Case Study
Reach Up Headstart
Digital Advertising & Enrollment Marketing
Full Classrooms. Fully Staffed. A Community Better Served.
For families with young children, access to quality early childhood education can make a lasting difference. Reach-Up Head Start, based in St. Cloud, Minnesota, provides early learning opportunities and support services to families, helping children build a strong foundation for future success.
But reaching the families who could benefit most from those services presented a unique challenge. With a large refugee population in the surrounding community, Reach-Up needed to overcome language and cultural barriers while addressing critical staffing shortages that affected its ability to serve eligible children.
Ace Studios partnered with Reach-Up Head Start to develop an inclusive, targeted digital advertising campaign designed to increase student enrollment, recruit qualified educators, and connect more families with essential early childhood education services.
The Challenge
Reach-Up Head Start had an ambitious goal: achieve full enrollment within six months while filling essential teaching and support positions.
The challenge wasn't simply reaching more people. It was reaching the right people, many of whom faced language barriers, cultural differences, or limited familiarity with available early childhood education programs.
St. Cloud's diverse population, including a significant number of refugee families, required an approach that went beyond traditional enrollment advertising. Marketing materials needed to feel welcoming, culturally relevant, and accessible to families from different backgrounds.
At the same time, Reach-Up faced staffing shortages, particularly among educators certified to support English Language Learners (ELL). Without sufficient qualified staff, the organization risked limiting its capacity to serve children who needed its programs.
The campaign needed to address both challenges simultaneously: connecting families with educational opportunities while attracting the professionals needed to support them.
Our Approach
Ace Studios developed a strategic digital advertising campaign centered on cultural awareness, audience targeting, and measurable outcomes.
We began by considering the unique demographics of the St. Cloud community, recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach would be ineffective in reaching families with different languages, backgrounds, and experiences.
Our creative strategy prioritized inclusive imagery and accessible messaging designed to make families feel represented and welcomed.
To maximize the campaign's effectiveness, we combined targeted social media advertising with Google Ads, allowing Reach-Up to connect with local families actively seeking educational opportunities while building awareness among those who might not have known the program was available.
We also incorporated recruitment-focused advertising to help the organization reach qualified teaching and support professionals, including educators with English Language Learner certifications.
By addressing enrollment and staffing as connected priorities, we developed a campaign that supported both immediate organizational needs and Reach-Up's broader mission of expanding access to early childhood education.
What We Created
Ace Studios supported Reach-Up Head Start's enrollment and recruitment goals through:
Digital advertising strategy
We developed a targeted advertising approach designed to reach eligible families and qualified job candidates throughout the St. Cloud community, aligning campaign messaging with the organization's enrollment and staffing priorities.
Culturally inclusive creative assets
Our team created welcoming, accessible visual materials that reflected the diversity of the families Reach-Up served, helping the campaign connect with audiences across different cultural backgrounds.
Social media advertising
We developed and managed targeted social media campaigns to increase awareness of Reach-Up's programs, reach prospective families, and generate interest in available educational opportunities.
Google Ads campaigns
We implemented targeted Google advertising to connect with people searching for early childhood education programs and related opportunities in the St. Cloud area.
Staff recruitment advertising
We supported recruitment efforts through targeted messaging and advertising designed to attract qualified educators and support staff, including professionals certified to work with English Language Learners.
Audience targeting and campaign optimization
We tailored campaign targeting to the community's demographics and organizational needs, helping Reach-Up reach relevant audiences more effectively than traditional, broad-based advertising approaches.
The Result
Reach-Up Head Start achieved both of its primary campaign objectives, demonstrating the impact of culturally informed messaging and strategic digital advertising.
Within six months, the organization reached 100% student enrollment, connecting eligible families with early childhood education opportunities.
The campaign also supported the successful recruitment of all necessary staff, including educators certified to support English Language Learners, helping ensure the organization had the personnel needed to serve its diverse student population.
These outcomes represented more than successful advertising metrics. They meant classrooms operating at full capacity, qualified educators in place, and more children gaining access to the early learning experiences and support services their families needed.
By understanding the community and adapting our approach to its unique needs, Ace Studios helped Reach-Up Head Start overcome significant enrollment and recruitment challenges while advancing its mission.
The campaign demonstrated what effective education marketing can accomplish when the right message reaches the right people: full classrooms, stronger programs, and greater opportunities for the families they serve.