Australian Christian College (ACC)
Our team was engaged to provide curated public relations support to build positive brand perception for the Australian Christian College network. We did this through bespoke pitches engaging with trade and mainstream media to target both prospective parents and educators sharing the school values “well loved, well taught”.
The challenge
In Australia, more than 35 percent of parents choose to pay fees and send their children to a non-government school, but how do they decide which one?
Modern, state-of-the-art facilities can be a highly persuasive factor and help certain schools stand out in a competitive market.
ACC sought a way to leverage its government grant to firstly raise awareness of the Marsden Park campus in nearby communities, but more broadly demonstrate its investment in growing much-needed STEM capabilities in students.
The Solution
ImpactInstitute led a public relations campaign to deliver against ACC’s objectives.
Our strategy leveraged ACC spokespeople and their relationships with local and state MPs to engage community, trade and national media outlets.
We developed key messaging surrounding the announcement, drafted press materials and information packs, and coordinated stakeholder interviews and talking points for media opportunities.
We set KPIs of 1x national coverage items, 3x education trade pieces and 3 x stories in local media.
The Outcome
Enrolments across all ACC campuses increased by 28.8% to 5,304 in 2022 compared to 2,120 in 2021, demonstrating an increased awareness of ACC and its benefits as an education provider.
With this project, we generated a total of 36 pieces of coverage and exceeded our KPI for national coverage by 1900%.
The grant announcement was featured across mainstream news bulletins including Nine News Sydney and 7NEWS Sydney. Local news coverage was secured in The Hawkesbury Gazette and The Blacktown Sun. We also gained traction with the education trades, featuring in The Educator Australia and Education Today.
"The ACC Group has been working with ImpactInstitute for a number of years. They have helped secure substantial local and national media coverage (both mass and trade media) for our network of 10 schools across 5 states."
"I have found the Impact Institute team to be courteous, professional and efficient. They devise creative PR strategies and follow through with faultless execution. It's reassuring to have a PR partner who you know delivers on their commitments without having to be micromanaged."
