By Suad Merchant, Chief Marketing Officer, GEMS EducationA parent once shared a decision he did not expect to reverse. Drawn by confident early conversations and a clearly articulated promise, he moved his child from a familiar, well-reputed school to another that appeared to offer more. Six months later, he moved his child back. Not because the new school’s promise lacked intent, but because it did not consistently show up in his and his child’s daily experiences. Having experienced alternatives, his confidence grew in his child’s former school because of what consistently showed up as real experience. Somewhere through our long chat, he reflected that an educational institution’s credibility is accumulated quietly and over time. That reflection captures a shift educational marketing can and should no longer ignore.
In 2025, the sector reached an inflection point. For years, schools borrowed heavily from consumer marketing models – optimising funnels, chasing reach and measuring success through short-term enrolment metrics. Visibility increased. Awareness grew. But they did not address a deeper structural imperative. Families no longer choose schools primarily because they see them. They choose them because they trust them. Education has never been more visible and yet trust has never been more fragile.
Trust has therefore emerged as one of the most strategic indicators of brand health in education.
Trust is not a communications outcome; it is a cumulative experience
Across markets, trust in institutions has declined. Education has not been immune. Parents are more informed, more connected and more value-led than ever before. They have learned to rely less on polished claims and more on peer conversations, lived experiences and signals gathered over time.
This is especially true among younger millennial and Gen Z parents, for whom direct recommendations, community feedback and peer validation through everyday interactions carry more weight than formal ranking reports or brand claims. Visibility without credibility no longer converts. Attention without trust does not sustain enrolment or loyalty.
What this really means is simple but uncomfortable: trust cannot be created at the point of enrolment. It forms gradually, through repeated moments of alignment between promise and practice.
‘‘The year ahead will not reward louder messaging or sharper claims. It will reward clarity, credibility and consistency.’’
Brand in education is built through behaviour
This is where educational marketing must fundamentally evolve. Brand is no longer experienced primarily through campaigns. It is experienced through behaviour.
Parents and students are forming perceptions long before and long after any admissions interaction. Through how schools communicate during moments of change. Through the consistency and continuity of teachers. Through how wellbeing is supported, concerns are addressed and uncertainty is handled. Every touchpoint becomes a signal. Over time, these signals accumulate into belief or doubt.
This requires a shift away from campaign-centric thinking. Seasonal enrolment pushes will continue to exist, but they can no longer define brand strength. Educational marketing must operate with continuity rather than urgency, stewarding long-term narratives that remain coherent across years, cohorts and stages of a learner’s journey.
This environment requires marketing leaders to act as custodians of alignment rather than promoters of programmes.
Data demands restraint, not excess
Education now has access to more data than ever before. But in a sector built on care, safety and long-term relationships, how data is used matters as much as what it reveals.
Families value clarity and transparency, but they are increasingly sensitive to over-targeting, aggressive remarketing and excessive lead nurturing. These tactics, more often than not, erode trust.
The most effective education marketers in 2026 will use data to inform decisions thoughtfully rather than deploy it loudly. Precision will matter more than volume. Context will matter more than optimisation. Restraint, often overlooked, will become a mark of credibility.
A regional moment of maturity
In the Middle East, this shift carries particular weight. The region brings together high family mobility, multiple curricula and ambitious national visions for human capital development. Parents are discerning and deeply invested in outcomes that extend beyond academics.
In this context, educational marketing must mature from competition to contribution. The institutions that stand out will not be those that claim differentiation most loudly, but those that clearly articulate and consistently demonstrate how they add value to learners, families and society over time, not simply how they outperform peers.
Trust here is not a soft metric. It is the foundation of long-term relevance.
The year ahead
The year ahead will not reward louder messaging or sharper claims. It will reward clarity, credibility and consistency.
Educational marketing in 2026 must focus on a central truth: the moment of conversion does not certify an institution as trusted. Trust is built slowly, tested repeatedly and sustained through behaviour that aligns with promise and belief.
The institutions that understand this will do more than attract families. They will retain belief. And in education, belief remains the most valuable currency of all.
By Suad Merchant, Chief Marketing Officer, GEMS Education
