How do you make your school stand out from other good local primary schools? With falling pupil numbers across London, St Joseph’s Primary School realised that having a distinctive ethos wasn’t enough to attract new students, they need their community and neighbours to know them. Not just as one of the nearby competitive Wandsworth primaries, but as ‘St Joseph’s school’.
After hearing a presentation by James from West Creative at Wandsworth Council School Business Networking meeting, bursar Grace McLeod was interested in using marketing to help get more parents choosing St Joseph’s.
“I’ve only been at the school for about a year and a half. It’s a lovely school and I’d love everyone to portray it that way. Pupils really thrive and the Headteacher and senior leadership team are really lovely. But I don’t think families feel that we stand out as one of the best Catholic schools or as one of the best Wandsworth schools, and word of mouth plays a big role,” says Grace.
PROCESS WITH WEST CREATIVE
The next meetings, which included the Bursar and Head Teacher, were on-line video calls.
“James is very warm and easy to talk to. Sometimes you might not know how to describe what you want, but just by talking to him he understands, verbalizes and puts it down in the way you envisage it to be,” says Grace happily.
The result is a branding campaign that Grace is confident will help people recognise St Joseph’s.
“West Creative also helped us redesign our newsletter, and messages for our website. They gave us a template for a poster so we can use that to advertise the school. That campaign brand will be consistent throughout all our communications. The hero messages look so good and just go so well with all our other marketing materials,” she adds.
OUTCOME & VALUE FOR MONEY
“I’d recommend working with James and the West Creative team, they’re easy to talk to, made the process really simple, and was definitely value for money. James understands that school funding is really low at the moment. Schools shy away from marketing because they know it can be expensive, but I feel that West Creative was fair and good value for money,” adds Grace.
“I like to strategically plan and think about the ways our school can develop,” she explains. “That’s what business managers will get out of marketing – it can play a big role in thinking about the future and development of a school. That way the school can better plan and budget for resources, trips, education and wrap-around-care.”
Schools Marketing & Design Service
A collaboration with West Creative Ltd
Your incredible learning experiences deserve to take centre stage, in everything you say about your school.
At West Creative, we offer much more than flashy websites and punchy prospectuses. We combine our deep knowledge of working across the education sector with straight talking, pragmatic solutions that meet the needs of even the most modest budget.
We can help you find your story and tell it in a way that brings parents, pupils and community partners closer to your learning environment.
Everything starts with a conversation. To find out more about how we can help your school, book in a free 30-minute consultation using the date picker.