With Roe Communications turning 10 this year, Toby Roe, our co-founder, reflects on a decade of helping business schools achieve a bigger profile in the media. He explains what’s changed in business school PR, what does and doesn’t work, and gives advice to business school marcomms teams today.
1. Why did you start Roe Communications?
Having spent a long time in the business school sector, I thought there was a better way to do public relations and for business schools to bridge the gap between academia and business.
I thought two things could be done better:
- First, it’s less about getting as much content out there as possible and more about building a brand around a clear identity and image. I believe passionately that this is the route to success for all business schools.
- Second, it’s about making the most of the resources available to the internal team.
Marcomms teams suffer from diminished budgets, a lack of staff, competing demands, and not enough clarity on organisational strategy. This comes out strongly in our latest Knowing Me Knowing You Report with EFMD and CarringtonCrisp.
At the same time, school leaders are asking them to do increasing amounts with fewer resources, and they don’t really have a clear direction.
So, marcomms teams are stretched. Our philosophy is to help them find that focus and to make the maximum impact with the resources available.
2. What has changed in business school PR?
A huge amount! Both in business and wider society, but also in how business schools and the media operate.
If you look at those challenges, obviously, there is AI and increased instability in geopolitics. There is also the rise of social media and fewer media outlets. There’s been an explosion of business schools and other people talking to the media; you’ve got more people trying to comment and fewer outlets for them to speak to.
If you put that all together, it makes for a challenging environment for marcomms professionals within business schools.
Business education has also become increasingly global in its scope, and the business education media has followed. 10 years ago, Poets&Quants, for example, was quite US-focused. Now, it takes a very international approach, and I think there’s a recognition now within business schools that it’s not about the traditional centres of the US, UK and some major centres in Europe.
In fact, we are shortly coordinating a roundtable discussion with the Financial Times, which features Deans from business schools from emerging markets such as Asia, South America and South Africa.
3. What tactics don’t work when it comes to business school PR, and what are schools doing instead?
I would say that press releases and press conferences have become less effective, certainly with the international media.
Online databases and tools allow you, in theory, to send out content to a huge range of journalists, but that doesn’t mean you should. At the same time, journalists are under pressure. They need a good reason to attend an event where they know lots of other journalists will be there.
Good business school PR takes a much more personal, targeted approach. It’s about building those deep relationships and concentrating on the quality of stories.
The reason you do PR is to help your organisation strategically. Here at Roe Communications, we use a triangular model to do this. Your activities need to 1) appeal to the audience you are trying to influence, 2) be strategically valuable to your school, and 3) be of interest and relevance to journalists.
To be successful, schools need a very clear focus on what they want to be known for. Just because they can talk about 101 things does not mean they have to. It’s about being clear what you stand for.
Tactically, the business schools that do well understand how the media works, they understand the timescales that journalists work to and respond quickly, and they make reporters’ jobs as easy as possible.
Finally, I would say that it’s not having an overly internal perspective. I think one of the problems that schools have is that they get very excited about things internally. But the schools that do well in the media view things through an external lens.
”If PR doesn’t meet the strategic needs of the organisation, it does not influence or practically help your audiences, and it doesn’t really help journalists to do their job, then it is not good PR.“
4. What are the most common misconceptions business schools have about PR and media coverage?
I think one of the big misconceptions is that it’s a short-term activity that you can just switch on. Perhaps you want to increase the number of people for a programme, for example, or sell tickets to an event.
But PR is not about short-term emergency results. Good PR is about building up over the long-term and creating a well-thought-through, clearly articulated brand that influences the people you want to reach.
It’s a bit like putting money into a savings account. You are building up brand and awareness credit that will serve you well over the long-term and will protect you if times get rough.
5. How has the rise of AI changed what you recommend to clients?
When AI first came into the public consciousness, there was a school of thought that PR was going to die. In fact, it has been the reverse of that. AI search is picking up quality press coverage, and that means good PR is even more essential.
Having a “human voice” is even more important now that journalists are being bombarded by AI-slop. In practice, this means fielding real experts with interesting things to say, finding case studies of people to talk about their experiences and focusing on the balance between AI and human writing.
Remember: journalists want authenticity, not corporate gloss.
Despite all the hype, business schools need to stick to the fundamentals of having a good strategy, being clear on what they are trying to say, building relationships for the long-term and being consistent and focused.
Summary
- Strong business school PR is built on focus: define a clear identity and prioritise high-impact activity over volume.
- The media landscape is more competitive and global, requiring sharper positioning and more strategic targeting.
- Generic tactics like mass press releases are less effective; success comes from tailored pitching, strong relationships, and journalist relevance.
- PR is a long-term investment that builds brand credibility and influence over time, not a quick fix for short-term goals.
- In the AI era, credible media coverage and authentic expert voices matter more than ever, reinforcing the need for quality, human-led storytelling.
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