The Results

The brand-awareness campaign has exceeded all expectations. In the two-years since the campaign launched, average attendance at open houses has risen 45% while enrollment leapt 65% in the first year.

Phase 1: enRoute Magazine Ad

Copy: The most successful people in life have open minds. They have a thirst for knowledge. They are seekers of new challenges. They are strivers. They actively participate in shaping a better world.

That’s why, from the very beginning, we nurture a passion to explore the invisible world of the unknown in each of our students.

We see the mind as a muscle that requires the constant exercise of curiosity to stay fit, to grow and to adapt in an ever-changing, uncertain world.

As Toronto’s only all-girls, all-years, IB World School, we embrace a global outlook. There is no better way for a student to discover a world beyond herself than being exposed to a breadth of cultures and a diversity of ideas.

As Canada’s only independent school with a sister school in South Korea, we offer our students unique cultural immersion opportunities. Eyes and minds are opened as students are exposed to unfamiliar perspectives. Old assumptions are questioned and new ways of thinking are revealed.

We believe our global approach to education cultivates an inquiring mind that is essential to more sophisticated problem-solving abilities and a richer, more meaningful life.

It is no coincidence that our students go on to graduate from some of the most prestigious universities in the world. Nor that they become leaders in their professional fields and communities.

With a global mindset, confidence in their thinking and respect for others, they are well prepared to challenge the status quo.

Isn’t that just what a better world needs?

Phase 1: Magazine Ad

Copy: An open mind is the secret to adapting and thriving in a constantly changing world. It’s where limits end and unexpected possibilities begin.

That’s why, as Toronto’s only all-girls, all-years IB World School, we embrace a global outlook.

We cultivate inquiring minds that seek new ideas and unfamiliar ways of thinking. We inspire a lifetime of discovery and intellectual growth.

Did you know that our graduates are routinely welcomed at top universities in Canada and throughout the world – most with scholarship offers?

Please come to our Open House. We’ll answer all your questions.

Phase 1: Magazine Ad

Copy: Curiosity is the gateway to an inquiring mind that constantly questions assumptions and seeks better answers.

That’s why, as Toronto’s only all-girls, all-years IB World School, we embrace a global outlook. We open her mind to new ideas and unfamiliar ways of thinking. We inspire a lifetime of discovery and intellectual growth.

Did you know that our graduates are routinely welcomed at top universities in Canada and throughout the world – most with scholarship offers?

Please come to our Open House. We’ll answer all your questions.

Website Design

The site won a Silver Circle of Excellence Award from CaseAdvance.

With more than 2,800 entries submitted from some of the top institutions around the world, the award is especially noteworthy.

One judge: “Of all the sites seen, this is the one I shared with other people to illustrate the WOW factor. The B&W homepage photography, silhouettes, and well-crafted profiles that introduce students and ease of navigation make this site a winner."

Website Design

The site won a Silver Circle of Excellence Award from CaseAdvance.

With more than 2,800 entries submitted from some of the top institutions around the world, the award is especially noteworthy.

Phase 2: Outdoor

Transit shelters were positioned to reach commuters. Specifically, an effort to reach parents of potential students in the following sectors: Finance, Health, Innovation, Tech and University employees.

Phase 2: Outdoor

Phase 2: Print

Targeted print insertions in publications with a high number of affluent readers. New Yorker, The Economist among others.

Purchased split runs in high profile US pubs to specifically reach a Canadian audience.

Phase 2: Print

Targeted print insertions in publications with a high number of affluent readers. New Yorker, The Economist among others.

Purchased split runs in high profile US pubs to specifically reach a Canadian audience.

Phase 2: Print

Targeted print insertions in publications with a high number of affluent readers. New Yorker, The Economist among others.

Purchased split runs in high profile US pubs to specifically reach a Canadian audience.

Phase 2: Digital

Primarily through Google.

Social Media Posts

This post features a 15 second video currently playing in VIP Cineplex Theatres.

Click on to see the video.

Billy Bishop Airport Domination

Branksome Hall dominated high traffic areas at the airport.

Billy Bishop Airport Domination

Branksome Hall dominated high traffic areas at the airport.

The Results

The brand-awareness campaign has exceeded all expectations. In the two-years since the campaign launched, average attendance at open houses has risen 45% while enrollment leapt 65% in the first year.

Thank you, Karen!

In the two-years since the campaign launched, average attendance at open houses has risen 45% while enrollment leapt 65% the first year.

Branksome Hall Case Study. Scroll down to read. Click through gallery above.

Increasing Enrollment with an Innovative New Curriculum and Campaign

Challenge

When parents in Toronto sought an independent school to provide the best possible education for their daughters, Branksome Hall was always top of mind. Usually for its long tradition, rigorous standards, notable alumni and International Baccalaureate program. Unfortunately, it was also seen as behind the times.

That was about to change. To better prepare Branksome Hall students to thrive in the disruptive, fast-changing future, innovation would become the core of its curriculum and approach. Resilience, creativity and curiosity would take precedence over perfection. Forget the status quo.

Now, Branksome needed a communications campaign that made their forward-looking philosophy attractive to demanding, affluent parents. The campaign also needed to appeal to their daughters who were gaining an ever-larger voice in the selection process. The overall take-away needed to position Branksome as the innovative leader among independent girls’ schools. The ultimate proof would be enrollment numbers.

Insight

By and large, independent girls’ schools present themselves similarly – they claim an ability to shape tomorrow’s leaders; they tend to be less aspirational and engaging than dry and factual; they tend to be austere in appearance. This at a time when creative problem-solving and an innovative mindset are the hallmarks of a forward-thinking curriculum. Why not demonstrate a deeper understanding of learning? Why not share a clear point of view on the future of education? Why not be likeable and inviting?

Solution

Create a multi-media, multi-platform awareness campaign that inspires the affluent, urban Toronto-centric target with Branksome Hall’s new innovation-mindset approach.
Position Branksome Hall as an independent girls’ school leader that will best prepare students to thrive in the fast-changing world of the future.
Differentiate Branksome Hall with a sophisticated yet genuine and approachable brand voice and visual approach.
Portray girls as confident and thriving from their own point of view versus as the cliché of what a private school girl should be.

Results

The brand-awareness campaign has exceeded all expectations. In the two-years since the campaign launched, average attendance at open houses has risen 40% while enrollment leapt 65% the first year. (The campaign has had the added and unexpected effect of attracting a startling number of teaching applicants.) Next to those who enrolled, the campaign’s biggest endorsement came from Branksome Hall Principal, Karen Jurjevich, “It’s the best campaign for an independent school I’ve ever seen.”

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