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Hey there WirED Marketers,
Chances are, someone on your team is in charge of events. If that person is you—you’re a hero. Seriously, thank you for everything you do. If it’s not you—simply put this email aside and take a minute to THANK THEM.
Because let’s be honest: events aren’t all lanyards and latte bars. You can plan for weeks, dot every “i,” cross every “t,” and still end up standing on a tradeshow floor with no booth materials because they vanished somewhere between here and Kansas.
This edition of The WirED Marketer is for the event pros—the planners, the packers, the problem-solvers. Even if events aren’t your jam, we promise there’s something in here for you, too. Keep reading, k?
👇 In this edition you’ll find:
- Nailed It or Failed It: The K-12 Events Edition
- Meet the Education Marketer: Emma, our Events Whisperer (aka Events Manager)
- Pop Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Marketing to K-12 Leaders at Conferences and Tradeshows?
Enjoy!
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Your WirED Marketer,
—Melissa, Senior Director, Marketing at Education Week
P.S. — 📩 Did someone forward you this email? Sign up here.ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Nailed It or Failed It: The K-12 Events Edition 💯
Because knowing what not to do can be as important as knowing what to do. 👇
- Wednesdays win. Fridays flop.
According to an EdWeek Research Center survey from October 2024, district and school leaders (and yep, teachers too), state that Wednesday is their top choice for in-person events. The least popular? Friday. - Hosting teachers during the school day? Expect 40% attrition.
My teacher friends tell me that lining up a sub can be feel impossibly hard. If your event pulls teachers out of class, build in a buffer—around 40% may end up bailing. Not personal. Just logistical reality. - Morning is prime time. Evenings? Not so much.
The sweet spot for events is 9 AM – 12 PM. The least popular time? Dinner hours, like 5 – 8 PM. People want to wrap up their day, not add another thing to it. Who’s with me? 🙋 - Skip the 45-slide deck. Get interactive.
There’s nothing worse than showing up just to be talked at for an hour. Lengthy PowerPoints are for the birds, IMO. Interactivity isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s essential. - Think small and local.
Sometimes the best move is to meet people where they are—literally. Fly to their city, book a venue near the district office, and cater lunch from a local favorite. You do the legwork, and they’ll typically show up. - Don’t sleep on direct mail.
Email’s great, but a well-timed postcard? Still works. A lot of district leaders rely on good ol’ snail mail. It’s affordable, it stands out, and it gives your event another touchpoint. - Ride the wave of big national conferences.
Are your target customers heading to ISTE? If so, host a happy hour or breakfast around the main event. A sidecar gathering gives you face time without the conference chaos.
What We’re Reading 📚
Free Guide: Planning Successful In-Person Events for K-12 Leaders [3 min. read]
Planning events is far from “one size fits all”—district leaders have strong preferences and pain points. This nifty guide helps you to understand what to expect when it comes to attrition, networking and programming.
Pop Quiz! ⚡
How Much Do You Know About Marketing to District and School Leaders at Conferences and Tradeshows?
According to K-12 leaders, who is the most persuasive advocate for a company’s product at conferences?
a. Current school administrator who uses product
b. Current teacher who uses product
c. Researcher who can speak to evidence behind product
d. Company product implementation staff
Got a Minute? ⌚
Answer 3 quick questions, get entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card, and then get back to your regularly scheduled chaos. Winner picked tomorrow.
👉 [Take the survey]*
*Note: This survey has closed.
Events on Our Radar 🎯
[Virtual & Free] Eventastic by Guru Media Hub. June 5 & 6. Sessions include:
- Steal My Playbook (No, seriously)
- Exhibit, Sales, Experience (Old candy & broken pens)
- Webinars – UGGGH! (Make them better and increase show rates)
The robust agenda and session names made me chuckle. Register here.
Meet The Education Marketer 👋
Emma Prillaman, EdWeek’s Events Manager
3 words to describe you: “Community-Oriented, Organized, Positive.”
What should every EdMarketer know?
“I think everything comes back to connection and listening—the reason I love working on events is that they foster moments of real connection and learning. The companies I see as the most successful event sponsors at our conferences are the ones who take the time to listen to conversations and make the effort to ask questions about what schools really need. When you have that moment of personal engagement—showing yourself as someone who can be a partner and a support, not just another salesperson looking to make a buck—can go a long way.”
What’s keeping you up at night?
“How to filter through the noise and get to the most important things during very uncertain times for educators. Right now, our audiences are being pulled in a thousand directions—between the bombardment of headline news, their day-to-day tasks, and everyone with a need telling them that their request is top priority. It’s a lot to compete with. And asking someone to step away from their work—or even out of the office—is no small thing.
When planning events for educators, the value needs to be clear to make it worthwhile. The information needs to be actionable and useful right now. This means thinking through session formats, topics, and “flow” with our team to create a program that delivers insights and ideas in digestible ways. For example, if there’s too long a block of “sit and listen” content, folks can tune out and miss the idea that may have helped them the most. How and when the information gets delivered can be as important as the information itself.”
How do you capture the attention of district and school leaders?
“I think getting them involved in the process of learning is valuable. In our events, we integrate interactive formats to get the audience invested in the data, solutions, and idea generation. Peer—to-peer learning, brainstorming workshop opportunities, topic-focused networking moments—these all ensure our attendees aren’t just getting important info, they’re also actively and creatively engaging with it. Yes, charts with data are useful and important, but the discussion about that data later? That can be the real “aha” moment.”
Say What?! 🦜
What we’ve heard at the watercooler, on social, out and about…
“I had to be the one to say: Purina has no puppy customers, Baby Gap has no infant customers, and you have no teacher customers.”
That’s Jeff Livingston, CEO and founder of EdSolutions, speaking from the EdWeek Market Brief article, Market Failures: What Industry Leaders Say the ‘Patagonia Vests’ in Ed Tech Keep Getting Wrong.
According to journalist Emma Kate Fittes, Livingston remembers the moment from a previous marketing role when he realized most of his team “didn’t know who the customer was.” The company was attempting to target messaging toward teachers as the main consumers of their product.
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.
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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.