Overview
As an established thought leader in early childhood education, Primrose Schools wanted to create more visibility around their exclusive Balanced Learning® curriculum, which blends character development with academics. We quickly realized that in order to impact the child, we first had to empower the parents. What they needed most wasn’t another lecture on childhood development—It was a simple voice of reassurance.
Services Provided
- Video
- Social Media
- Blogging
- Email Campaign
- Media Relations
- Influencer Relations
- Internal Communications
- Creative Direction
Our Approach
The core of the campaign was a compelling video concept that celebrates working parents, specifically working mothers, who are typically the primary decision makers on childcare. Jackson Spalding invited moms to participate in a "market research study" conducted by an unnamed early education provider looking to better understand and support working parents. Instead they were surprised with the priceless gift of a reassuring, loving message from their family and friends.
Jackson Spalding secretly shot more than 30 interviews of five moms’ friends, families and even their childrens’ teachers to deliver the heartfelt messages. During the faux “marketing research interviews,” seven hidden cameras caught the moms’ emotions reactions to the videos– and surprise visits from their loved ones. Once the emotional videos were produced, Jackson Spalding launched a robust, integrated distribution campaign, tugging at the heartstrings of parents everywhere and putting Primrose at the center of meaningful discussions about parenting.
Behind the Scenes
Moms often joke that they have a third eye in the back of their heads making it nearly impossible to sneak anything by them. And it’s true, which is why this production took some masterful pre-production choreography by our team. Not to mention lots of tissues for the reveal. The soft kind with the lotion of course.
Media Coverage
Our team secured several premier media outlets including 1.1M total video views, 175M media impressions, including coverage from USA Today and Working Mother, 2.8M total social media impressions and 25K blog views.
Social Content + Influencer Relations
The response on social media was clear: these emotional videos resonated with parents who struggle with feelings of guilt every day. Partnering with parenting influencers who are a trusted resource for the target audience added another layer of credibility.
Blog Content
Owned content featured real, actionable tips for navigating parent guilt from a licensed professional counselor and family therapist on the Pointers for Parents blog.
Email Campaign
A customized email created in partnership with Blue Sky Agency allowed parents to send a personalized note of encouragement to friends and family in need of a little reassurance, spreading the message of #LetGuiltGo to their personal networks.
School Activations
More than 50 local Primrose schools brought #LetGuiltGo to life by creating special videos, grab-and-go meals and notes thanking working parents for all they do to raise kind, compassionate children.
Through this campaign, JS helped push us out of our comfort zone as a brand to embrace an engaging and emotional campaign that was unlike anything we’ve ever done before. I’m extremely grateful for their strategic guidance and partnership every step of the way – and also incredibly proud of all we were able to accomplish together." Sarah YoungDirector of Public RelationsPrimrose SchoolsThe Results
The response was almost immediate. Not only were the videos being viewed in their entirety, but the comments came pouring in and they were nothing short of inspiring. Blog traffic spiked and the corporate office began receiving phone calls from the teaching staff at various schools as well as from parents of current students thanking Primrose for creating this kind of content and for supporting parents. Perhaps most importantly, Primrose saw a direct correlation to an immediate spike in school inquiries: more than 300 visitors who read the primary Let Guilt Go blog post clicked through to the “Find a School” page.
1.1 m
video views
175 m
media impressions
2.8 m
social media impressions
25 k
unique blog views
The Team
Meet the JS team that worked tirelessly alongside our amazing clients to make the #LetGuiltGo campaign such a huge success.
