An inspiring business school Dean can be a powerful asset for generating influential international media coverage.
A high-profile Dean can be highly attractive to target audiences, giving a massive boost to a business school’s overall reputation.
But this is not just about generating column inches or enhancing their personal brand for the sake of it.
As with any public relations activity, placing the Dean in the media should be about supporting a business school’s goals.
Drawing on our experience of placing many business school Deans in global media, here are some tips for getting it right from the outset.
Figure out your “why”
Getting a Dean into the media is not just a vanity project. The most successful business schools are clear on why they are doing it. This informs not only what they say, but the media they choose to target.
This comes back to strategy and what the school wants to achieve.
Here are just some examples of business school objectives that we often see:
- Position the business school as the go-to expert on a certain area – technology or the environment, for example.
- Raise awareness of specific benefits for students – multiple campuses or using AI in teaching.
- Highlight key outcomes for students such as career paths, future salaries or employer partnerships.
- Reach potential students in new geographical markets or attracting new executive education clients.
- Be seen as a thought-leader on the future of business education.
Bottoming out these kinds of questions FIRST will ensure that any time on media outreach delivers on the investment.
The rule of three
Now that you are clear on what you want to achieve, you can start honing messages and a narrative.
When dealing with international media, what you want to say is a small part of the picture.
For a media story to deliver on investment, it needs to serve:
- The journalist
- Your audience
- Your strategy
Unless you tick all three boxes, then the story is unlikely to benefit your school.
Do your research
It’s important to understand that every journalist and publication has their own audience and areas of interest. When you are pitching stories to the media, put yourselves in their shoes. Find out:
- What they cover and the audience they write for
- What they’ve covered recently (NB if they’ve covered a similar angle recently, you might need to think again)
- Whether they write a particular column, a special report or an interview slot. What format is it and what do they need?
- Where they are based (if you are thinking about face-to-face interviews)
- Timings – when are their deadlines and how far ahead should you approach them?
All these things will inform what you choose to talk to them about and your approach. There’s a wide range of opportunities from interviews to op-eds.
And remember, if a journalist is going to invest their time in talking to your Dean, you need to make it worth their while. Meet-and-greets are useful, but if you want to advance from “background information” to “go-to contact”, it helps if you have some strong angles up your sleeve.
A note of caution
Deans are busy people, with multiple demands on their time.
Before reaching out to media, it’s worth assessing whether your Dean really has the capacity to meet with and respond to journalists.
Of course, PR is a relatively small part of their job, but unfortunately, missed deadlines or cancelled meetings do not go down well with time-poor journalists. Similarly, even if you have talented writers in your team, activities such as op-eds will still need the Dean’s input and sign-off.
If their calendar is packed, it might be worth postponing your efforts until they have some clear space ahead.
Prepare pitching points
Getting into the media is a highly competitive arena. The truth is that your Dean’s seniority or the name of your business school alone does not guarantee you an audience with a journalist.
Like any media activity, you need a strong enough angle that is relevant to their audience to persuade them that your Dean is worth talking to.
To get your Dean into international media, you need to move from “broadcast mode” to offering angles that resonate with how outlets like the FT, Bloomberg, Reuters, WSJ, Forbes and the BBC work.
Global outlets care less about a specific school and more about what the Dean can say about business, geopolitics, policy, or management that is trending and relevant across markets.
How do you do this?
Speak to your Dean to agree on 3-4 international themes (e.g. AI and jobs, climate risk, the future of MBAs, China vs US policy) where they have an interesting take.
Clarify what the Dean and the school are doing to address the big socio-economic issues that are affecting the journalist’s audiences.
Find out whether there are any useful data points to offer journalists – for example from your recruitment or career department.
If you get an interview, go prepared to offer other material – case studies of students, alumni, industry partners that would be prepared to talk to journalists.
And did we mention data?
Is there a back story?
It can be useful to find out whether the Dean has an interesting personal story that they are willing to share with the press.
- Have they overcome adversity to get where they are today?
- Do they bring a unique perspective to their leadership of the school – and how does that play out in practice?
- Have they come to this position from an unusual or circuitous route? e.g. actor to business school dean or late-career switch.
- Do they have a personal passion or hobby that influences how they lead the school, or did they have a formative experience at a young age?
- Have they overcome failure, and what have they learned as a result?
- Do they have cross-cultural or cross-sector experience to bring to their role?
A note of caution: backstories don’t always work – they need to be authentic and relevant to the Dean’s leadership approach today.
View media relations as part of an integrated approach
Media relations works best as part of an overall profile-raising strategy for a Dean.
These might include speaking or moderating at high-profile conferences, regular posting on social media, and school-led content, e.g., website, blogs, podcasts, press releases, or video content.
Don’t forget that journalists use social media and web search for newsgathering and research. If your Dean is seen as active on different channels, it helps cement their reputation amongst journalists as someone to talk to.
In conclusion
Deans who cut through in global media are those who combine clear strategic purpose with disciplined preparation and respect for journalists’ needs. This means investing in planning and positioning – and understanding how the media works.
Summary
- Raising a Dean’s international profile starts with a clear “why”; linking media activity to concrete goals such as student recruitment or new markets.
- Successful campaigns apply the “rule of three” (journalist, audience, strategy) and tailor story angles to global outlets like the FT, Bloomberg and Reuters.
- Strong coverage comes from doing the homework: understanding each journalist’s beat and requirements, preparing sharp data-led pitches and case studies, and ensuring the Dean has the time and support to deliver.
- Dean-focused media relations should align with wider activity – conferences, social media and school-led content – to build consistent, high-impact visibility.
