Ormiston Education

MarketinG: Holly LoDGe HiGh School

The background
To inspire positive community perceptions of a school which had suffered from consistent bad press.

The challenge
Holly Lodge High School is a mixed secondary school in Smethwick, West Midlands. Despite being long established, the school was suffering from negative portrayal in the press, which may in turn have affected community perception. Good news was rare, and the school was often referred to as ‘failing’ despite the fact that it was consistently showing improvement.

The solution
The Ormiston Education marketing team implemented a long-term strategy to gradually improve the press’s perception of the school. We ensured the press received a constant stream of ‘good news’ stories and photo opportunities, highlighting all of the school’s major achievements (such as becoming a Trust, getting a positive Ofsted report, being named as one of the country’s most improved schools, and benefiting from a multi-million pound building programme). For major events in which third parties got involved (such as the local council or a private company), our marketing team ensured that Holly Lodge’s message was clear and unencumbered by external agendas.

The results
After a period of implementing our campaign, Holly Lodge High School has received no bad press. It is no longer referred to as ‘failing’ and has regularly had good news stories published, with an advertising value equivalent to over £25,000. The head teacher says that applications to attend Holly Lodge have increased as a direct result of our marketing campaign.