Part nature, part nurture for Dalhousie Public School.
Background
Dalhousie Public School is a residential, co-educational institute located at the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. Their nature-led curriculum served as a key factor in our work for them. Though they had gained local recognition over the years, they wanted to increase their visibility, on a larger scale.
Challenges
The school, though an older establishment, had little to no online presence. Due to which, there was a stagnation in new admissions.
Now with everyone and everything being available and transparently so online, we had to come up with a tonality and communications strategy that would stand out against the rest.
The organisation wanted to expand their presence and student body by having a more international feel.
When it comes to schools, trust is everything.
Work
Brand narrative
Tonality style
Content strategy
Social media communications
Website content
Print media content
Taglines
Apart from this, our team also developed an extended identity system including logo variants, brand colours, typography, graphic design elements, social templates, and photography direction.
Research
Our first step was going back to school quite literally. We learnt (and unlearnt) what it means to educate children with different backgrounds. What qualities are instilled, and why. We spoke to teachers and faculty, and always stayed in the loop of current events as per their academic year.
This was followed by a competitor analysis of existing Indian schools and what key USPs they highlight of their course structures. Then, we looked into boarding schools globally as reference points to evaluate how they made their mark and built their legacy.
INSIGHT
Imaginations run wild when learning isn’t confined to the four walls of a classroom. Every lesson is better when surrounded by the limitless bounty of nature.
Strategy & Solutions
One of the first things we did was developing a specific tonality style for Dalhousie Public School. The aim was to tie in a social + sensorial + academic experience that would show existing and potential parents a wholesome view of the school. We did this by coming up with copy direction and extended glossary to be used across all media.
The social strategy we created equally highlighted 4 content pillars: students, faculty, indoor facilities, and a nature-first campus. Each of these then touched on the respective amenities the school had to offer.
One of the main notions we maintained through this project was mindfulness. We wanted our communications to be candid, gentle, and well-rounded. This was reflected in what we chose to highlight: not just wins, but smaller attempts too.
With the content strategy in place, we moved on to create their website and school brochure to reflect this ethos.
Overall, our strategised posts were getting 4x traction than their previous posts on average. We were able to expand the school’s reach, showcase their strengths, and build trust with their audience leading to a definite increase in admission inquiries.
