Why back to school is the wrong time for your big news
I’ve heard it so often throughout my career: an organization that works with children and families is getting ready to launch a big initiative “just in time for back to school!”
Eek.
Whenever we’re working on big announcement launches for clients—be it a new advocacy campaign, a report or fresh research—we specifically avoid launching during the last few weeks of August and early September.
Why?
Because the already-crowded media market gets so much worse for our clients during back-to-school season. Every organization and their brother, mother and sister is putting out news, striving to get that front-page placement or attention for their work.
Look, I get it. It’s tempting, right? September always feels like a new start, and typically organizations are announcing news that is timely and relevant during the start to the new school year and fresh legislative session.
And yet—put yourselves in your audiences’ shoes right now. Not only is back to school a crowded time to try and get media attention, it’s also a notoriously “full brain” time for your audiences.
Let’s pretend you’re communicating a new curriculum you have for educators. You want teachers to know about it so they can start the school year off right—with your lesson plans in hand.
Now let’s imagine we’re actually that teacher that you’re trying to reach. What is that teacher worried about right now? COVID-19 variants. The rug she kept meaning to replace in her classroom. Where her textbooks are from two years ago. How many team meetings she still needs to have with her colleagues.
If she’s reading EdWeek, or any of her email newsletters—and that’s a big IF, my friend—she’s probably not really retaining the information while fielding text messages from her assistant principal and trying to make a good first impression while responding to emails from her new parents.
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It’s not just teachers who have an extra-full brain around back-to-school time. It’s parents and policymakers too. And think of how many news reporters are also parents—packing up backpacks, worrying about what the first week will look like.
See what I mean?
Only on a rare occasion, and this is only if you have the most exciting news, are you actually getting the attention you deserve for your back-to-school announcement.
So what’s the solution? Wait.
If your big news can possibly wait, then wait.
Find a news hook that is coming up in the fall and tie your work to that instead.
Get targeted about who you are trying to reach, and where they get their news.
I want your big announcement to get the attention it deserves—the work you do for families is critical, my friend! So make sure you’re setting yourself up for success by getting the timing right.
