How Fireworx helped Christ’s Hospital to Optimise their Marketing

Challenge

For over 460 years Christ’s Hospital has been unique for a UK independent school in that it educates a proportion of its pupils for free, and most at a reduced rate. This stems from its founding charter as a charitable school. School fees are paid on a means-tested basis, with substantial subsidies paid by the school, so that pupils from all walks of life are able to have a high quality, independent school education that would otherwise be beyond the means of their parents/guardians.

The school approached Fireworx specifically because of our reputation for ‘disruptive thinking’ and to support them in conveying their message of helping to transform children of all backgrounds and ages, through better education. They wanted a fresh creative approach, one that challenged conventions.

Actions

Over 12 months Fireworx worked with Christ’s Hospital, meeting stakeholders, students, teachers and alumni to help capture a true sense of how it transforms the lives of its pupils throughout out their life’s journey. Through a comprehensive process Fireworx looked at how to challenge the preconceptions and the status quo you come to expect with schools of this nature.

Our core concept focused on the unique journey that pupils take at Christs Hospital, which manifested itself through the depiction of ‘slices in time’ and a graphic representation of a clock face. This was then supplemented using dynamic imagery featuring pupils ‘breaking free’ from their surroundings. The theme of a journey through life was taken further by working in collaboration with the Director of Marketing for Christ’s Hospital, Clare Phillips, who’s inspired idea was to use pupils voices and impressions from their first days at school, through to becoming an alumnus, in order to guide a reader through a pupil’s journey at Christs Hospital.

“It has been an amazing experience for us to work with Fireworx. The Fireworx team have been incredible. Their ideas for our new prospectus and advertising were surprisingly different, and this was exactly what we wanted and needed. Everyone at Fireworx has been very approachable and showed great patience and understanding when working with us.”

Clare Phillips
Director of Marketing