Child smiling in front of a bright colored background

Brand

Primrose Schools

Crafting a Marketing Campaign to Make Enrollment Blossom

Primrose Schools is an accredited, early childhood education provider with several hundred franchises. While it had been highly successful in the Southeastern United States, in order to evolve and become a player on the national stage, Primrose needed a partner to help take the business to the next level.

Here’s how our highly optimized marketing ecosystem spurred enrollment growth and turned Primrose schools into an ever-expanding national presence.

Challenge

Major Expansion Goals

With a base of nearly 300 schools, Primrose had set the table for major expansion goals. However, as it geared up for the push into new areas of the country, the brand was virtually unknown outside its region and awareness was too low to fuel the nationwide growth Primrose was seeking.

Insights

Broader Audience

Prior to Amp’s involvement, Primrose had targeted one broadly-defined audience. However, our primary research revealed that Primrose actually has a multi-segmented audience, comprising of several sub-groups, each with its own discrete needs.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Parents choosing a pre-school or child care provider are often leaving their child for the first time since birth. This highly emotional decision may be driven by unique needs that can vary among individual segmentation groups.

A Sea of Sameness
Other early education providers tend to describe themselves in nearly identical terms. This leads to a cacophony of undifferentiated messaging within the category that all blends together.

A Best Kept Secret
Primrose’s unique Balanced Learning approach to education is a key differentiator, but it had never been successfully communicated to prospective parents.

Solution

A Balance of Science and Seesaws

We created a brand-defining creative platform , Facts and Ways, that facilitates the personal journeys for both prospective and enrolled parents.

Beyond infusing the brand with a more endearing, accessible voice, this platform laid the foundation for a comprehensive local-to-national marketing system that has made inroads to every region and continues to penetrate new markets with the recent addition of national broadcast.

Web
Experience

An Introductory Destination

The PrimroseSchools.com website serves five unique audiences, including both prospective and enrolled parents, while encompassing more than 300 individual school sites.

Video
Content

A Window Into Primrose

Online videos bring the campaign to life, offering a closer look inside the Primrose experience and differentiating the brand’s Balanced Learning approach from its competitors.

Broadcast
Media

Elevating Brand Awareness to New Levels

To generate awareness of the Primrose brand with the broadest audience possible, national TV was brought into the media mix.

Display &
Social

Building Awareness

Display ads drive awareness of Primrose Schools amongst target audience segments, while paid social advertising drives brand familiarity and positions Primrose as a leader.

Search
Marketing

Customized for Individual Needs

Hyper-targeted search is tailored to the prospective parent’s search query. Paid search directs parents researching preschools to a custom landing page that provides an experience unique to their location and the age of their child.

Social
Media

Engaging On Both a National and Local Level

National social channels provide current and prospective parents with valuable educational resources that position Primrose Schools as a leader in the space. Alternatively, local social channels provide current parents with updates from the classroom – improving their experience and encouraging advocacy.

Analytics

Customized Analytics Dashboards

Amp developed an analytics and reporting system that provided over 300 monthly dashboards, customized to the needs of each stakeholder or franchisee.

Ecosystem

Platform Planning

To implement this platform, we prioritized journey touch points, established channel roles and focused resources where Primrose could achieve its greatest impact.

Broadcast, Display + Paid Social
Drives awareness and brand familiarity among target audience segments and positions Primrose as a leader in the space.

Search + Re-targeting
Keeps Primrose on the radar of in-market parents.

Local Social Media
Supports the Primrose Schools experience by keeping current parents in the know.

National Social Media
Positions Primrose Schools as a leader in the category.

Website + Local Pages
Directs visitors to local school tours with personalized school experiences.

As Primrose Schools expand its reach west into California and across the nation, the brand’s awareness has experienced major growth as its continually evolving and adapting ecosystem delivers positive results.

Double Digit

Growth in YoY Student Enrollment

Significant

increase in Search Conversion Rate

Major

Decrease in Cost-per-Lead

+320

Schools Planned

+480

New schools opening by 2020

+15%

System Revenue Growth in 5 Years

+#1

in Franchise Satisfaction (source: Childrens Services Franchise Sector Report from Franchise Grade)

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