Chester County Intermediate Unit presents branding campaign to Octorara Area School District board

At a meeting of the Octorara Area School District Board of School Directors, the Chester County Intermediate Unit presented a branding and storytelling campaign intended to position Octorara as a destination district in Chester County.

The CCIU team said the campaign centers on four message areas — “always student-centered,” “not defined by a number,” “community connected from the start,” and “small district, big opportunities” — and uses print and digital formats to showcase student, staff and community voices. The CCIU presenters said the project included onsite video interviews, photographs and drone footage to highlight that the district’s school buildings share a single campus.

The CCIU described a die-cut foldout mailer designed to stand out in mailboxes and to guide recipients to a campaign webpage. The presenters said the mailer was mailed to “over 5,000, almost 5,900 households” at the start of the month and that the campaign website includes short videos and infographics tied to each of the four message areas. The CCIU reported that the videos posted to the site had received more than 215 views as of the meeting.

Melissa (Chester County Intermediate Unit), one of the presenters, said the materials were created so the district could continue the effort on its own channels: “The mailer was mailed out. We were able to capture a list of all the taxpayers in the district…we wanted to launch it strongly with the plan that it would continue on past this.”

The presentation included sample short-form videos and reels. One student clip shown to the board said, “What makes Octorara unique for me is not only that it’s a tight-knit community around the students but as well as the teachers. A lot of teachers here are very close friends with each other, and I feel like that creates a better opportunity to create bonds with students…” A parent testimonial shown in a reel said the family had chosen the district because of positive experience across generations.

Board members and district staff discussed continuing the campaign and integrating the four message areas into future newsletters, press releases and other communications. The board noted the district has posted for a Director of Communications and expects that role to help sustain and expand the campaign.

The CCIU said it remains available to support additional communications work as the district implements the messaging strategy.

The presentation was for information only; no formal action on the campaign itself was recorded in the meeting minutes.