Edtech

Edtech sits in an interesting position: the market is enormous, the need is real and the technology is genuinely capable of improving learning outcomes. Yet the sector struggles with trust. A generation of overpromised, underdelivered edtech products has made parents, schools and institutions cautious. The communications challenge is to make the case for genuine impact in a space where the audience has been let down before.

Multiple audiences, multiple frames

Edtech communications is unusually complex because the decision-makers are multiple and distinct: students who want to learn, parents who want outcomes, teachers who are protective of their professional domain, institutions that are risk-averse by nature and investors who want scale. Each audience requires a different frame, and a different set of proof points.

The brands that navigate this complexity well do so by being clear about who the primary audience is and building secondary messaging for the others — rather than trying to say everything to everyone at once.

The proof-point problem

• Learning outcomes are slow to materialise and difficult to attribute
• Testimonials from students are valuable but raise privacy considerations
• Institutional endorsements are hard to earn and take time to develop
• The media is sceptical of edtech claims after several high-profile failures

Communications strategy in edtech is therefore as much about managing expectations credibly as it is about building excitement. The brands that do this honestly tend to build the most durable trust.