kearsley kids spark academy marketing
Homer Creative have been collaborating closely with Kearsley Academy in Bolton on an innovative approach to working with partner primary schools.
This latest development, in a full range of marketing and communications undertaken by us for the Academy since May, is a unique approach that integrates primary liaison, learning initiatives and marketing using specially developed cartoon characters with a dedicated micro-website.
The website is called The Primary Zone and is inhabited by five characters, each named for someone who has been an innovator in a field of human endeavour. They are collectively known as the Kearsley Kids:
Ada after Ada Byron, mathematician, analyst and founder of scientific computing; Bert after Albert Einstein, the theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize winner; Dot after Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature; Sim after Sim Wong Hoo, the CEO of Creative Technology, first manufacturer of PC sound cards; and Ludo after the strategy game Pachisi, played by the Mughal Emperors of India and brought to Britain as the game Ludo.
As well as their names having resonance and meaning each character has key characteristics, favourite subjects and things, hobbies and preferred learning styles. We are excited by the collaboration and the possibilities. Brian Homer says, "We have worked with many clients in education over the years but this work with Kearsley is something special. It’s a true collaboration and we are working closely with the senior team."
The idea for the Zone as a primary pupil-friendly learning and engagement tool came from Mel Hughes the Assistant Principal responsible for primary liaison and we developed and named the characters to fit in with that vision and to reflect the Academy’s specialisms of Maths, Computing and Leadership.
Mel Hughes is very pleased with the impact the concept is having: "We don’t think that there is anything like it being done at other Secondary schools and the idea is already sparking interest amongst primary pupils and we’ve got lots of ideas for how it can be developed."
The characters have already been used by the Primary Zone team of teachers who are working with local primaries and now that we've finished the Academy’s redeveloped website including the full Primary Zone microsite and it’s live there are online games and challenges as well as fun animation. There are also plans for a competition for primary pupils to design a sixth character to be judged by Homer Creative, a drama with pupils playing the part of the characters and a special prospectus using the characters for primary pupils. As Bert might say, “It’s all relative and the sky’s the limit!"
If you are interested in what we could create for your web site or for more information about the on-going support we can provide for education, contact Brian Homer, on 0121 551 5544 or email us.
See examples of our work
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Client:
Kearsley AcademyProject type:
Web Design and Illustration
