School Marketing Manifesto ignites a powerful spark in every school marketer it reaches.
This spark transforms their knowledge, boosting their effectiveness and confidence in their roles.
And that spark? It ripples throughout the entire community, energising the culture, and uplifting the school for a brilliant, bold future.
We believe in the power of school marketing.
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We're truth tellers.
We prefer honesty and integrity over fluff because, let’s be real, we’re all busy with a job to do. You can count on us to be frank, straightforward, and clear because we actually get it, and we know you do too.
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We're generous, always.
We never gatekeep what we know. We believe that being generous and giving with our time and knowledge is integral to pushing our industry, our people, and our schools forward.
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We're sustainable.
Whether it’s giving advice that stands the test of time or choosing venues, products, and practices that value the environment, we’re always thinking of ways to offset our impact and take care of our world.
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We're full of heart.
School is a truly special place, bursting with opportunities and joy. That’s why we always ensure we’re having fun — because our actions have a ripple effect. Let’s celebrate the joy of learning together!
Meet the team…
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Bianca Coleborn
FOUNDER + DIRECTOR
A school marketer since 2010, Bianca knows firsthand how challenging the industry can be…and is here to help others facing those same challenges.
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Senga Harrower
MARKETING COORDINATOR
Senga is an up and coming marketing superstar. Like all good marketers, she loves a challenge and juggles multiple balls at once!
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Sonya Herndon
RETREAT SUPPORT
An expert Executive Assistant, Sonya is always on hand for support and advice, helping out during the Retreats, and keeping Bianca grounded.
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Adrian Wiles
WISDOM & COUNSEL
A veteran Principal of 30+ years, Adrian is Bianca’s former Head of College, now mentor and friend, who provides valuable wisdom and counsel.
Hi, I’m Bianca
Think of me as your friendly and experienced navigator, working alongside you to help you find your way through your school marketing adventure.
After more than 14 years in various school marketing roles, I’ve seen it all - declining enrolments, sticky staff relationships, PR crises, a global pandemic, and more.
So I know how challenging it is to keep showing up and doing a good job in a somewhat underappreciated and overwhelming role.
I created School Marketing Manifesto to make life easier for school marketers, giving them the tools, expertise, and - best of all - community to find the joy in their day-to-day.
Building the School Marketing Manifesto
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At my first school marketing job, the school had gaps in their enrolments - a situation that I needed to reverse, and pronto! Talk about being thrown in the deep end. By the time I finished up, we had turned those gaps into waitlists. That’s when I really understood how smart, strategic thinking could truly move the needle at schools. It’s also where I learned how lonely and overwhelming it can be as a school marketer… but more on that later.
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I stepped out of the domestic market and into international enrolments for three years as International Business Manager at Fraser Coast Anglican College. Here I got to make friends all throughout Asia and Europe and doubled the number of full-fee paying overseas students (FFPOS) enrolments while I was at it. But I still wasn’t a member of Leadership and it made life challenging at times.
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I moved into my first Director-level role at Concordia Lutheran College as a fully-fledged marketing specialist. In this position, I was finally a member of the Leadership Team and had more freedom to address real school challenges with creative solutions. It was here that I developed the notorious ‘Queensland’s Best Kept Secret’ campaign that saw our enrolments soar, and won us an international gong in the InspirED Brilliance Awards.
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In my role at Concordia, I started speaking at various events and conferences throughout Australia. After each engagement, I’d find myself chatting to school marketers eager to connect further with someone who actually ‘got it’ - but also wanted more out of their role. I saw there was a real opportunity to give these marketers what they needed in a way that was easy, didn’t chew up too much of their time, and, best of all, felt like a welcome retreat from the chaos of their day-to-day.
And so…
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A couple of short years later, I declared my intentions to the world with a LinkedIn post introducing School Marketing Manifesto to the world.
It was a call to arms for my fellow school marketers, and, vulnerably, it revealed my big, hairy, audacious goal (BHAG): to revolutionise the way we do school marketing.
People didn’t laugh (at least, not to my face). In fact, they were genuinely supportive.
We were on our way!
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In August 2023, tucked away in a beautiful spot in Byron Bay, I had the proudest, most fulfilling and most rewarding achievement in my 20-year career: I pulled off our first Strategic School Marketing Retreat.
I didn’t know if it was going to work - I didn’t have loads of data or research to back it up. I just had a dream that a group of school marketing professionals could take time away from their crazy roles to connect, collaborate, and come away with a solid plan for next year’s marketing.
And it worked!
It also confirmed my suspicions that I’m not the only one who has felt lonely, overwhelmed, and disconnected in school marketing land.
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Towards the end of 2024, with three successful retreats and a community of connected marketers under my belt, I started to see what SMM could truly become.
While my goal had remained steady, my mission had grown. I didn’t just want to help individual marketers - I wanted to lift our entire industry from the ground up.
To ensure that Marketing has a proper seat at the table in every school. To advocate (loudly!) for the role and the importance of marketing in schools to anyone who would listen. We needed to reach further, aim higher, and dig deeper.
And so, we said goodbye to the old School Marketing Manifesto look and hello to our new identity.
No longer just a community - today, we’re a movement.
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And here we are - excited to help school marketers around Australia and the world with a suite of offerings to ignite the spark in their role.
See how School Marketing Manifesto can support you and your school through:
The Society
Strategic School Marketing Retreats
Bespoke Consulting
Professional Speaking
Let’s do this!
Ready to join the movement? We’d love to have you. Explore how you can get involved with School Marketing Manifesto.
Connect with Bianca on LinkedIn
Get to know Bianca a little better by connecting on LinkedIn.
While you’re there, make sure you follow the School Marketing Manifesto LinkedIn page for delightful memes and wry observations about all things #schoolmarketing.