Creative Services Case Study
Guilford Parent Academy (GPA)
Guilford Parent Academy (GPA) is a department within Guilford County Schools that provides cutting-edge training and resources for parents and their children. Using both in-person workshops and seminars along with a toolkit of digital tutorials and resources, GPA covers subjects from preparing for college, dealing with bullying and fostering parental involvement in education. Since 2014, Bouvier Kelly has assisted GPA in accomplishing its goal of “helping parents help children succeed.”
Social Media:
Using GPA’s Facebook page as their social media hub (audience-wise, we have found Facebook encompasses more parents than Twitter does), we have helped increase attendance for in-person events and drive more engagement with their digital resources.
Using a combination of organic original and curated content with a targeted advertising campaign, Bouvier Kelly has played an integral role in keeping GPA top-of-mind for parents across Guilford County.
With a modest monthly advertising budget for the 2016-17 school year, we kept the page’s total engagement at an average of 2.91%, well above industry benchmarks of .5%-1%. Similarly, we grew their Facebook audience by 35% in the course of the year.
Email Newsletters:
Starting in 2016, Bouvier Kelly also took over the management of GPA’s nearly 10,000 contact-strong email newsletter program. We redesigned their existing template to create a cleaner and easier-to-read format that was also responsive for mobile viewers.
Since our redesign, primary metrics have increased by encouraging margins. Open Rates have gone from around 8%-10% to an average of 18%-20%. Click Through Rates have also increased from an average of 4%-6% to more than 10% each month.
Email News Letters:
Starting in 2016, Bouvier Kelly also took over the management of GPA’s nearly 10,000 contact-strong email newsletter program. We redesigned their existing template to create a cleaner and easier-to-read format that was also responsive for mobile viewers.
Since our redesign, primary metrics have increased by encouraging margins. Open Rates have gone from around 8%-10% to an average of 18%-20%. Click Through Rates have also increased from an average of 4%-6% to more than 10% each month.
Parent Resources Redesign:
One of the most innovative programs that GPA offers is its Parent Resources portal. Here, parents and students can receive live, 24/7 online tutoring help from professional tutors; get help with the GED studies; engage with interactive core subject tutorials; and even receive job interview and resume training.
However, the way this information is presented on their website prevents many parents from accessing the tools—or even understanding what was available to them. Our first instinct was to push for a brand-new GPA website, but since it was necessary to stay within the Guilford County Schools digital ecosystem, we had to find another way.
So, Bouvier Kelly offered a new redesign of the main landing page for this portal, helping to convey what was available with a tighter visual design. This redesign relies on minimal copy and succinct headlines instead of long explanatory copy.
GPA has plans to implement this new design for the 2017-28 school year, and we look forward to seeing the increased clicks and account sign-ups we anticipate it will bring.
End of Year Report:
Each year, GPA compiles a comprehensive report of their successes and accomplishments during the previous school year. This report, which is shared with local school leaders, parents and stakeholders alike, contains a copious amount of data and information. And while previous reports were effective in their presentation of this information, the leaders at GPA wanted to take a more visual approach for the 2016-17 report.
We brought bright colors, powerful pull quotes from people affected by GPA’s programs and impactful images to drive home GPA’s successes. This report emphasizes both the progress GPA made in terms of attendance and participation as well as what lies in store for the organization.
End of Year Report:
Each year, GPA compiles a comprehensive report of their successes and accomplishments during the previous school year. This report, which is shared with local school leaders, parents and stakeholders alike, contains a copious amount of data and information. And while previous reports were effective in their presentation of this information, the leaders at GPA wanted to take a more visual approach for the 2016-17 report.
We brought bright colors, powerful pull quotes from people affected by GPA’s programs and impactful images to drive home GPA’s successes. This report emphasizes both the progress GPA made in terms of attendance and participation as well as what lies in store for the organization.
GPA Overview Video:
While many families across Guilford County take advantage of GPA’s events and resources, there is always more room to spread awareness. In order to give an updated overview of how GPA helps parents help their children succeed, we interviewed several key figures involved in the success of the organization. This video features both administrators and parents, each providing their unique perspective into this nationally-recognized parent engagement program.
Case Studies
