South Carolina Whitmore School is a virtual high school that admits students from everywhere in the state. A fully-accredited, free public charter school, SCWS students can complete high school at their own pace, with some students finishing as early as three years.
With a significant uptick in the number of virtual options available to students nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SCWS hired Rhodes Branding to initiate a marketing campaign to increase enrollment.
Our first step was a brand workshop with their executive director and communications staff to learn more about its target market and why families choose SC Whitmore.
It became apparent during the process that SC Whitmore’s most central point of difference was students’ ability to truly take courses at their own pace. This unique approach is SC Whitmore’s true differentiator, and we needed to drive that home throughout the campaign.
The next step was developing a media mix that tapped into the target audience SC Whitmore was trying to reach and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track the campaign’s success. This included advertisements on Hulu, Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, Niche, and various pages on the Internet via a robust PPC campaign.
The #SchoolYourWay campaign helped SC Whitmore increase enrollment by 20 percent during the pandemic, setting an all-time high for school enrollment. This was done with a significantly more saturated market with various virtual school options.
SC Whitmore’s ads reached well over 4 million prospective families throughout South Carolina, helping the school increase enrollment by 20 percent.
