Project Description
Transforming Perceptions: Rebuilding Reputation in State Secondary
Middlewich High School
Transforming Perceptions: Rebuilding Reputation in State Secondary
Middlewich High School
A fresh start for Middlewich High. Showcasing new beginnings in the local community.
When Middlewich High School first approached Ambleglow we were wowed by its impressive attributes. A partnership with an over-subscribed sixth form college, exceptional GCSE results and the energy of an award-winning new Head. As part of a successful Multi-Academy-Trust, the school also has a transformative pupil incentive programme that includes a driving lesson lottery – a first for us!
Despite these achievements, the school was still contending with legacy reputation challenges in the local community, which were holding back admissions. Middlewich High had all the right proof points to celebrate, but the team needed guidance in shaping a clear marketing strategy from the ground up.
Transforming perceptions in the community
While the local community knew the school, families were not aware of the vast improvements at Middlewich High and were seeking placements outside of the town.
Our team worked closely with the MAT CEO, MAT marketer and the Head to uncover the points of difference with its competitors and the strengths that the school wanted to showcase. We needed to reframe the school as the local choice for families. A place to ‘aspire, believe and belong’.
We established audience personas to get to the heart of what families were looking for locally in educating their children. We then developed a competitor school matrix and key messaging, before building an advertising concept and a bespoke landing page as a destination for new marketing campaigns.
The team had been managing with different versions of templates and some brand colours but there was a lack of consistency. The Head wanted a more professional ‘look and feel’ to tie in with the new chapter for Middlewich High. Our designer created comprehensive brand guidelines and Canva templates that could be easily accessed by both MAT and school staff – a welcome timesaver for busy teachers and an effective way to maintain a strong brand identity.
Starting the digital marketing journey
While the school had explored some print and outdoor advertising, they were yet to invest in digital marketing. Navigating old Meta accounts can be incredibly time consuming, but our digital team stepped in and found an alternative solution to run the campaigns.
We ran a short traffic driver campaign across Facebook and Instagram to the new landing page using both broad and targeted audiences. In just 14 days the school saw impressive stats for its first campaign:
- 170,592 impressions
- 2,620 link clicks
- £0.26p cost-per-click
Aspire, believe, belong at Middlewich High
With strong marketing foundations in place, Middlewich High is not only transforming perceptions but also creating lasting opportunities for pupils and families across the community.
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