Great Big Campaign: How To Lead and Leverage Strategic and Creative Campaigns in your School District

This is a guest post by Shane Haggerty, APR. Shane Haggerty has spent 20 years working in two industries–marketing/PR and education. A former teacher and administrator turned marketing professional, Haggerty has led award-winning strategic campaigns for school districts, government agencies, national conferences, businesses, startups, and more.

Successful marketing and communication are done year-round and in a strategic way. Of course, this means having a marketing and communication plan that you have created based on research and one that you are implementing with measurement in mind.

There are times, though, when stand-alone campaigns are needed to address an issue, promote an event or fundraiser, or grow an audience. These “great big campaigns” require creative thought and a fully integrated approach to your marketing and PR. There are three reasons, in my opinion, to consider doing the work involved in creating a campaign.

There is a recorded webinar on this topic that can be accessed by members only. If you are interested in joining us, learn more here.

Awareness and Education: Most schools have issues that continue to give them headaches or cause frustration steeped in image problems or a lingering stigma. Many schools might want to introduce new initiatives or programs but before that can happen constituents must be informed. Building awareness, clearing up misinformation, and educating key audiences are perfect reasons to plan a campaign.

Tangible Results: Beyond just building awareness, perhaps you have a capital project you need donations for or a cause in which you wish to raise dollars. Maybe enrollment is declining, registrations are poor, or ticket sales have slumped. Building out a campaign to address these issues is another reason to create strategic campaigns that can be measured through very tangible results.

Creating a Movement: Is there a cause you need your constituents to rally behind? Is there a significant social issue that needs to be addressed? Campaigns provide opportunities to build the “army” you need to help rally to your cause, spread essential messages, and utilize the most tried-and-true form of communication–word-of-mouth–to meet your goals.

Campaigns require certain elements for sure. While having a budget makes the process more comfortable as you can hire support (video production, graphic designers, consultants), this isn’t always the case. That shouldn’t stop you from considering the effectiveness of having a strategic and creative campaign that drives home important messaging and moves the needle. Always remember these three takeaways when it comes to leading a campaign:

“Big” is relative: Long-term or short-term campaigns take careful planning and allotment of resources, but “big” isn’t always necessary. Sometimes campaigns can take the form of week-long messaging campaigns or a once-a-month Facebook video series. The critical thing to remember is to know your needs and to take the opportunity to be creative and strategic enough to address them.

Plan and measure: Regardless of the size or mission of your campaign, it is always essential to have a plan. Now, does that mean writing a big binder with strategies, tactics, objectives, etc. etc.? No. The reality is, in the world of education, we don’t always have time for a formal plan. Still, you should have a roadmap to follow of some sort with a goal in mind and a way to evaluate the campaign’s success.

Make it multi-channel: Campaigns involve a multi-channel approach most times to meet different audiences in different ways. Certainly, you could do a social media campaign around some issue, but a genuinely robust campaign will integrate into your overall district’s marketing and PR plan, and it will have elements of social media, print collateral, face-to-face events, and customer service touchpoints, media and influencer outreach, and other tactical approaches.

I invite you to check out some of the campaigns I have led in my career below.