Summer programmes as a recruitment channel, not a side business

A Vietnamese family sending a fifteen-year-old on a three-week summer programme is doing something more significant than buying a course. They are testing a country, an institution and a decision.

Why conversion is high and rarely measured

The student has lived on the campus, the parents have watched the communication, and the family has already crossed the psychological barrier of sending a child abroad. Almost no marketing channel produces a comparably qualified prospect. Most institutions run the programme profitably and never track who applies two years later.

Three changes that make it a channel

• Record the cohort properly, with consent, so they can be contacted when they reach application age.
• Introduce the degree offer while they are there, lightly — a campus session for parents, or a conversation with an admissions officer.
• Follow up at the right moment, which is two years later, not two weeks later.

What to be careful about

Summer programmes involve minors, and the duty of care, consent and data obligations are correspondingly higher. Marketing to a fifteen-year-old's family requires the same consent discipline as any other processing, and arguably more care.

Programme and event delivery: Education Fairs & Events →