Inspiring Promotional Videos for Schools and Universities
Video marketing that helps your school tell its story.
Video has well and truly become an essential marketing tool for schools in Australia. A well-produced video can form the cornerstone of your schools advertising strategy. It is an effective way to showcase what your school has to offer, and what makes it unique. A great school promotional video may win over parents of prospective students. It can fill incoming pupils with excitement about their future school life. It also has the power to attract top teaching talent.
We have a decade of experience making promotional videos for public and independent schools. Our videos are innovative and emotive. We understand that each school has its own culture, character, and energy. We’ll help you capture yours and convey it in a way that connects with your audience. Whether that’s prospective students, parents, or staff members.
What to consider when making your school video
Audience
Who are you making the video for? Is it for students, staff, parents or all of the above? Are you looking to increase enrollments or reconnect with alumni? In many cases it’s important to tailor your video for a specific audience segment. However, your main promotional video should be designed to engage a broad range of viewers. Being clear on your target audience from the beginning will help you keep focused on the next important element – the narrative.
Narrative
Once you have identified your target audience, it’s time to put together an emotive narrative. To achieve this, you’ll need to understand your school’s values, and unique selling points. Education is a competitive market so it’s important that you identify your schools’ points of difference, however subtle they may be. When coming up with a concept you can ask yourself: How do I want the audience to feel after watching this video? What can I do to evoke that feeling? What themes should I incorporate? Answering these questions will guide you in developing a story that resonates with your desired audience. Striking a balance between informative content and emotional appeal is key. For instance, if you are looking to engage your alumni network, you might choose to make an emotive video featuring a past student who returns to the school after many years. They might reflect on how the school has undergone positive change. They may also express the nostalgic feeling of walking around the grounds. A simple concept like this will interest past students as they can relate to it directly. When making your primary promotional video, you can incorporate a number of different messages and themes like these so its engaging for a wider audience.
Call to Action (CTA)
The call to action (CTA) is a crucial prompt to inspire viewers to take the next step. After capturing their attention, it’s essential to guide them towards a specific action. This could be in the form of a message at the end, a voice over, a website link or contact details. When determining the best CTA for your school promotional video, consider your audience and the information they seek. You may want to direct them to a specific landing page on your website, the online enrollment form, a donation page, or encourage them to view more videos. Once you’ve identified the destination for your audience, make a CTA that facilitates their journey there seamlessly. Remember, the goal is for the video to be the start of their engagement with your school, not the end. By creating a strong CTA with effective language, you can guide viewers towards the desired result.
Budget
Getting a video made for your school doesn’t always need to be a huge investment. In Australia, you can get a high-quality promotional video made for your school at a cost ranging from $6000 to $20,000. There are also ways to be resourceful and save on cost. One approach is to involve any eager media students, who can contribute their skills and creativity to assist your professional film crew. If done right, this could reduce the need for additional resources and be a fun experience for students. For most productions, a professional crew of 2-3 individuals should be enough. Anymore and you risk interrupting students and their learning.
Platform
It’s important to consider where you’d like to display the end product. The easiest and most important place is often your school website, followed by your social media channels. Many leading schools are now utilizing social media platforms such as Instagram and LinkedIn to engage with their communities. Some schools may benefit from airing condensed versions of their main promotional video on television or in cinemas. This is an effective way to garner interest and increase enrollments.
Video Production Company
It’s almost always a good idea to seek out a company that has prior experience in educational settings. It’s important to engage a company that can collaborate effectively with your communications team. It’s also a good idea to hire a crew that can ensure a comfortable atmosphere for students and staff during filming. We highly recommend reviewing the portfolios of a number of different companies. Look for work that leaves an impression on you. Pay attention to the quality of their previous projects, their style, and how well they align with the vision you have for your video. Making an informed decision based on thorough research will ensure that you find a production company that can communicate your message effectively.
Authentic video that boosted a fundraising strategy
The campaign video that helped raise more than $225,000.
The Hutchins School, one of Australia’s oldest schools, asked us to make a video for their new scholarship. We created a story-based video that incorporated positive recollections from alumni. Old boys, of whom had both recently and long since left the school, shared how Hutchins has helped them in their own lives. The video was the focal point of a digital marketing and fundraising campaign that raised more than $225,000. In recognition of its effectiveness, the video received the Educate Plus Award for Excellence in Fundraising in 2019. The final video also struck a chord with the local school community on its social channels. It’s a testament to the enduring impact the Hutchins school has on its students.
“There is no doubt that the time and money spent on producing the video was a major factor in the success of the day. The video formed the cornerstone of the social media campaign which allowed us to reach a much larger audience.”
– Director of Advancement and Alumni Engagement
How can video benefit schools?
We make a variety of videos for schools to help them achieve different goals. Schools often hire us to help create videos that do the following:
- Boost student admissions and attract potential students.
- Highlight unique aspects of the learning experience.
- Create virtual campus tour videos that showcase your school facilities.
- Celebrate the achievements of current students or teachers.
- Improve their overall marketing strategy.
- Show graduate pathways and future opportunities.
- Capture content for school social media or the school website.
- Advertise upcoming events such as open day or another special event.
- Film testimonial videos with alumni to attract prospects.
Celebrating achievements with video content that resonates
A series of 36 videos to celebrate the achievements of educators.
The Department of Education commissioned us to create a series of 36 videos celebrating the achievements of staff. We travelled across Tasmania to over 30 schools to interview staff who were nominated for the department’s annual awards. The series beautifully captured the inspiring work of Tasmanian teachers and staff and the impact they have on learners. With such a large project, we worked with the department to plan and execute filming across each school. The final films were played by the Department during their awards night. They also shared the videos across their social media channels.
“ We are so delighted with the videos. The content, storytelling and graphics are so wonderful.”
Our years of experience working with schools and students
Filming in a school environment can often be challenging. Especially when operating around busy classrooms. We have years of experience working at hundreds of schools and educational facilities. We’ve filmed at primary schools, technical colleges and leading independent schools across Tasmania and Victoria. This has given us insight on the best practices for filming. Our crew create a positive environment for students and teachers. We understand that a school’s main focus is providing a conducive learning environment for its students. We work closely with staff to plan a filming schedule in a way that would work best for your school. We ensure the plan minimizes disruptions to students’ daily routines and curriculum. Our crew members are friendly and approachable, making them easy to interact with for both students and staff.
A promotional video to showcase a unique learning facility.
Leading independent girls’ school, St Michaels Collegiate, asked us to create a promotional video for their new Innovative Futures Laboratory. Working within a tight timeframe and budget, we produced a video that showed some of the unique learning experiences the modern space offers students. The final video was broadcast on local tv and displayed online.
FAQ
We are a video production company with extensive experience working in educational settings. We have visited hundreds of schools over the past decade. These range from government and independent schools to technical colleges and universities. Being able to see a diverse variety of learning environments and their individual characteristics has been an insightful experience. This has helped us develop an approach for best capturing the essence of each school we work with. While our years of experience have helped us gain valuable expertise, we also recognize the importance of remaining creative and trying something new on every project. We stay up to date with trends in education and always look for new methods of storytelling. Our team has years of experience working with staff and students, and we love working in the uplifting atmosphere prevalent within schools.
Making a promo video doesn’t have to be costly. We offer a range of options that are tailored to your marketing budget. We also offer discounts for extended collaborations. You can visit our pricing page for more info. Alternatively, you can get in touch with us for a free quote and advice.
Yes, all of our crew hold current Working with Vulnerable people/Working with Children checks for Tasmania & Victoria.
Schools generally display the videos we make for them on their homepage and social channels. Here they are typically embedded as YouTube or Vimeo videos. It is also common for schools to broadcast their main promo video on local or state television and in cinemas. We assist with this every step of the way.
Upon request, we will provide all of the raw footage shot at your school. This can be used for your video marketing efforts in other projects. The raw footage will usually be provided once the final edit is complete. It will typically be at no additional cost unless the content is significantly repurposed. Please contact us for further details.
You can view a sample of our educational videos further up this page. If you are looking for something specific, get in touch and we can provide relevant examples.
Looking to create a promotional video for your school?
Get in touch with us for free advice and a zero-obligation quote.