Mind the Gap: When you're selling a dream, not the reality.
Have you ever been sold a lie by marketing? It’s the worst - and it undermines our entire profession.
Let me tell you a story…
For YEARS, I coveted a shirt from a US brand. It was pretty expensive, and between the exchange rate and shipping costs, it was never something I could justify buying.
But my love for that shirt? Constant. Unshakable.
For almost a decade, I genuinely believed it would be the perfect addition to my wardrobe.
(You can see where this is going, right?)
Eventually, they ran a sale and I seized my moment. The shirt finally arrived.
And it is… TERRIBLE.
Not a bit disappointing. Not “maybe it’ll grow on me.”
Terrible.
And what annoys me most isn’t the shirt itself.
It’s that I wasn’t sold a shirt - I was sold a lie.
The Brand–Reality Gap
There’s a term for what happened here: the Brand–Reality Gap. It’s the gap between what marketing promises and what people actually experience.
And we’re kidding ourselves if we think it doesn’t exist in education marketing.
In schools, there are three key factors at play when families are choosing a school:
It’s a long term commitment
It’s a major financial investment
It’s a huge emotional decision
...which is why the gap matters even more in our world.
“Can I get this past legal?”
I started my career in corporate marketing.
Everything had to go through legal before it ever saw the light of day - because you can’t just claim anything you like. The business risk is too high.
It’s been 20 years, and I still pause sometimes and think:
“Would this make it past Pearso?”
(Michael Pearson, if you're reading this, you made an impact on this young marketer!)
But most schools don’t have a legal department to run promotional claims past.
This means the responsibility lands elsewhere - with marketers and leaders.
The biggest risk isn’t bad intentions. It’s love.
Here’s where schools are different from most corporates: We love them.
Marketers love their schools. Leaders love their schools. Staff love their schools. Nobody prepares you for how much you will fall in love with your school.
And that love can blur the line between what is true today, and what we aspire to be one day.
Sometimes what we are selling doesn’t quite match reality. And when families show up expecting the dream we painted?
That’s when trust gets dented.
That’s when reputation wobbles.
That’s when enrolments get so much harder.
Marketers are not miracle workers
This is the bit I wish more leaders understood: School marketers don’t create the lived experience. They amplify it.
We can package it beautifully. We can tell stories with heart. We can create campaigns that cut through.
But we cannot market our way out of a reality problem.
If there’s a Brand–Reality Gap at a school, it’s tempting to blame marketing. But that isn’t fair, and it isn’t accurate.
Because marketers are not miracle workers.
If your marketing is overpromising… it’s often because the school is underdelivering.
So what do we do about it?
Here’s my take: I don’t think anyone is intentionally trying to deceive families – and therein lies the problem.
It’s time for us all to take a step back and take an honest look at how well our school is delivering and which areas need improvement.
A Brand-Reality Gap can’t be fixed by marketing alone. In fact, that’s where the gap begins: when we promote the dream and not the reality.
This isn't a marketing problem to fix - it's a leadership one (and one of many reasons why I advocate for marketing having a seat at the leadership table).
Final thought
In the long run, the best marketing strategy is simple: Be authentic.
In a world of AI, deep-fakes, and insincere marketing like that abysmal shirt I bought, people are craving authenticity and honesty.
If your marketing is writing cheques your school can't cash, people will figure it out sooner or later.
And when trust is broken, it's very difficult to get back.