CASE STUDY
Embracing Innovation
HAMPSTEAD ACADEMY
BRAND DEVELOPMENT, EMAIL MARKETING, SOCIAL MEDIA
THE PROJECT
A private Pre-K to 8 school with a long history of traditional education recognized the need to realign its brand and messaging to match its true academic offering, strengths and unique selling proposition
THE CHALLENGE
Overcoming a long-established image as a typical, New England private school was doubly-hampered by introducing an innovative and unique vision of experiential learning that was unusual and unfamiliar to the target market
THE RESULT
A new brand, technology upgrades, messaging alignment with the new vision and eye-catching marketing materials helped to drive awareness and target the right audience for the offering, who were engaged with the brand and ready for a deep dive
When the Cover Doesn’t Match the Content
When Hampstead Academy came to us with their brand challenge, the school photography showed students dressed in traditional private school uniforms, the website read like every other school in the area, and they were nearly invisible to their target audience.
But one visit to the campus and it was immediately evident that this school offered a very different learning environment from anything else in the region.
There were no long rows of desks or students sitting still for long lessons taught from the front of the classroom. In fact, much of student education occurs outside the classroom. Anyone who visited Hampstead Academy was amazed at the vital and creative atmosphere of the school. The problem they faced: the school’s marketing materials didn’t reflect the reality of who they were, and simply weren’t drawing in the right prospective families.
As New England’s only private Pre-K to 8, IMPACT school, Hampstead Academy’s mission is to prepare students to be creative, critical thinkers in a very hands-on, experiential way using technology, civic knowledge, science, stewardship and innovation. The school administration recognized that they needed a refinement of its overall storytelling to better communicate its unique selling proposition to its target audience.
Once they knew what they needed, the question was how to tap into their essence and express their true identity in a way that the right prospective parents could recognize as a fit for their families.
Raising Awareness
Knowing that IMPACT was a relatively new concept, care was taken to reassure families that the traditional core competencies like reading, writing, and math were focused on along with the more innovative approaches of the IMPACT model. Likewise, to show the value of IMPACT learning, real world examples of student projects that embrace the IMPACT Pillars are showcased on the school’s blog and used as part of its ongoing marketing campaigns to educate prospects about Hampstead Academy and IMPACT.
Assess and Realign
To effectively market to the right prospective families, the school needed a complete rebrand which was accomplished through a full alignment project. We helped their team articulate, define and realign the brand and messaging to match what the school truly stood for and delivered. The process included development of a full brand guidelines document, from mission, vision, values, voice and tone to visual guidelines and positioning alignment. We also created a new, more contemporary logo that was rooted in the traditions they came from, and modern palette that appealed to the target demographic. The new branding was so popular with the internal team and families that it was quickly and joyfully added to the new school t-shirts that replaced the more traditional school uniforms.
The Academy’s digital marketing program was developed to include a robust email marketing plan, along with a new website that portrayed a more modern look and feel along with a better narrative that more accurately told the story of Hampstead Academy. Working closely with administration and their own initiatives, the school’s social media presence was enhanced with branded design and targeted messaging that helped to introduce the concept of the IMPACT model of education.
See the Results
View the portfolio sample of design and content created for Hampstead Academy’s New brand and messaging.
