The Roles of Marketing Mix, Brand Image, and Brand Awareness in the High School Selection Model

Abstract

Background: The increasing number of senior high schools in Indonesia has created competition in the education sector, where institutions must continuously improve to attract prospective students. 
Purpose: The objective of this study is to analyze how variables from the marketing mix, brand image, and brand awareness influence junior high school students’ interest in selecting a high school.
Design/methodology/approach: This study was conducted from January to September 2025 in Bandung City, West Java. A quantitative approach was used with descriptive analysis and Structural Equation Modelling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) using SmartPLS software. The marketing mix variables consisted of price (tuition fees and scholarship programs), product (curriculum and alumni), place (school accessibility and environment), promotion (advertising and reviews), physical evidence (school facilities and infrastructures), people (teachers and staff competence), and process (learning and counseling services). Brand image was measured through recognition, reputation, and affinity indicators. Choosing intention was measured through transactional, referential, preferential, and exploratory intention indicators, while brand awareness was analyzed through descriptive analysis. The data were collected through an online questionnaire distributed to 7 junior high schools, which gathered 371 junior high school students using purposive and convenience sampling.
Findings/Result: The result of this study shows that physical evidence, place, product, and promotion have a significant influence on brand image, and brand image has a positive significant influence on students’ intention in choosing a high school, while brand awareness shows that more exposure towards a school could influence students’ choosing intention
Conclusion: Physical evidence, promotion, product, and place significantly enhance brand image, which becomes the main key of students’ choosing intention. While brand awareness shows a positive but relatively weak influence on students’ choosing intention, improving brand awareness remains essential to ensure schools are included in students’ consideration sets.
Originality/value (State of the art): This study is original in connecting the extended marketing mix to brand image, brand image to students’ choosing intention, and brand awareness to students’ choosing intention using a comprehensive descriptive and PLS-SEM approach, offering a novel perspective on how brand image and brand awareness shape school selection.

Keywords:  brand awareness, brand image, choosing intention, high school, marketing mix, students’ interest.