Head Irfan Latif: Marketing “as critical as curriculum” for school success
Speaking to more than 300 delegates at the AMCIS 2025 Annual Conference, Irfan issued a clear directive to senior leaders: elevate marketing to a strategic priority — not a peripheral function.
“If the ELT sees marketing as ‘just social media’ or ‘the people who design the open day banners,’ then we’ve got work to do,” Irfan told the room of admissions, communications and marketing professionals. “Marketing is reputation. Marketing is recruitment. Marketing is retention. It is as strategic as finance and as critical as curriculum.”
Irfan, who also led DLD College London before joining RHS, argued that schools ignore the strategic power of marketing at their peril, particularly in an era defined by digital disruption, shifting parental expectations, and intensified competition. “At RHS, and at DLD College London before that, the Directors of Marketing sat on ELT — there was no question about it. Their knowledge and insight are crucial in strategic decision making,” he said. “It’s time to stop viewing marketing as a support service and start seeing it as a core driver of school success.”
Throughout his speech, Irfan spoke directly to Heads — encouraging them to move from a culture of delegation to one of integration when it comes to marketing. He urged school leaders to rethink how trust is built and how first impressions are now formed — often before a prospective parent even visits the school. “Social media is now the front door of your school,” he said. “You’re not just being Googled — you’re being judged in 30 seconds on TikTok or Instagram. You might never get a second chance to make that first impression.”
Irfan’s address was not just a rallying cry for marketers, but a strategic wake-up call for Heads. He emphasised that today’s school marketing is not about “polish or prestige,” but about purpose and personality — the emotional clarity that builds trust and drives enrolment.
He also spoke to the leadership burden many marketers face when siloed from whole-school planning — and encouraged Heads to actively support a culture of shared ownership.
“Marketing needs to be a whole-school culture, not a department in the basement,” he said. “From the receptionist’s greeting to the Head’s LinkedIn post, every interaction is part of your brand. If we want authenticity, we need consistency — and that starts at the top.”
CLICK HERE to read the full news item, reported in Independent School Management Plus
See Irfan’s keynote speech in full in ASSETS (below).
Irfan acknowledged the challenges of operating in an age of AI, information overload, and parental scepticism — but framed them as opportunities for Heads to lead with vision.
“We are not just in the business of education. We are in the business of emotion, trust, and transformation. That is what our marketing must reflect — and that requires strategic leadership, not just creative flair.”
He concluded by urging Heads to back their marketing teams not only with resources, but with authority — and to recognise their work as an essential element of future-proofing the school.
“Let marketers shape not just the story, but the direction of travel,” he said. “Because in the end, we are not just filling places. We are shaping futures.”