Keith Country Day School is the Rockford region’s only nationally ranked, independent college-prep school for students ages 3 through 12th grade. Often described as one of the most beautiful campuses in northern Illinois, Keith uniquely combines strong academics with the most inclusive and friendly private school atmosphere. There is a plethora of strong private education options within the Rockford region, so Keith officials hired Chartwell Agency to set them apart and make Keith the private school of choice.
Solution
With more than 100 years of education under its belt, Keith Country Day School sought to ensure its opportunities and offerings to students and families in the market were more relevant and engaging to further positively impact enrollment. School leadership decided to enhance its already successful academic approach by extending the 2019/20 school year with two, one-week intersessions (increasing to four, one-week intersessions in the 2020/21 school year). During intersessions, traditional classroom learning would be augmented with exploratory, hands-on programmed activities appropriate for students at each grade level.
Chartwell Agency worked with Keith’s leadership to develop the campaign, Beyond College Prep: Continuous Learning, Community Collaboration, and Creativity, to share the message of how the school prepares students for college and lives of meaning and purpose long after graduation. Beyond College Prep encourages families to further learn about the unique educational approach and the multi-pronged strategy to engage students from 3 years old through 12th grade.
The graphical representation of the campaign included an approach that easily spotlighted individual students exploring education in a new way. Chartwell ensured the campaign was consistent on all Keith internal and external communications including website graphics and content updates, and new marketing collateral to digital marketing and direct mail pieces. To make a splash in the community, Chartwell oversaw the strategy and implementation for a news conference which was hosted the largest attendance at the school.
Outcome
The focused approach and rollout strategy of Beyond College Prep saw immediate returns on investment through significant media coverage during and following the rollout, enhanced admissions inquiries, and improved relationships with community businesses and organizations.
