The Creative Education Trust (CET) is an educational charity which supports a network of schools across the Midlands and Norfolk to improve standards and achieve academic success.
The Brief
Creative Education Trust asked Hitch to assist with the smooth merger of three of their academies: Hagley Park, Fair Oak Academy, and Rugeley Sixth form, into one single school: the Hart School.
The Approach
Hitch met with the School’s Principal, merger consultants and school governors, and used secondary research to gain an understanding of the reputational risks involved, potential opportunities, and the best ways to protect and grow school recruitment. Using communications best practice, we advised the CET Board of Directors to take an open and transparent approach, in which stakeholders were kept informed as part of a two-way conversation. We supported this through ensuring ‘internal messages first’ and by using a mix of digital, PR, social media advertising, printed assets, and communications with primary schools.
The Result
This culminated in an innovative piece of work which involved training school pupils to become marketing ambassadors for the school using storytelling as a technique. We supported this by producing a presentation and video for the ambassadors to use at open evenings and during visits to local primary schools.