The Human Side of School Marketing

Advertising expert Neal Foard on why person-to-person experiences matter to marketing

If you ask Neal Foard, he’ll tell you: School marketing is “a human enterprise.” And he would know. With 30 years in advertising, Foard has created award-winning campaigns for household names like Anheuser-Busch, Lexus, and Sony. He spent some of those years in the experiential marketing space, helping brands build experiences that, as he puts it, “treat customers like friends instead of targets.” Now, this marketing expert and storytelling coach has become known for his videos about memorable moments of kindness and connection—ones that change someone’s perception or challenge their thinking. 

In Foard’s words, “marketing is not just storytelling. It’s relationship building.” In other words, it’s distinctly human. We sat down with Foard to get his take on the human side of marketing—from storytelling to presentations to live events and more—and learn how school marketing can put relationships front and center.

Why are in-person experiences so important from a school marketing standpoint?
The advantage of live experiences is the serendipity of meeting people and establishing relationships you never would have otherwise. Life is a team sport. The more teammates you have, the more opportunity you have to connect and the better off you are.

When we see someone in person—when we can shake their hand and look them in the eye—it raises the level of civility, increases our mutual understanding and allows for a dialogue that improves our lives. In-person experiences are simply more pleasant. Human beings are better when we’re together.

What makes an in-person experience effective?
Anything that helps people build relationships is going to make an experience meaningful and memorable. I used to love trade shows because people were there to mix and mingle and learn new things. I found it really gratifying to be an agent of that kind of experiential marketing. But sometimes when people walk into a trade show or any new environment, they’re thinking, Where do I go? What am I doing? Activities are fabulous for raising the energy level in a room. 

When I went to trade shows as a vendor, we’d put people into teams of three to play “Jeopardy!” or “Family Feud”—some contest that forced them to engage with the people around them. If school leaders can find ways to put together an activity where there’s some element of teamwork and competition, that could be the key to creating new relationships and giving people something to talk about afterward.

Lots of events involve public speaking. What advice do you have on presenting effectively?
When I worked in advertising, I was able to advance not because I was a tremendous writer or an extremely creative person, but because I got good at pitching ideas. I was the one who would go into a room and try to persuade the client to buy our idea. In selling the idea, it’s often the way you put something—and the way you present yourself—that determines that idea’s value.

So if you’re in front of people you’re not familiar with, do not walk in and surrender status. Don’t walk in and say, “I’m not a very good presenter” or “This will only take a minute.” The first 10 to 15 seconds are key—that’s where you get your audience’s attention. So if you walk in and immediately self-deprecate, you’re wasting the most valuable real estate of the presentation. 

Another thing to avoid saying is, “I’m so excited to be here.” If you really were excited, you would begin immediately with what’s got you excited. Imagine you’re telling a retiree on a fixed income that she’s just won a million dollars. You wouldn’t start by saying, “I’m so excited to be here.” You’re going to go, “Hey, you want to hear some really good news?” Plus, everybody says they’re excited to be there. By starting with a cliché, you actually reduce your status, because you sound like everyone else. 

Instead, what people need to perceive about you is that you are there to fix a problem or provide value. You are not ashamed of it; you are proud of it. And if anybody ignores you or decides not to listen, that’s okay. You’re just there to help, and if they don’t want your help, you’re not going to take offense. You’re somebody who’s trying to be of assistance and who knows what they’re doing.

Much of your work focuses on storytelling, and that’s a huge part of building connections. How can school leaders tell better stories?
It’s important to remember that stories are how we imagine. When you’re listening to someone tell a story, your mind paints an incredibly vivid picture of what’s taking place. It picks all the right colors and all the right actors. It lets you participate in filling in the empty spaces. That is powerful because when your imagination is engaged, you feel like you’re participating. You subconsciously feel a sense of ownership, which is exactly the kind of reaction you want from your audience.

That’s why it’s also important as a storyteller to never cast yourself as the hero. That makes your audience feel like they’re not standing next to you—but really, you want them to be right next to you, watching something that you can both learn from. You want your audience thinking, I like them because they are in this with me. If you’re not portraying yourself as the one who learned something or was humbled or was able to appreciate something new, your audience just won’t believe the story.

The most memorable experiences are participatory. How can school leaders make their presentations more engaging?
Every audience is different. I’ve run into quite a few audiences that were incredibly reluctant to contribute. That said, an audience that is invited to participate now has permission to feel at home and to be more interested in you. They’re going to pay more attention. 

Try asking questions that are easily answered. You could say something like, “Has anybody been stopped in customs and suddenly felt the terror of not knowing what’s in your bag?” Half the hands will go up. If you prime your audience to expect questions, participation is going to be higher, and they’ll be more attentive. Use a couple of those softball questions to help build momentum, and then move into your more pointed, meaningful, relevant questions. 

But it’s not just about asking them questions. Think back to when you were a teacher. You wanted your class to be so intrigued that they’d ask questions if they didn’t understand. An audience is the same. I learned from doing business pitches that an audience with no questions at the end is not a good sign. The Q&A is where you win it or lose it, because that’s where they get a sense of who you really are. They know what you’re saying isn’t a rehearsed act. 

There’s one more thing I like to do when I have a really large audience. Without priming them at all, I tell them to find a piece of paper and a pen, and I’ll say, “You have 30 seconds to draw your neighbor. Go.” Immediately, you hear laughter. There’s a flurry of activity, and the noise level in the room goes up instantly. And after 30 seconds, I have them show their portraits to each other. Again, an eruption of laughter.

Not only is this a low-stakes way to get people laughing and engaging with one another, but it’s also a great way to get everyone’s attention back, which increases participation. And even though it’s silly, it makes people more open and vulnerable. As soon as people show their finished portraits, they start apologizing to each other. That gives me the opportunity as the speaker to say, “Don’t worry about getting things wrong.” When I ask complex questions, I want my audience to be engaged and honest. Those are the kinds of conversations that are the most memorable. 

A huge part of building a positive experience is making people feel cared for. Why is that so important?
They have a phrase in New Orleans called lagniappe, meaning “a little extra something.” When you go down there and have yourself a coffee, they might bring out some beignets and not charge you for them. That little extra something is a really sweet way of saying, “I suppose we could do this for the money, but I’d just as soon make a friend.”

In school marketing, the goal is to earn another conversation. And by earning conversations, you eventually earn trust. Trust, listening, being open, transparency, genuineness, authenticity—these are not buzzwords. These are some of the oldest human values. They are timeless. And it’s funny that we talk about them as though they’re some new discovery. That’s just how you behave when you’re friends with somebody. That’s why that little extra value—going the extra distance to make a friend—is so valuable.

What I’m saying is the goal isn’t always to make a sale. Trust may be the most important commodity there is in business—no matter what business you’re in.