Begin with A Strategic Plan

After working together on a strategic plan to chart the school’s future, Curtis School engaged Mission Minded to create an admissions video that demonstrates Curtis School as a place where the characteristics of childhood aren’t something to overcome — they are something to celebrate and utilize in engaging minds, bodies, and hearts.

Build On Current Assets: Viewbook

Because Mission Minded had recently developed Curtis School’s new brand, messages, and visual identity, creating the viewbook happened seamlessly.

“The [viewbook] content was warm and student-focused. The design is clean and sophisticated yet playful. The use of strong headers, questions and quotes allow a reader to skim and still get a good sense of the community at Curtis.”

— Brilliance Awards Judge's Comment

With a new visual identity that included colorful, undulating layers, Mission Minded sought out to create a tactile piece that celebrates the stages of a child’s life and the journey of a Curtis School education. The printed viewbook was intended to remind families of how they feel when engaging with Curtis School.

“While a tactile viewbook is always beneficial, it turned out to be more important than we could have anticipated when prospective families weren’t able to visit campus due to COVID,” says Rod Lemaire, Creative Director, Mission Minded. “The viewbook became a piece that helped them feel physically connected to the school.”

Pivot During A Pandemic: Enrollment Video

“Make sure your project is rooted in strategy! When it is, you’ll be able to pivot if something goes awry without having to reinvent the project.”

— Rod Lemaire

Curtis School prides itself on a deep understanding of the developmental building blocks of childhood that allows them to empower children academically. Mission Minded wanted that commitment to the child to take center stage in this video, signaling to prospective families that their child would be not only known at Curtis, but understood, and that every element of a Curtis education is developed to respond to what children need and are capable of.

“Excellent! Could easily be used as a teacher recruitment video as well as an enrollment video. Great, strong message from the school’s leader with compelling, even adorable video to go along. ”

— Brilliance Awards Judge's Comment

COVID closures meant that Curtis School’s on-site shoot had to be canceled at the last minute. The campus was empty and gathering together was no longer possible.

“Having worked together for over a year to develop a solid brand strategy, key messages, and visual identity,” says Rod, “we were able to quickly pivot, using existing footage from the school and from previous Curtis projects to develop an on-strategy video supplemented by new voiceover recordings by students and the Head of School.”

Though the production of the video went differently than planned due to COVID, Mission Minded was able to utilize the existing budget to access and repurpose other footage. And being in LA, one of the Curtis School families generously provided access to a recording studio for the voiceover recording which Mission Minded was able to direct via Zoom.

Rod says that the admissions video has become an important touchpoint for prospective families to see and “experience” Curtis School in a time when visiting in person hasn’t been possible.

Advice for Others

“Determine your key objective and stick to it, “Rod says. “Are you trying to inspire? Resist the urge to include thousands of words. Are you trying to shift a perception? Be consistent and dogged in making your point. And it helps if everyone (client and agency) is on the same page.”

Congratulations, Mission Minded and Curtis School. You are brilliant!

VIEWBOOK TEAM
Stephanie Swain, Brand Strategist
Romayne Levee, Brand Strategist
Todd Schulte, Art Director
Rod Lemaire, Creative Director

ENROLLMENT VIDEO TEAM
Jonathan Hinman, Director/Producer
Romayne Levee, Brand Strategist
Stephanie Swain, Brand Strategist
Rod Lemaire, Creative Director

See All the 2020 Winners

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Liza Fisher Norman

Master Electrician, InspirED School Marketers

Master Electrician isn’t just a fun title for me. It’s how I feel about sparking school marketers to do their best work, connecting them to one another, and helping to make their jobs easier. After working with close to 100 schools in the firm I founded — Turnaround Marketing Communications — I realized that school marketers needed a place where they can find brilliant ideas and brain food to make their job easier and feel supported. InspirED School Marketers was born in 2013 to fill that void and with the help of my fabulous Best Boy, Rob, we are on a quest to make InspirED a resource you can't live without.

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