How storytelling provided a vital lifeline to a small business
By building a purposeful, people-centric brand identity, we helped a school avoid closure
After COVID-19, Little Lantau Montessori Kindergarten faced the threat of closure due to declining pupil numbers and financial uncertainty. With the local demographic shifting and a significant drop in brand awareness, the school needed a budget-friendly marketing approach to turn things around. The challenge? How to use smart communication and storytelling to build brand awareness and attract new families – all within a tight budget.
How did we do it?
We developed an owned-channel communications strategy – a first step for entrepreneurs and small businesses. We focused on increasing the school’s online presence by developing authentic stories around its purpose and its people that we could populate on its own website and social channels.
Step 1: Creating an authentic brand narrative
We started by interviewing the principal, teachers and existing parents to understand what makes Little Lantau and a Montessori education so unique. Spending time in the classroom to immerse ourselves in the environment helped us craft a heartfelt mission statement, brand tagline and key messages that reflected the school’s values.
Step 2: Building channels from scratch
Without an existing website or strategic social media presence, it was easy to achieve quick wins for their online presence. We created a user-friendly website, developed branding assets and populated the site with educational Montessori content that heroed the school’s unique proposition. A targeted social media strategy used storytelling to showcase real student and parent experiences, educate prospective parents on the value of the school and drive organic traffic to the website.
Step 3: Crafting stories with heart
The magic of the school is in the impact it has on its children – and so we launched a storytelling campaign centred around authentic experiences. This included interviews, parent testimonials, real photography and a brand video that we adapted across its channels. This approach helped the school stand apart in the community.
Step 4: Developing community impact
To further improve brand visibility and establish meaningful connections with the local community, we worked with partners to organise fun family fundraising events. We designed online and offline promotional material that drove participation and grew positive local sentiment.
Final step: Providing ongoing consultancy
Finally, we were here every step along the journey to provide ongoing communications advice and training so that the teaching staff felt empowered when it came time to take over the management of online channels.
Results that made an impact:
We sufficiently increased student enrolment to allow the school to remain open and thrive
We successfully reached the school’s fundraising targets, providing much-needed financial relief
We built an online presence that draws over 1,000 unique prospective parents to the website each year and a 30% conversion rate through to enquiries.
"Charley has helped the school’s platform immensely. Not only by helping increase the student numbers, but primarily to get a positive and clear message out where it matters. She can help you see the wonderful things you are capable of but cannot see for yourself! That is probably the thing I love the most about her. She has her quiet and subtle ways without you realizing she has changed you and your business (our school in our case) for the better.” Maria Hart, Principal, Little Lantau Montessori Kindergarten
Interested to learn how storytelling can support your business to grow? Email me at charley@greaterheightscommunications.com