
St Mary’s College
An emotive statement for SA’s first girls' school



The Opportunity
St Mary’s College is South Australia’s oldest all-girls school, established in Adelaide’s CBD in 1869 by seven Irish Dominican Sisters.
In a competitive landscape where families have many options to consider for their daughter’s education, St Mary’s needed an enrolment strategy and subsequent brand and marketing campaign that was fresh, unique and beyond the expected conventions.
The St Mary’s point of difference had to be defined so that parents would take notice and ultimately, seek out the St Mary’s experience for their daughter.


Our Approach
The new campaign positioning centres around the insight that 1 in 2 girls today believe they are not enough. This belief impacts their wellbeing, their education, and ultimately, their future.
The “I am.” campaign focuses on the synergy of wellbeing and learning at St Mary’s. It recognises that a St Mary’s education provides students with security and support, which builds confidence and fuels academic achievement. You simply can’t have one without the other.
Reflecting the diversity and inclusivity of the school community, the new campaign, featuring a cross section of more than a dozen students, highlights the College’s commitment to recognising and celebrating every student for their unique qualities and needs. This is communicated through a custom illustrative layered mark made up of four different typefaces, together with a new expanded colour palette and a series of “I am” statements from the students.
Driven by data and community insights, the integrated brand and marketing campaign included:
- Stakeholder research and focus groups
- Brand workshop, strategy and narrative development
- Campaign concept development
- Content shoot (video and photography)
- Campaign style guide
- Content marketing strategy
- Social media content
- Marketing advisory
- Design roll out and production management including bus shelters, signage, collateral and digital assets
- Digital advertising campaign



The Outcome
The feedback from the school community and stakeholders has been overwhelmingly glowing. From the students, the staff and parents, there’s a resounding consensus that the campaign beautifully captures the spirit of the school.
They love the way it demonstrates the diversity of the students and it’s inspired many exciting ideas for extending the concept throughout the school community. The video resonates with people; it’s audible – people laugh, they smile and there are always tears. The campaign has only just launched, and performance results are still being captured.

"From our first meeting with communikate we were excited about the partnership, and it has delivered beyond our expectations. The new positioning absolutely hits the mark for people. It provokes a powerful emotional connection which is quite magical to witness. A parent spoke with me this morning about the quality of the work, and the fact that he knows how beautifully it captures the spirit of the school. Another respected senior colleague and parent said “It is unique, strong and what everyone wants for their daughter.” The work has sparked positive energy for the advancement and leadership teams - they can already see how it will come to life in their work. We are looking forward to the great results we anticipate this campaign will bring."
Clare Nocka, Principal, St Mary’s College