Monarch Academy Public Charter School

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The Children’s Guild Institute contracted BHC to help with the launch of a new public charter school in Glen Burnie, Md. As Monarch Academy would be only the second public charter school in Anne Arundel County, BHC was tasked to educate parents of all socio-economic levels, community leaders, elected officials, educators and other decision makers about charter schools and the value of having Monarch Academy in the community. In addition, BHC’s integrated approach needed to include a call to action, encouraging parents of children going into kindergarten, first and fifth grades to apply for admission. Initial enrollment goals for the 2009–2010 school year were 75 kindergarten students, 75 first-grade students and 60 fifth-grade students.

Taking the school from ground zero, BHC developed a logo and graphic look; stationery; business cards; a website; informational brochure; parent/guardian fliers; and an admission packet that included a fact sheet, frequently asked questions about the school and an admission form.

In addition to collateral, BHC developed display materials, a direct mail card and a four-page newsletter. BHC created and placed print advertising as well as executed a public relations campaign to help garner print, radio and television media coverage of the launch, including features on the new principal.

Using Google Analytics, the first three months of the website launch resulted in 3,845 absolute unique visitors, with a low 16 percent bounce rate, and 26,125 unique page views. The day following the direct mail card drop, the site received 140 unique visitors, viewing 1,609 pages.

Within four months of the launch of these efforts, Monarch Academy received 149 applications for kindergarten, 149 for first grade and 116 for fifth; these figures exceeded initial projected enrollment numbers by an average of 97 percent. These numbers speak to the success of Monarch Academy’s interactive marketing campaign, which won BHC a 2009 gold Hermes award.

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