The MADness Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

The MADness Podcast

Team MADness

Business

Education

Frequency: 1 episode/166d. Total Eps: 35

The MADness Podcast brings you the top stories, insights, and best practice from leaders across the world of K12 marketing and admissions. It’s hosted by education and marketing bods (and brothers), Nik and James Higgins. Expect brilliant anecdotes, the lowdown on the latest tech, and the inside track on what really works when it comes to effectively engaging today's families. The MADness Podcast is brought to you by doris: the school discovery platform for parents. Find your school on doris here.

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Apple

Data updated on 15/10/2026

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - Marketing
15/10/2026
#49
🇨🇦 Canada - How To
19/03/2026
#72
🇨🇦 Canada - How To
18/03/2026
#44
🇬🇧 Great Britain - How To
15/10/2025
#86
🇬🇧 Great Britain - How To
14/10/2025
#46
🇬🇧 Great Britain - How To
14/01/2025
#94
🇬🇧 Great Britain - How To
13/01/2025
#37
🇬🇧 Great Britain - How To
08/10/2024
#71
🇬🇧 Great Britain - How To
07/10/2024
#48

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://www.doris.school/.
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https://www.doris.school/
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RSS feed quality and score

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RSS feed quality

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Score global : 32%

Publication history

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Latest published episodes

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[MAD LABZ] How to get the most out of your agent and consultant networks ft. Stefan Tueger

Wednesday, August 26, 2026 • Duration 20:49

Hong Kong's international school market is so competitive that families who "spray and pray" their own applications usually fail, and increasingly turn to consultants after the fact.

In this MAD LABZ episode of the Madness Podcast, Nik sits down with Stefan Tueger, Executive Director at Lion Rock Education in Hong Kong ,a former school marketing and admissions director, who crossed over to found his own education consultancy after growing frustrated with how little most agents and consultants actually understood the families they were placing.

Stefan draws a clear line between the two often-confused roles: consultants work for the family, digging deep into a child's character and a household's fit before recommending schools - sometimes steering parents away from the "obvious" popular choices entirely - while agents work for the schools that pay them, prioritising placement speed over depth of research. He unpacks why Hong Kong has become a genuine outlier globally for day-school consultancy demand, with waitlists stretching years, tough interview gauntlets, and a market that runs on relationships and transparency rather than who you know on the board.

The conversation turns practical with Stefan's top tips for schools looking to get more out of their agent and consultant networks: reply fast, since families often need a place immediately; be proactive about sharing changes (new principals, opening classes, spare year-group spots); treat trusted consultants as an honest feedback channel into what parents really think; and arm partners with the unglamorous but decisive details, like school bus routes, that can make or break a family's decision. A useful listen for admissions and marketing teams weighing whether, and how, to lean more on external referral networks, plus a candid look at why some agencies get rejected wholesale and what separates a partner worth working with from one that isn't.

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HAI, AI ft. Anna ('AI') Iveson

Tuesday, August 4, 2026 • Duration 45:59

Most schools are still optimising for Google. Anna Iveson is already ranking on ChatGPT. In this MADness Podcast episode, James and Nik chat to Anna Iveson (Director of Marketing and Admissions at Rugby School Japan) - a former Citigroup graduate trainee turned self-taught digital marketer who came into education from the outside and immediately spotted the problem: inward-looking messaging, and leads quietly disappearing into the ether with no follow-up at all.

Anna shares how RSJ grew its email list from 1,200 to around 11,000 in two years, why she treats admissions as a genuine sales function - including hiring a tour lead trained to handle objections and read the question under the question - and how a school that only opened in 2023 has carved out a position in one of Asia's most competitive markets. She's also refreshingly candid about AI search, explaining how RSJ went from zero to nearly 3% of applications arriving via AI referrals by reverse-engineering the questions parents actually type into ChatGPT.

A perfect listen for admissions teams, marketers, and school leaders who know AI search is coming for their SEO strategy and want a practical head start - plus Anna's take on why PR matters more in schools than anywhere else she's worked, and the gap in the market she'd leave it all behind for.

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[MAD LABZ] Taking enquiries from transaction to conversation ft. Carly Puncher

Tuesday, July 28, 2026 • Duration 19:46

One in four parents who enquire with a school never get a reply - and the schools have no idea it's happening. In this MAD LABZ episode, James and Nik chat to Carly Puncher from Edified about her research into the parent enquiry experience, and why the moment a family reaches out is the moment most schools quietly lose them.

Drawing on the first year of the Enquiry Experience Tracker, in which real parents enquired with 56 international schools and scored what came back, Carly unpacks what actually keeps families engaged: warmth over speed, asking questions instead of just answering them, taking the time to respond to everything they asked, and following up properly. Fast responses don't win parents. Human ones do.

A perfect listen for admissions teams, marketers, and school leaders who want to turn inquiries into conversations - with small, practical changes you can make before the next enquiry lands.

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A Hall lot of love (for Marketing and Admissions) ft. Matt Hall

Thursday, May 21, 2026 • Duration 30:57

Matt Hall, Director of Marketing and Admissions @ Nexus International School (Singapore), chats to James and Nik about: How changing EP thresholds, living costs, and and expat packages are impacting demand for international school places in Singapore; How Matt and his team launched a 'transfer window' campaign, ft. Nexus footie shirts; Why pies create a unique culture nexus (see what we did there!) between the UK <> New Zealand.

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Keithing it real ft. Julian Keith

Monday, October 6, 2025 • Duration 37:44

Julian Keith, Director of Admissions and School Communications at XCL World Academy (and previously Director of Admissions and Marketing at GESS), chats with James & Nik about personalising admissions comms with Hubspot automations, the competitive landscape in Singapore, and his journey from Newcastle to Surabaya.

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Seeking a slapshot in South Korea - Ft Adriana Mourgelas

Season 2 · Episode 17

Thursday, April 10, 2025 • Duration 45:05

The uniquely competitive international school scene on the South Korean island of Jeju is the focus of this episode with Adriana Mourgelas, the Director of Enrollment Management at Branksome Hall Asia. Adriana breaks down the challenges she faces in her role at one of three government-backed schools on the same block as they battle it out for pupils. Hot chocolate, ice hockey and Gangnam Style also receive honorary mentions.

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[MAD LABZ] Commercial sales techniques for independent and international schools ft. Nicola Lutz

Season 2 · Episode 16

Thursday, March 27, 2025 • Duration 16:23

Nik chats to Nicola Lutz from No Fluff about how schools can implement more rigorous and effective sales techniques, and how her No Fluff Fest is the event she wished she'd been able to attend earlier in her career.

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The problem of plenty in New Delhi ft Navneet Kaur

Season 2 · Episode 15

Thursday, March 20, 2025 • Duration 26:38

Navneet Kaur, Head of Communications at The British School in New Delhi, explains how she created a comms team from scratch, discusses brand positioning, and explains why her school is 'media shy by design'.

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TASIS a lot of travelling ft. Sarah Travis

Episode 14

Friday, March 7, 2025 • Duration 27:12

Sarah Travis, Senior Associate Director at TASIS England, chats with James & Nik about the change from Higher Ed to K12, what it's like to promote an American school in the UK, and how she engages with families from the Middle East to Asia.

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[MAD LABZ] Revenue Optimisation for international schools: using pricing and scholarship strategies ft. Edified

Episode 13

Friday, February 21, 2025 • Duration 18:25

James and Nik are joined by pricing experts Sharyn Martin and Dr. Len Coote from Edified. They discuss how schools can remove the guesswork from their pricing strategy by applying a scientific approach which draws on microeconomics and econometrics.

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The MADness Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

The MADness Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other2

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other2