable to provide access to its current database for confidentiality reasons; therefore, our report is based on the hypothetical situation of the TDA having no database structure in place.

Database fields

We have identified a number of different data fields to be included in the database. They are segmented into the following three categories:

  • personal information,

  • educational status, and

  • career status.

Personal information

Each individual's personal information is held for reference and contact details. This includes the person's name, age/DOB, address, phone number and email address.

Educational status

This category holds information such as the university the individual graduated from, whether they are still in education or have graduated (and when), their degree subject and grade obtained/expected. This will allow for messages to be targeted based on subject area and the standard of degree held.

Career status

The level of interest in teaching as a career will determine the tactic the TDA should adopt when communicating with an individual. If someone is close to a decision of becoming a teacher, then the message communicated to them will differ greatly from that to someone who has just a passing interest. The former should be supported by providing information on the practical issues of becoming a teacher, while latter will need to be sold the benefits of teaching and encouraged to find out more. The individual's current status is also important as a person still in education will differ from one who has already graduated. The date on which the person first registers on the database will also be recorded. This helps to monitor the length of time a person has been on the database and how their interest levels have altered during that period.

These data fields have been identified as relevant to the overall objectives. A balance has been struck between avoiding a perceived invasion of privacy for the individual and ensuring sufficient data are collected in order to directly market to contacts. An ‘opt-in/out’ option has also been added to allow participants to state their preferred contact method or to state that they do not wish to be contacted.

Detailed data fields are illustrated in the prize draw web pages in Figure 1.

Figure 1
figure 1

Prize draw web page for data capture

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Data recording

Data fields that are subject to change, such as surname and level of interest in teaching as a career, should be flexible so that records can be easily updated.

Personal information should be updated at least once a year. This should be done via email/telephone and asking if any of the data are incorrect. A prompt to change any incorrect information should be facilitated.

Career and educational status should be updated every month. This will help to monitor the success of marketing communications, particularly the information regarding the person's level of interest in teaching as a career. If a person shows more interest than when first registered, the TDA can identify how well their communications are working and can alter their approach accordingly. Conversely, if a person's interest is unchanged or lower than previously, the TDA can act on this. Because this approach requires fairly frequent communication with individuals, the approach should be made quick and simple. By sending an email with ‘one-click’ answering for a small number of questions, an individual's involvement will be kept to a minimum with perceived time lost also at a minimum.

Privacy policy

The database will be created and maintained based on the TDA's current privacy policy.

Marketing communications plans

Segmentation

We have segmented our target audience into three groups: penultimate year students, final year students and past students of up to 2 years. Multivariable segmentation has been applied to develop relevant profiles of our segments. We have three variables: geographical (England and Wales), qualifications (a 2.1 degree or above) and courses (highest priority: maths and science).

Targeting

A differentiated targeting strategy is adopted for our campaign in order to obtain greater customer satisfaction. Different messages will be sent out to the different segments to match their individual needs.

Final year students

Final year students are particularly concerned about their life after graduating. As graduate unemployment has reached its highest level since 1995, we will emphasize the job opportunities for teaching in secondary schools, as well as the bursary and ‘golden hello’ financial incentives. The message will read: ‘Worried about job prospects after graduation? We are recruiting now. If you want a challenging but fulfilling job with financial rewards to match, talk to us at: www.tda.gov.uk’.

Penultimate year students

Penultimate students may not consider job-hunting as an immediate priority, so our aim is to place ‘teaching’ in their evoked set. The message will read: ‘Kick start your career development — it may seem a long way away, but now is the time for early career planning. Talk to us at: www.tda.gov.uk’.

Past graduates of up to 2 years

Individuals in this segment may be in employment already or unemployed; therefore, we will promote the benefits of teaching as a profession and persuade them to switch career. The message will read: ‘Are you looking for a more challenging and fulfilling job? Why not consider teaching? You may be surprised by how rewarding a teaching career can be. Visit us at: www.tda.gov.uk’.

Brand strength of the TDA

The TDA is a government-commissioned professional agency and is recognized for its credible and knowledgeable staff. It is in a favourable position as a brand leader and has no direct competition within its own sector.

Campaign

Our campaign will be based around a prize draw competition that will look to encourage students to register their details on the web pages. The message ‘T=MC2??? Solve the puzzle and win a laptop at www.tda.gov.uk/einstein’ will be used. The prize draw campaign will end on 31 March 2011.

AIDA principle

Our communication plan follows the four sequential steps of the AIDA concept:

  • Awareness: We will advertise the prize draw to attract the attention of prospective registrants and make them aware of the message we are communicating.

  • Interest: This stage will provide prospective registrants with more information about teaching as a career, FAQs and incentives for trainee teachers in maths and science. The prize draw web pages are built on the existing TDA website and linked to the benefits of teaching in order to arouse the registrants’ interest.

  • Desire: Different messages targeted at the three segments will be linked to the needs of customers, creating the desire to carry out the required action.

  • Action: The participants carry out the action — visit the TDA website to register for teacher training information and subsequently apply for teacher training.

Our theme

We have chosen to use the image of Albert Einstein who is considered one of the greatest scientific thinkers of all time, famous for his E=MC2 equation. However, few people are aware of his teaching career. By introducing a competition prize draw based on the puzzle ‘T=MC2’ (Teaching=My Career2), we aim to attract the ‘high flyers’ who can think ‘out of the box’, particularly maths and science students who aspire to famous minds such as Einstein. Our target groups are young, typically between the ages of 20 and 24, and therefore we have chosen to use a cartoon Einstein character to make it more soft and fun. The entire campaign is coded ‘Einstein’ so that effectiveness can be measured by the TDA.

In order to advertise the prize draw, we will use an inflatable Einstein mobile model, which will be positioned in heavy footfall areas on university campuses. The model can be moved around to different sites on the campus to raise greater awareness among overall students but with a focus on the maths and science departments.

All of our promotional literature bears the TDA logo in order to maximize awareness but adopts our distinctive black and pink colour scheme as a ‘code’ for our campaign. However, our prize draw web pages, which are built on the TDA website, are consistent with their existing colour scheme.

We will strictly follow the guidelines stipulated by the IDM and the TDA in terms of the use of the TDA logo for our campaign, and adhere to the relevant Copyright and Intellectual Property requirements.

The students we surveyed all possess Smartphones with camera facilities; they are proficient with mobile technology and interested in gadgets and applications. To capitalize on this finding, we will adopt a Quick Response (QR) code for the ‘above the line’ campaign, which allows students with camera phones to scan the barcode and get an instant link to the website. However, whether this can be incorporated into bus and mobile Einstein adverts will depend on technical advice from the professional design team.

Institution grouping

On the basis of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) entrant record for 2007 and 2008, the educational institutions were divided into ten regions as illustrated in Figure 2. Further divisions are made into the following bands based on the number of maths and science students at each institution:

  • Band 1 — 3000–1000 maths and science students, total number of institutions: 48;

  • Band 2 — 999–300 maths and science students, total number of institutions: 44;

  • Band 3 — 299–100 maths and science students, total number of institutions: 22;

  • Band 4 — 99–50 maths and science students, total number of institutions: 18;

  • Band 5 – Under 49 maths and science students, total number of institutions: 82.

Figure 2
figure 2

Percentage analysis of maths and science degree students in England and Wales based on 2007 entrants

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Institutions in Band 1 will display the Einstein inflatable advert during a 4-week period on alternative weeks.

Institutions in Band 2 will share the Einstein inflatable advert with other universities in the same area on a 3-day rotating period.

Institutions in Band 3 will share a rotating display of the Einstein inflatable advert for 2 days over a 2-week period with other universities in the same region.

This allocation is in proportion with the maths and science student numbers in the institutions in each band.

Test run

The 2-week trial run will take place at the University of Leeds in Band 1 and Leeds Trinity and All Saints in Band 3 at the start of the second term in 2011 and will finish in mid-February. The giant inflatable Einstein ad will be on display on campus for 2 weeks in combination with leaflet distribution, adverts in student newspapers, campus TV display, banner adverts on student union websites, and email-shots by the student union to the three segments.

Evaluation

The purpose of this test run is to assess the performance of the advertising tools employed for the prize draw. Each media channel is coded on the database so that we can evaluate which ones have performed better than others. The QR code will allow us to measure response rates with a high degree of precision and for easier return on investment calculation.

Concerted efforts will be made to undertake the evaluation within 2 weeks so that adjustment can be made before rolling out the campaign to the rest of the targeted universities in England and Wales. Assumptions are made that the TDA will provide analytical resources to support the evaluation process. If a longer evaluation period is required, the Contact Plan can be modified accordingly.

The close vicinity of Leeds to Huddersfield provides an excellent opportunity for us to talk with a focus group consisting of maths and science students to assess their feedback on the test campaign prior to the roll-out in March 2011.

Media used

Stage 1

Objective To attract 40,000 eligible students to register on the TDA website for more information about teaching in secondary schools.

Timescale: January–August 2011 Mid-January–March: A test run of the prize draw adverts will be organized from mid-January to mid-February 2011, and evaluation of the test run will be undertaken during the second half of February before rolling our plans out in March 2011.

June–August: Emails, SMS alerts combined with telephone and live chat support will be used to remind eligible students to enquire about teacher training.

Final year students and past graduates

Different methods will be used to encourage this group to consider teaching as their career and reinforce the awareness of the upcoming deadline.

Penultimate year students

During this stage, they are exposed to the prize draw adverts and will enter the prize draw, which captures their data. Emails will be sent to remind them of early career planning and place ‘teaching’ in their evoked set, and this will be supported by the live internet chat and telephone calls. The aim is to prompt them to register for teaching information in Stage 1 and ultimately apply for teacher training in 2012.

January–April

Bus adverts — many students travel to university by bus and may respond well to adverts. ‘As people wait for transport to arrive or their journey to finish, they actively seek out distraction, making them far more likely to engage with your advert’ (Admediauk). Therefore, the Einstein prize draw adverts will be placed on bus routes passing through targeted universities in London and the ten regions/cities with the highest student concentration to create awareness.

The student unions will send emails to maths and science students in their final and penultimate years, as well as the eligible past students who are registered as alumni. To increase the reach to eligible past graduates, a commissioned email run by Reed.com (the UK's largest online recruitment website) will be sent to the job seekers.

On-campus adverts for the prize draw: As mentioned in the assignment brief, the campaign is ‘student specific’, and by using a mobile advert we will reach a larger number of students across the campus. Our highest priority is maths and science faculties. We have chosen to use:

  • Campus TV displays— located in heavy footfall areas.

  • Student newspapers — half-page adverts will be run over a 4-week period.

  • Giant inflatable Einstein advert — requires limited space and can be moved easily to different locations. Its size and cartoon character will be eye-catching.

  • On-campus big poster displays to complement or replace TV displays where no TV displays are available.

  • A4 leaflets — directly handed out to maths and science students which they can keep as a ‘call to action’ reminder.

Careers Services is a place where students can find information about jobs and career guidance. The TDA already has an extensive workshop programme across England and Wales and this can be utilized to attract maths and science students. SMS messages can be sent to the maths and science students registered on our database to alert them to the relevant workshops organized by the TDA.

June–August

Emails will be sent to those who have registered for teaching information to ask if they found the information helpful, if they have considered teaching and if they would like testimonials in their region. The ‘Golden hello’ incentive should be emphasized and a reminder about the September deadline should also be mentioned.

A similar email will also be sent to those who only entered the prize draw but did not register for teaching information.

SMS reminders will alternate with emails to keep the messages fresh in the mind.

Direct mail will be sent out to final year students and eligible past graduates with bookmarks and stickers as the final reminder of the application deadline.

Stage 2

Objective To convert the 40,000 initial enquirers into 12,000 applications with Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR) (30 per cent conversation rate).

Timescale: September–December 2011 Sept: Final year students and past graduates

Email and call those who have registered for the teaching info but have not yet submitted applications. Persuade them to take action before the deadline. They should be asked whether they have any concerns about teaching and help them with answers and testimonials. A nudge of ‘limited places remaining’ can be used.

Email or call the ‘opted in’ students who have not registered for teaching info and indentify whether they consider teaching as an option. Identify what they see as important factors for career choice. Remind them of the benefits of teaching, and remind them of the deadline for application. SMS will be used as further reminders.

Penultimate year students

Leaflet distribution to the penultimate year students will remind them to enquire about teaching. On-campus TV screens or poster displays will reinforce the message and call to action.

October–December:

Email them with the following message:

‘Kick start your career planning. Interested in teaching? Why not join the Student Associates Scheme to gain classroom experience while pursuing your studies.

The Student Associates Scheme gives you the chance to:

  • Discover what teaching is really like

  • Work alongside experienced teachers

  • Develop new skills.

Visit us at www.tda.gov.uk and we can help you with your career plan’.

We will use data captured in Stage 1 for follow-ups with emails and SMS alerts to invite them to Open Days, job fairs and workshops in accordance with the TDA event schedule.

Leaflets will be distributed to penultimate year students in order to keep teaching in their evoked set.

Live internet chat support from experienced personnel will be available throughout the entire campaign to answer questions, monitor visitors in real time, convert visitors to applicants and boost customer satisfaction. Enquirers can print out the live internet chat conversations as reference notes.

The TDA 0800 helpline is also available to answer any questions relating to teacher training and/or any aspects relating to becoming a teacher.

Forecast

Cost per enquiry

Forecasts of anticipated responses from maths and science students in the two stages are presented in Tables 3 and 4, as well as cost per enquiry/application.

Table 3 Forecast – Stage 1
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Table 4 Forecast – Stage 2
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Creative plan

A series of advertising aids are created to convey the differentiated messages, features and benefits of teaching targeted for the three segments as detailed in the Communication Plans.

Budget

We undertook a cost analysis to sample a typical institution in Bands 1–3 based on campus activities. It illustrates that the most cost-efficient way to achieve the targets, namely 40,000 enquirer in Stage 1 and 12,000 applications in Stage 2, is by concentrating on Bands 1–3 to achieve economies of scale and maximum coverage. It is anticipated that maths and science students in Bands 4–5 will be alerted of the prize draw competition through viral marketing arising from bus adverts, Facebook and word of mouth.5

Table 5 Calculation of payback and ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment)
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The number of maths and science students used for the budget is derived from the UCAS statistics for the relevant degree disciplines determined by the TDA.

The biggest cost in Stage 1 is the inflatable Einstein mobile advert.

‘Email shot × 2’ in the budget are two separate email shots sent by student unions: one to students in their final year and penultimate year, and one to those who graduated in 2005 and 2006 and are registered as alumni.

We find that there is some ambiguity in the assignment brief about the target groups; therefore, we have made the assumption that the 40,000 enquirers in Stage 1 and 12,000 applicants in Stage 2 are from all degree disciplines, but with a focus on maths and science students. Our budget is formulated on the basis of maths and science student numbers. However, due to the limited number of maths and science students enrolled between 2005 and 2008, the shortfalls of enquirers and applicants will be made up from eligible degree students from other degree disciplines who will be also exposed to the inflatable Einstein advert, TV and poster displays, and whose data will be captured on our database through the prize draw competition.

The on-campus activity in Stage 2 is focused on reminding penultimate year students of teaching as a career as they will be in their final year by September 2011. Data analysis from Stage 1 will enable the TDA to target the universities and areas with the highest student numbers for Stage 2.

This budget has not included any costs of the existing campaigns by the TDA such as workshops and job fairs. Assumptions are made that costs for the TDA to send emails and make telephone calls will be part of their overhead costs and therefore excluded from this budget. However, we anticipate that an administrator will be required to support the campaign.

Our secondary research shows that there is no licence fee for the use of QR code, and therefore is excluded in the budget.

Two top of the range laptop computers, each at £1,000, have been budgeted for the prize draw competition.