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JUNE RECAP Stories, Conferences, and Graduation Season It’s been a whirlwind of a time and Captivate Media + Consulting. Lets walk through …

This referendum followed a successful enrollment campaign that addressed years of declining enrollment and community misperceptions. We partnered with St. Cloud Area Schools on both projects, leading to a seamless transition. This campaign demonstrates how strategic communication, rooted in community engagement with a foundation of trust, can deliver measurable outcomes in complex and divided communities.

Over a five-year period, Nicollet Public School experienced a 10% decline in enrollment. Projections showed an additional 7% decrease, including a 30% projected drop in kindergarten enrollment. Several factors impacted enrollment, including declining birth rates, stagnant housing growth, and increased school choice options, including a large public school system within 20 minutes of Nicollet. Reversing the enrollment decline was critical to the district’s financial stability and long-term sustainability. We partnered with Nicollet to develop a strategic enrollment campaign on a limited budget.

After months of conversations with school districts and nonprofits, we keep hearing the same thing: budgets are tighter, expectations are higher, and the pressure to communicate more with less isn’t going away. And yet, most organizations are still waiting until they have the “perfect” budget or the “right” moment to invest in their story.

When LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation (LAMF) needed a video series to support recruitment, onboarding, and career exploration for New Americans considering long-term care careers in Minnesota, they launched a competitive RFP process to find the right creative partner.

We partnered with Willmar to create a comprehensive communications plan and support tactics to engage the community, showcase the districts achievements, and enhance the districts public image, despite the outside noise.  Our goal was to be a supportive partner that shaped how the district communicated with staff, families and residents. 

St. Cloud Area Schools faced a common issue: declining enrollment, particularly at the secondary level. Here’s how we helped them reverse this trend and boost student enrollment and revenue through our four-step PR process.

After months of conversations with school districts and nonprofits, we keep hearing the same thing: budgets are tighter, expectations are higher, and the pressure to communicate more with less isn’t going away. And yet, most organizations are still waiting until they have the “perfect” budget or the “right” moment to invest in their story.

After years of producing video for K-12 clients, we keep seeing the same pattern: the videos that perform the best – the ones that get shared, watched all the way through, and actually move people, almost never lead with the institution.