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Hey there, WirED Marketers!
I had a lot of fun writing this edition of The WirED Marketer. I hope you find it insightful and actionable. Go ahead and apply what you’ve learned to your marketing and sales strategy, then report back!
In this edition you’ll find:
- Advice directly from K-12 leaders to vendors that packs a punch
- A “must-take” quiz on the superintendent buyer persona
- What catches the attention of a K-12 leader? An EdWeek marketing leader tells all.
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Your WirED Marketer,
—Melissa, Senior Director, Marketing at Education Week
Send ideas and feedback my way — mheyeck@educationweek.org.ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What’s Trending ✨
You know what’s the best? Winning the lottery—sure. But also, having an internal research center that routinely surveys district and school leaders.
Earlier this month we asked a couple hundred K-12 leaders, “What advice would you give vendors to make their offerings more aligned with your needs?”
Responses were plentiful. Strong opinions were too. 🙃
Big Takeaways 👇
💰 Easy Ordering. Upfront Pricing.
“Provide an online catalog/ordering process so we can easily get quotes to complete purchase orders prior to the purchase. A lot of us use Amazon because you can see the item, know the price, print out the quote, and get it ordered all in the same day. Contacting a vendor for a mysterious quote is a waste of time.”
💰 Buy for the Quality. Stay for the Customer Service.
“Keep good customer service. Relationships are worth more than the bottom line. I will buy from vendors I trust.”
🤝 Relationships Matter.
“Get into the schools and form relationships with our staff who are in need to ensure that you understand their specific needs.”
📉 Skip the Trends. Focus On the Best Practices.
“Be informed regarding best practices not trends.”
💲 Consider the Specific Economics of Each District.
“I can only budget what the state gives me, and I have to make that go a long way. I think vendors need to be more willing to negotiate prices according to the economics of the district. They could also offer ways to write grants.”
And lastly, “Be clear in promises, pricing, and timelines.” Boom.
What We’re Reading 📚
👉 The 2025 State of Ed-tech Leadership Development by the Ed-tech Leadership Collective.
This report features survey data from over 100 K-12 ed-tech executives and includes actionable insights, trends in leadership PD, identifies gender disparities in career development (spoiler: it’s not pretty), and talks candidly about burnout.
A few interesting takeaways:
- 83% of respondents state they are at moderate to high risk of burnout.
- 65% of people who said they are at risk of burnout say it has to do with lack of resources.
- Males were much less likely to report being at high risk of burnout than females.
- Males were 2x as likely as female respondents to report that the feedback they receive from their managers is helpful.
My colleague, Michelle Caffrey, an EdWeek Market Brief reporter states, “Studies show that women across industries often receive feedback from their male peers that’s influenced by some kind of bias, whether it’s bias around women’s receptivity to feedback or their assertiveness, making it more difficult for them to advance in their careers.”
Pop Quiz! ⚡
The head honcho. The big wig. The carrier of the purse strings.
The School District Superintendent.
Test your smarts and take our quiz on how well you know the superintendent buyer persona. Then, take your learnings and apply them to your marketing strategy. (You’re welcome!)
What are the latest top priorities for districts, according to superintendents?
a. Increasing sports and academic programs
b. Increasing extra academic help and student mental health services
c. Building new schools
d. Reducing class size
Events on Our Radar 🎯
- [In-Person] ASU+GSV Summit. Headed to San Diego this April? You don’t want to miss our awesome line up of EdWeek sessions. Last year we had standing room only, so grab that seat, ASAP! [register here]
- Key Trends to Watch in the K-12 Market Over the Next Year
- The K-12 Leader: Data and Insights to Drive your Marketing and Sales Success
- What School Districts Are Buying: An Inside Look at Their RFPs
- How Districts Make Decisions about Academic Resources: What Ed Company Leaders Should Know
- [Webinar, Tomorrow 2/26] How K-12 Companies Should Navigate Uncertainty During the Trump Administration. This webinar is open to EdWeek Market Brief members only. Register here.
Meet The Education Marketer 👋
Elaina Hundley, EdWeek’s Assistant Director of Subscription Growth & Audience Lifecycle Marketing
3 words that describe you:
“Optimistic, Entrepreneurial, Authentic.”
How can you get your desired audience’s attention?
“For me, meeting the audience where they are is key, and the best way to do this is to combine data with empathy. Using your knowledge of your audience, regularly put yourself into the shoes of the persona you most want to reach. What does their day look and feel like? What are their biggest challenges? What do they most need to get their jobs done? How does your product help solve it? I recommend experimenting with channels and messaging that the data, paired with this thought process, leads you to. Test and record your results to drill down into the most and least successful tactics. And don’t forget to have fun with it!”
What catches the attention of K-12 leaders?
“Digestible and actionable information they can take to their district that solves a problem. Kudos if it’s short, to the point, and research-based. While I work more in subscription growth marketing now, I served as a Customer Success Manager before this. While I was working specifically with leaders to help them get the most they could out of access to edweek.org for their districts, I had several express interest in articles that could start a conversation among their teams (in curriculum or professional learning) or help them adopt a new curriculum focus, like Science of Reading.”
What are you thinking about the most lately?
“Between my work in Customer Success and Audience Development, I have been thinking a whole lot about what customers experience when interacting with our brand. Whether it be on your website or in an email series, finding that ideal customer experience—clear, valuable, friction free, memorable, maybe even delightful—is challenging, but essential. This is true no matter what audience you are serving, but I would venture to say that it’s extra challenging for an audience as busy and stretched as K-12 leaders and educators. As AI and automation continue to expand in customer experience, I am also thinking carefully about the right amount of human touch. Which interactions should be speedy and effective, which should be more personal? It’s a delicate balance.”
Say What?! 🦜
What we’ve heard at the watercooler, on social, out and about…
“Being a First Grade teacher, I am among the first to notice academic and SEL issues. It is a common feeling amongst my First Grade colleagues that we are not taken seriously because the students are “little”. We have been sounding the alarm about SEL since before the pandemic, but especially in light of it and we are brushed off. We are doing a disservice to these students.”
Anonymous teacher response from December 2024 EdWeek Research Center Survey
That’s all folks. Thanks for reading. See you again in 2 weeks.
Your WirED Marketer,
Melissa and team because every marketer knows, it takes a village.
What Did You Think? 👀
Tell me what you thought of this newsletter! Send ideas! Just say hi! — mheyeck@educationweek.org
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We can help you develop a successful campaign tailored to your unique marketing goals. To learn more, contact Advertising & Marketing Solutions Director Mike Bell at mbell@educationweek.org.