A suite of materials for Rowan Salisbury Schools to market their new approach to education
Client
Rowan-Salisbury Schools (RSS)
Services
Communications Planning, Website, Video, Research, Branding and Materials Creation
“Our Rowan-Salisbury marketing team worked with Forthright on everything from our strategy to creating a website, to producing videos and even a marketing brochure. One theme that shines throughout all of our work together is the thoughtful research they would bring to every project. The team consistently delivers the data behind every recommendation, ensuring every decision is grounded in research. It leads to results that exceed our expectations, every time. With the high quality of products produced, we definitely look forward to working with this extraordinary team again in the future.”
- Rita Foil, Rowan Salisbury Schools
The Brief
The Background
Communities deserve a school system with the autonomy to create an engaged learning environment where students enjoy learning and teachers enjoy teaching.
That’s why Rowan-Salisbury Schools (RSS) leaders requested charter-like flexibility for their district—and in 2018 became the first public school district in North Carolina to receive this flexibility.
To implement the innovative strategies they were now empowered to carry out, RSS needed to find a way to attract donors from foundations that could help RSS fund the new, data-backed programs they dreamed of.
The Challenge
Help Rowan-Salisbury Schools develop branding and marketing collateral that fit the school district’s cutting-edge innovation and attract donors to support their work.
Our Solution
Together, we embarked on a journey to develop a suite of collateral that shows funders—as well as their local community—the incredible ways RSS is engaging with students.
Through our signature research, we discovered that foundations look for impact and outcomes—and want to feel like they know the people they’re supporting. It was clear storytelling would be important for a successful strategy, so we incorporated it into every piece of collateral moving forward.
Together, we:
Built a strategy around digital and print-focused engagement with RSS donors and community members
Interviewed RSS students and staff, empowering us to draft stories to include throughout our marketing materials
Coordinated printing, pricing and design options for Renewal-related marketing brochures, in addition to drafting content for three brochures
Developed a modern, interactive microsite that included teacher and student stories, quizzes, animation, infographics and a video
Created two top quality videos that convey RSS’s innovative strategy: one for the community and one aimed at funders
Our Results
RSS walked away with targeted brochures, two high-quality videos, and a modern microsite they used to connect and engage with their community and funders in a way that empowers their innovative work—and the teachers and students who make it all possible—to truly shine.