When 21K School approached us for their branding and marketing, our first thought was: In an industry where we look to the stalwarts for inspiration, what do you do when you have no starting point at all? You become a trailblazer! And that’s exactly what we achieved.
“We had a vision and we knew not only India but the world needed an online school. However, we were having a tough time communicating the value proposition. IOSIGNITE’s team worked closely with us to build the brand ground up. The positioning line they coined for us is just perfect – World class education for your world.” Mr. Yeshwanth Raj, Founder, 21K School
STRATEGY
In the initial phase, you turn everything inside out and then upside down for days. After weeks of brainstorming & mind-numbing research, we found a vision that drives this brand, not just to stand out but to lead the change. 21K group approached IOSIGNITE with branding India’s First Online School. Their mission was simple, ‘we are the future, and we want each parent to put their faith in us’. Our vision became clear too, we would bring ‘World Class Education For your World’. Thus began our journey and the rest is history.
- A detailed website that answers every question of future parents
- A podcast section, a ‘are we right for you’ section
- To Humanize the brand we used teacher profiles on the home page
- A full-page menu to share maximum info in one click
The strategy was to create an inclusive online community for all 21K learners, facilitators, management, and families. A human touch in a virtual world. A space where everyone would be connected whilst having the freedom to choose for personal growth. Hence the positioning – ‘World Class Education For Your World.’
21K is a place of energy, opportunity, productive and not competitive learning, where learners find their balance between academics and passions. A one-of-a-kind place that crosses all physical barriers to bring together keen learners from across the globe. Our mission was to present 21K as the solution to the problems that the present education system faces.
The backend work.
After nailing the communication, it was time to implement. A team of four ad strategists began their work to build target audiences and the media plan. This was not like any other school – we were not limited by geography. 21K’s parents could be anywhere – Tier 1, 2, 3 or even Timbaktoo! On top of that it was not for everyone. How do we reach out to the right parent in the right way and that’s where are 3 layered approach came in handy.
Layer 1 – We started off with the two major platforms – Google and Meta with Display and Brand Awareness ads respectively. This was run to reach maximum audience at minimum budget – the goal was simple – Let’s see which message who is reacting to.
Layer 2 – By tracking this simple data we exactly knew the pain point of the parent, is it location, is it a child disability, is it hygiene or the quality of education. From that point onwards we spoke about the exact benefits 21K school brings for their specific problem. We used conversion ads across platforms during this phase.
Layer 3 – This is the secret sauce that improves conversions. Personalization is the key here – emails, whatsapp, webinars and talks were custom built for each different issue phased by the parents and delivered with pin-point precision.
Leads generated – 30,000
Admissions – 1500
Conversion Rate – 5%
21K School in less than 4 years raised their first round of funding by the founder of Upgrad and today has over 5000 students and a robust in-house marketing team that have built upon the foundation that was laid by the founders and IOSIGNITE.
