Complete report is available here (click to download).

NEWTOWN, Pa., July 18, 2008: MMS Education has conducted its third annual study of the K-12 supplemental materials market and delivered the key findings in a presentation—Break Through the Marketing Clutter—at the Association of Educational Publishers National Summit on June 5, 2008, in Washington D.C. Some of the most significant points include:

• The top three ways that educators learn about new supplemental products is through more traditional methods of marketing – conferences, word of mouth and direct mail. But once they become familiar with the products, they use technology (websites, webinars and online ordering) to drive the decision making and purchasing process.
• 62% of all survey participants indicated that supplemental materials spending for the upcoming year would increase or stay the same, but this figure is down from 70% in 2007.
• The most important factor influencing the decision to purchase supplemental materials is whether those materials are correlated to state teaching standards. This factor, along with the scientific validity of the materials and the materials’ effect on student test scores and/or academic performance, were ranked more critical than product cost.
• When it comes to catalogs, 73% of building-level respondents and 59% of district-level respondents indicated they still prefer to receive a printed catalog delivered via regular mail over receiving a catalog in PDF format via e-mail or accessing a catalog online. However, 87% of all respondents report visiting vendors’ websites as well, and online ordering has increased by 6% over the past three years. A number of respondents also expressed environmental concerns with regard to excessive print marketing.
• The use of iPods and MP3 players as classroom tools has increased overall by 10% since 2007. These devices are commonly used to augment ESL and music education; to collect data for math, science and technology classes; to listen to speeches or other primary source materials; to listen to audio books; and for podcasting.
• Nearly half of all respondents (47%) responded that they are likely to use social networking in an educational context within the next year. Common classroom-related uses include communicating with other teachers and students; sharing files; posting assignments, resources, and related information; and gaining access to writing tools for peer reviewing and editing.
• District participation in webinars has increased dramatically since last year. 77% of district-level respondents reported participating in a webinar—up from 50% last year. Altogether, about 45% of respondents have participated in a webinar.