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Education

St Francis Xavier College

St Francis Xavier College is a Catholic secondary school with three campuses in southeast Melbourne. The College provides a rich curriculum for students and an extensive selection of activities and pathways to support each student’s development.

  • Radio Advertising
  • Paid Social
  • SEO
  • Paid Search
  • Organic Social
  • Web Design & Development
  • 109%Increase in search impressions
  • 136%Increase in engagement
  • 42%Increase in followers

The problem

St Francis Xavier College had the reputation — but their digital presence wasn’t reflecting it. As a well-established Catholic secondary school with three campuses, the College offers a strong academic and co-curricular experience. However, when prospective families encountered the brand online, that quality wasn’t coming through with the same clarity or confidence. There were a few key gaps holding them back:
  • Their website and visuals felt dated and harder to navigate than competing schools
  • The College wasn’t consistently visible during key research moments for parents
  • Engagement was sporadic, rather than building familiarity over time
In a category where trust is everything, this created a disconnect.The experience didn’t match the standard of the offering.
St Francis Xavier College — campaign hero

The insight

Parents don’t choose a school in a single moment — they choose it over time. They revisit websites, compare options, attend events, and build confidence gradually. Yet most school marketing is heavily concentrated around enrolment windows, with long periods of low visibility in between. That creates a gap. Because when it comes time to decide, families are far more likely to choose a school they’ve seen consistently — not just recently. We recognised that growth wouldn’t come from one campaign, but from building an always-on presence that reinforces trust at every stage.

The strategy

We shifted the approach from campaign-based activity to a connected system designed to support the full enrolment journey. The strategy focused on three key principles:
  • Be visible early — build awareness before parents actively begin searching
  • Be present during intent — capture demand when families are researching options
  • Stay consistent — reinforce credibility through ongoing engagement
Rather than relying on a single channel, we aligned brand, media, and content into one ecosystem — ensuring every touchpoint worked together to guide families from awareness through to enquiry.
St Francis Xavier College campaign creative 1
St Francis Xavier College campaign creative 2
St Francis Xavier College campaign creative 3
St Francis Xavier College campaign creative 4

Our Strategy

The Execution

We rebuilt the College’s digital and marketing presence across multiple layers — each playing a distinct role, but all working together.

  1. Website & Digital Experience

    The website became the foundation of the strategy. We redesigned and rebuilt the main site to improve clarity, usability, and visual appeal — making it easier for parents to find what they need and feel confident in their decision. To support deeper exploration, we also developed a dedicated curriculum sub-site, allowing families to better understand pathways and subject offerings without friction.

  2. Building Awareness Through Radio

    To reach parents earlier in their decision journey, we introduced targeted radio advertising. This allowed the College to: Increase recognition among local families Reinforce credibility at scale Drive both direct traffic and branded search behaviour

  3. Capturing Intent with Paid Search

    As awareness grew, we ensured the College was visible when it mattered most — in high-intent search moments. Search campaigns were structured to: Capture parents actively researching secondary schools Align with radio activity to convert interest into action Drive traffic to key conversion pages

  4. Driving Action with Paid Social

    Paid social campaigns were used more tactically — particularly around key events such as Open Days and Information Nights. These campaigns focused on: Promoting specific moments of engagement Driving registrations and attendance Creating clear next steps for prospective families

  5. Maintaining Momentum with Organic & SEO

    To support everything above, we implemented ongoing content across social and search. This ensured the College consistently appeared: Active and engaged on social media Discoverable through organic search Relevant to both prospective and existing families The goal wasn’t just visibility — it was credibility through consistency.

Our commercials

Take a listen

‘A Pathway for Every Child’ – Enrolment Campaign

St Francis Xavier College website, scrolling through the home page

The results

By connecting every channel into a cohesive system, the College saw sustained growth across both awareness and engagement.
  • 109% increase in impressions
  • 136% increase in engagement
  • 42% increase in followers
Beyond these metrics, the campaign delivered a steady stream of meaningful actions, including:
  • Website visits from prospective families
  • Event registrations and enquiries
  • Calls and form submissions aligned with enrolment periods
Importantly, the strategy also accounted for seasonality — building momentum during peak enrolment windows, while maintaining lead generation during quieter periods.

Business Impact

St Francis Xavier College is now showing up in a way that reflects who they are — a leading school with a strong, well-rounded offering. More importantly, they’ve moved from relying on moments of visibility to building ongoing presence and trust. Because in education, the decision isn’t made when a school appears —it’s made when a school is consistently seen, understood, and remembered.

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