Boosting Open Event Attendance with a High-Impact Multi-Channel Campaign

Smarter Reach School Marketing

How The Quest Academy Boosted Local Awareness and Open Event Attendance with a High-Impact Multi-Channel Campaign

This autumn, The Quest Academy partnered with Smarter Reach to elevate their visibility within the local community and drive strong engagement for their open evening and school tours. They wanted to reach more families and ensure prospective parents experienced the academy first-hand.

With clear objectives and a six-week timeframe, we built a coordinated campaign that blended digital reach, eye-catching outdoor visibility and targeted local marketing.

Clear objectives for a crucial point in the admissions cycle

Quest needed to:

  1. Increase local awareness of the academy

  2. Drive footfall to their open evening and weekly school tours

Our strategy focused on meeting families where they were – online, on social, and in their local neighbourhoods.

A six-week multi-channel campaign with scale and consistency

With a total budget comparable to an in-print ad in the local paper a few years ago (including all creative, production, delivery and Meta ad spend), we delivered a comprehensive campaign designed to maximise both reach and recognition.

✔️ Meta advertising and organic content

We produced a strong set of creative assets, including:

  • Two 40-second video reels showcasing life at Quest

  • A bold event graphic promoting the open evening

  • Static posts for each of the four school tours

These served as the backbone of the campaign, driving consistent visibility across Facebook and Instagram.

✔️ Targeted flyer distribution

We designed, printed and delivered high-impact flyers to 10,000 nearby households, ensuring families in key catchment areas received clear, compelling information ahead of the open events.

✔️ Outdoor advertising for local reach

To make Quest unmissable in the community, we installed:

  • 12 roadside banners across council-approved locations (4 designs)

  • 6 school railing banners on-site (3 designs)

This gave the academy constant visual presence in high-traffic areas throughout the campaign.

Meta campaign performance: stand-out results

The digital performance exceeded expectations and delivered exceptional reach for the budget.

⭐ 831,900 total video views

Across reels, static posts and event graphics.

⭐ 261,800 unique viewers

⭐ 45,066 3-second views

A strong indicator of early engagement.

⭐ 7,328 video thru-plays

Showing clear interest in the school’s story and ethos.

⭐ 1,703 content interactions

Comments, likes, shares and saves across the campaign.

Most importantly, the footfall delivered exactly what Quest needed

The academy saw a significant uplift in real-world engagement:

⭐ Open evening attendance was the strongest in years

And both Principal’s talks were fully attended.

⭐ Tour attendance surged

58 families attended the 4 school tours, compared to only 2 or 3 per tour last year.

These figures reflect not only the reach of the campaign, but also the resonance of the messaging and creative with local families.

Raising visibility, building confidence, strengthening community connection

Quest has always been a school with strong values, committed staff and a clear ambition for its students. Our campaign simply amplified that message at the right moment and ensured it reached the right families.

Through consistent branding, high-quality creative content and targeted local marketing, we helped Quest reclaim visibility and build momentum ahead of the admissions deadline.

If your school is looking to increase awareness, boost open event attendance or connect more effectively with local families, we’d love to support you. Get in touch to learn how we can help your story stand out.