Awards

LERN International Awards Nomination Supplement

From: ISD 728 Community Education

September 30, 2011

Dear LERN Nomination Committee:

Please accept this document as a supplement to the nomination submitted by mail August 25, 2011 from ISD 728 Community Education.

After attending the LERN Convention in Chicago, we really wanted to utilize the knowledge we learned in rolling out our first-ever summer camps program brochure.  While at the convention, we saw some amazing examples of brochures and thought we should design one based on LERN principles. 

Our first goal in the design concept was to invest in a marketing piece that was full-color, glossy and eye-catching.  With that in mind, we selected a photograph that reflected our target audience for the front cover, added  our tag line:  “Are YOU ready for the fun to begin?” and chose the bold colors of bright greens, blues, pinks and oranges to draw attention.  In addition, we chose fun graphic elements that were eye-catching with splashes and swirls.   Each page had a strong call to action by asking consumers to register on-line, fill out an enclosed form, or call our office to register.  In addition, colors grouped each camp by category so it was easy to identify and read.  Finally, we designed an “At a Glance” calendar so people could look by month and by category when each camp was offered.  This tool was highly appreciated by our consumers.

Once designed and the lowest cost bid selected, our summer camps brochure was sent home with all K-8 public and private students in area schools.  Copies were also made available in the school offices of our four middle schools, four high schools, the District Office, and our Community Education building.  Our experience has been, if a child is drawn to a flyer, they will actually pull it out of a backpack and either show a parent or tell them this is what they want to attend.

Our result on print alone: An additional 71 registrations were obtained within a 2-week time period.

In addition to our print marketing strategy, we developed a three-tiered approach in our marketing and data collection:

1. Developed a tracking method using unique course numbers for 10 classes. In addition, we added wording to our on-line class registration system asking consumers to select where they heard about our summer camps.  
2. Added Summer Camps .pdf with hyperlinks to front page of Community Education website.
3. Developed a Constant Contact for Summer Camps and embedded the Summer Camps .pdf with hyperlinks to register for classes.  Our subject line was succinct and sent in the morning with the following rate of return:
   1. Results:  1,490 emails sent. 40.1 % Open Rate 28% click-through rate. 

Partnerships:

In order to provide high-quality programming while using local resources, we partnered with the MN School of Business, Sherburne County Wildlife Refuge, the United Way and local teachers.  By doing this, we employed local community members while providing cost-effective programming for our community.

Overall results:

Our school district is a bedroom community of Minneapolis/St. Paul located 30 miles away.  We compete for consumers who not only drive to the Twin Cities for programming, but who also participate in local YMCA and recreation programs spread across many communities in our district.  In addition, the reality of our community statistics include a 10% unemployment rate, over 2,000 foreclosures and 22% of families on free and reduced lunch.  In spite of these factors, ISD 728 Community Education was able to run 70% of summer camps offered, increased participation by 17% and increased revenue by 11%.

Thank you for giving us the tools needed to be successful in a downturn market.

Sincerely,

Programming & Data Tracking:
Noella Fath-Cutter, Youth Programs Coordinator, ISD 728 Community Education

Print Designer/Web/Constant Contact:
Julia Nielsen, Assistant Manager, Marketing and Communications, ISD Community Education

Letter mailed on August 25, 2011 with paper copies:

LERN International Awards Nomination

August 25, 2011

ISD 728 Community Education has been offering lifelong learning opportunities for residents of our community for over 30 years and our mission is to build community through citizen involvement and lifelong learning while educating, inspiring and empowering all of our learners across ISD 728.  

Our quarterly brochure markets to learners of all ages, from parents of infants to our senior citizens.  But summer presents the unique challenge of focusing on school age youth and offering the high quality, affordable programs parents want to fill the hours and weeks school is not in session.  Although our classes and activities range from one-time events to weekly sessions that last for weeks or months,  our focus for keeping youth busy during the Summer 2011 was to promote our week-long camps and encourage parents to arrange full day activities for their children.  In some cases, this also helped eliminate the problem of transportation during parent working hours.  Our goal was to offer a wide variety of camps from Art & Drama to Academics to Sports to keep the students safe and engaged.   Our means of promoting these camps was a supplemental 8-page glossy, 4 color brochure targeting the students and their parents. 

We are located northwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota and our district covers 174 square miles, with K-12 student enrollment of approximately 12,700.  Student enrollment has grown 33% in the past ten years and prior to the economic downturn and housing crisis, we were one of the fastest growing school districts in the state.  Since foreclosure rates in our district are high and recovery has been slow, we recognized parents would be looking for good value and convenience when keeping their youth busy during the summer months. 

Our quarterly Community Education brochure is delivered to every home in the school district via the local newspaper.   However, this camp brochure was delivered directly to the students at school and was designed to attract the students’ attention while answering the parents’ questions.  Copies were also made available in the school offices of our four middle schools, four high schools, the District Office, and our Community Education building.  The camp brochure was also posted on our website in .pdf format with links to class registration for each course section. 

Inserted into the brochure, was a 2 sided registration form; one side having registration information and forms, side 2 having “Summer Camps at a Glance” information.  This page gave parents a week-by-week quick reference guide of camps held in each interest category including days/times/location/age criteria to make it easier for planning. 

Although these camps were originally marketed in the regular spring/summer Community Education brochure, the response to the camp brochure, which was delivered later, was great.  The percentage of youth classes filling was up 11% from the previous summer and 226 additional registrations for these camps were received after distribution of the camp brochure.  The following are statistics from our youth programming:

While the youth market is often viewed as difficult since they don’t have purchasing power, they can influence their parents.  Our decision to focus on attracting the students’ attention while answering the parents’ questions has been a successful endeavor for our organization.