A pitch presentation made for a national client starting their first International pre-school, based on the Regio Emilia approach. The concept is new in India, and it required convincing the client how we understood the principle

1. ? ? ? ? Lets start asking Questions ? ? ?

2. As a child my daughter confounded me with her Questions

3. Why are the stars small and the moon so big?

4. Why is a tomato red and capsicum green? “Why do onions make you cry?” “Why cant I jump from the 4th step?”

5. Why cant I climb the tree like Fluffy? And on…and on she went

6. Today I am a happy mother I am not afraid that she will sit back and wait for some one to find answers for her

7. Unfortunately this habit was not cultivated in her school It was never a smart thing to raise your hand if you had a Question.

8. It is an established fact that the first 5 years are the most important ones It is the time when his personality and intelligence levels are determined

9. The child’s brain is a lot more active and alert forever grasping new skills, language and methods

10. Stimulation is not equal to bombardment of information

11. Stimulation is about exposing the child to different environments, letting him be, and answering his questions in all honesty and detail

12. This is what we understand VIVERO International wants to do The Reggio Emilia approach to education is committed to the creation of conditions for learning that will enhance and facilitate children’s construction of “his or her own powers of thinking through the synthesis of all the expressive, communicative and cognitive languages” (Edward and Forman 1993)

13. International recognition of Reggio preschools exploded in 1991, when a panel of experts identified the Reggio Emilia preschools as the most avant-garde early childhood Institution in the world

14. Image of the Child: Reggio educators view each child as a competent individual able to construct their own learning. Respect for the child is an overwhelming theme. Emergent Curriculum: An emergent curriculum is one that builds upon the interest of the children. Topics for study are captured from the talk of children, through community or family events. Project Work: Throughout a project, teachers help children make decisions about the direction of a study, the ways in which the group will research a topic, the representational medium that would demonstrate and showcase the topic and the selection of materials needed to represent the work. Representational Development: The Reggio Emilia approach calls for the integration of the graphic arts as a tool for cognitive, linguistic, and social development. Presentation of concepts and hypothesis in multiples forms of representation – print, art, construction, drama, music, puppetry, and shadow play – are viewed as essential to children’s understanding of experience. Understanding the Reggio Emilia Approach

15. Understanding the Reggio Emilia Approach Collaboration: Children are encouraged to dialogue, critique, compare, negotiate, hypothesize, and solve problems through group work. Teachers as Researchers: the role of the teacher is first and foremost to be that of a learner alongside the children. Documentation: documentation of children’s work in progress is viewed as an important tool in the learning process of children, teachers, and parents. Environment: Within the Reggio Emilia schools, great attention is given to the look and feel of the classroom. Environment is considered the “third teacher.” Teachers carefully organize space for small and large group projects and small intimate spaces for one, two or three children. Parent involvement: Active parent participation is an essential component of the Reggio educational experience. Teachers take steps to increase family participation and establish a climate of openness and two way communication

16. But we are not here to discuss the merits of which style of education method is important… But rather how do we convince parents that an opportunity NOW exists that gives you and your child a new learning experience

17. No naturally while searching for a good Pre school in Pune, I did the obvious…

18. A random page of various school options available

19. I had to go through each individually to understand their teaching methodology and what they planned to do with my child

21. But no school from Pune figured in the list

22. So, my next search was more specific And I could choose as per preferred location

23. And it became evident that access to information was the prime need of the mother.. So lets briefly profile THE MOTHER

24. She is… Young Educated Has travelled internationally, Is net savvy Believes in information on the net if it comes through the right source

25. Her clamour for the right pre-school starts within a few months of a child’s coming into this world. She understands the importance of pre-school education.

26. She looks for foreign tie-ups and the demand for overall growth of children that would help them face competition

27. How do we reach her?

29. What we need is a marketing strategy An e-marketing strategy

30. The most obvious solution is 1 GET A WEBSITE UPLOADED Secondly… Do SEO…. (you know what I mean)

31. E-marketing tools that we need to use banner ads affiliate marketing keyword promotion e-mail marketing search engine placement

32. Listing in Directories For schools http://preschools.indiaedu.com/play-school-games/ http://indiandir.com www.learn4good.com http://directory.classifieds1000.com/all/preschool For Pune City www.virtualpune.com www.punecity.com www.pune.in www.punediary.com 2

33. 3 Blogs Cause a Stir

34. Why blog for business? There are several potential reasons to blog, but, as always, it depends on what you want. Blogs are no different from channels like video, print, audio, presentations etc. They all deliver results - but of varying kind. The kind you can expect from blogs is mainly about stronger relations with important target groups.

35. Obvious Benefits Become the Expert Rank high in Search Engines Customer Relationships Internal Collaboration Knowledge Management Test ideas or products Media Relations Recruitment

36. Entering the Blogosphere Having once created our Blog, we need to interact with other blogs , write comments invite comments on articles embed a link to our school site Examples of some parenting blogs – http://www.goodparenting.co.in http://vishal-rationalism.blogspot.com/2008/02/indian-parents.html http://www.onsponge.com http://www.theparentszone.com http://indiaparenting.wordpress.com http://www.ilovemybaby.org 3

38. Lets see what Dimple had to say a few days back

39. A Recap of Recommendations Hosting a website Search engines optimisation Listing with directories and school sites to get your site found by other people Blogging, Reciprocal links & referrals for pages similar to our business these people are already interested in our subject area, and we get to know that they have Internet access!

40. Having virtually created our presence We are now ready for some REAL visibility

41. Presentations Workshop 4 Outdoor Workshops Guest Speakers

44. 5

45. PR - the essential Communication Tool Getting the right article at the right time Creating awareness about the Reggio Emilia approach ‘Agony Aunt’ column on parenting Interviews of staff and their experience with children Picture stories of children at Vivero International 5

46. LAN – Local Area Network 6 Visibility at various touch points of TG Lifestyle mall Ishanya mall Crosswords / Odyssey

47. JamunaPai’s Clinic Kaya Clinics Abs for Her – health center “Curious Child” competitions

48. Reach out at Malls Especially in the Kids sections for clothing and toys Hand out school information booklets to parents at the cash counter 7

49. Events 8 At GOLD gym Involve the fathers “Toddles Day” Activity at Gold Adlabs

50. Radio 9 Joc Talk the new school in town The new approach eg. “Did you know” series Use it to promote the parenting site/events/seminars

52. Outdoor Phase I Use outdoors to promote the parenting site Phase II Use the same locations to promote school Indirect visuals showing activities/approach Eg Grandma reading to kids Huge image of a pond with caption – the new classroom The outdoor to create its own buzz for details contact website address 10

54. Local visibility Signage is an essential tool to show your location, direct your visitors and welcome your customers. Whether it’s needed indoors or outdoors, its important that you show the way with style 11 Signage to be erected around school premises and on roads leading to it on the day of the launch

55. Chaka Laka Chi Chai Cho Chuko Lo Rum….

56. Launch Aamir Khan to “welcome” kids to school Spends a day “learning” Follow up articles and press 12

57. The Hundred Languages of Children is a continuously updated travelling exhibition that has been telling the story of the Reggio Emilia educational experience worldwide to thousands of visitors for over 25 years Bring the show 13

58. We are ready to answer all your questions Thank you

59. Images courtsey Various images from the internet Images Bazaar – “images for presentation only”