Remember that classic commercial about an ice cream bar in square aluminum foil packaging? You know, the one with the polar bear as its mascot? Yeah, that one!
What would you do-oo-ooo with a ______?
If you filled in the blank correctly, you probably recall that the brand marketing on that delicious dessert was memorable genius. But what’s more is that subliminally they were teaching everyone to make the most of the opportunities they are given.
And just like the good old Klondike bars, sometimes we have to ask ourselves what we will do with a well-researched educational program that has more blood, sweat, and tears that went into it than anyone will ever know.
Well, in order to achieve a commercially-viable version of your program out in the K-12 market, your options might be to:
- convince the dean to put additional staff in the budget to work on developing your program (estimated wait time: 19 months)
- spin out a start-up company and pitch to investors (estimated learning curve: close to the steepness of Mount Kilimanjaro)
- go it alone on a large grant proposal earmarked for commercial development and then secure all the needed players to execute the work (estimated hassle factor: off the charts)
- pitch your program to a traditional big-name publisher in hopes they’ll pick it up (estimated likelihood: you might as well buy a Powerball ticket while you’re at it)
You think to yourself: there has to be a better way. And there is!
Researchers and authors want a business team to grow their educational program to a commercial scale. The challenge they face after proving the concept is that their capacity is limited to handle the non-academic side of things.
Learning organizations come to us when their IP is in demand but they don't have a system in place to scale.
These talented experts have many questions.
- What to do next?
- How to fund it?
- What's the business model?
- What expectations should we have about the K-12 market?
- How much control will we have over the commercial version?
The list of big questions is large– and the list of specific questions is even larger.
- Should we self-publish?
- How much will it cost?
- Who is responsible for marketing and sales?
Paired with the questions are the ideas. Experts generate hundreds of ideas as they create and test their programs. They observe the needs of students and educators. They read the research. They attend conferences and are part of professional groups focused on their educational niche.
- What if we made a Tik Tok video series to present our content in a more relevant way?
- Wouldn't it be great if we partnered with regional service agencies to offer train-the-trainer?
- Shouldn't so-and-so organization officially endorse us?
It's exciting and overwhelming. We've been there.
It's why we consider ourselves a thought partner with clients. You shouldn't have to navigate commercialization alone.
Those blood, sweat, and tears were investments in your educational expertise and they laid the foundation for a solution to a problem.
So far you've had early success and you have a strong reputation. The Cogrounded model was born from the pain of seeing too many educational solutions stall out at this point. We believe educational experts deserve an advisor who understands K-12, is savvy about business, and can move things forward.
Both an agent and an agency. Both the thinking and the doing.
Unlike traditional publishers that force take-it-or-leave-it, one-size-fits-all models, we meet the IP holders where they are at. We create coherence for your project and help you unlock possibility through a process.
We know you need to stay in your lane of expertise and continue doing the research, development, and authoring that your career was built on. But that you also want to be in control.
Our entire approach is grounded in collaboration and ensuring mutually aligned goals.
What you've created is important. But your attention and your time can't help all the schools who need your program.
So what should you do next?
There is no magic wand or single best publishing and marketing model. But an intentional process to help you make those decisions and then hand over the reins to the right copilots is very much within reach.
Tapping into K-12 market research, evaluating publishing options, sourcing grants or funders, designing a marketing strategy, finding and onboarding a network of trusted professional developers... all of these areas on the business side need to be managed and need a process.
When you're ready to chat both mission AND money (or simply float an idea and receive an honest take) let's connect.
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