Urban Discovery Academy

Urban Discovery Schools (UDS) and iD8 High is an internationally awarded T/K-12 public school system located in the heart of downtown San Diego, CA. Opened in 2008 as a quality neighborhood school, UDS has two campuses in the heart of downtown San Diego's I.D.E.A. District and Education Corridor. Urban Discovery Academy serves grades T/K - 5th, 6th - 8th and 9th - 12th grades.

Urban Discovery Schools & Foundation engaged Nicknox Communications as a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer. In this capacity, Nicknox guided brand amplification and positioning, message strategy, recruiting campaigns and the re-imagination of an updated and responsive web and social media presence. Nicknox also partnered with the Urban Discovery Foundation, the nonprofit, fundraising arm of the organization, delivering effective thematic ideation and execution in support of donor development campaigns and events such as the annual Gala and fundraising goals.

SECTORS

Education: TK - 12th Grade

Administration, Design Thinking

Thought Leadership

PRIMARY LEADERS

MaeLin Levine, Founder + Board President

Ed Abeyta, Board Vice President

Shawn Loescher, Chief Executive Officer

ENGAGEMENT

Fractional CMO, 4 Years

AREAS OF FOCUS

Brand Communications
Enrollment Recruiting
Donor Development
Web & Social Media
Scripting
Pandemic Response
Campaign & Media Planning
Public Relations

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

WEB PRESENCE

Project oversite to develop content architecture, message strategy and creative supporting a revitalized, responsive, brand-centric web refresh including technology integration.

DONOR STRATEGY

Campaign strategy and scripting in support of a successful, story-led mult-year donor engagement campaign including messaging for annual fundraising Galas.

PR INITIATIVES

Organizational and executive communication guidance to spotlight key accomplishments including TEDEd visibility and inform pandemic response.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

SCOPE & WORK

Design Thinking TK - 12th Charter School

Nicknox led the way in raising awareness of key initiatives including featured involvement in San Diego's 2021 Design Week and the designation of UDA CEO Shawn Loescher as one of 16 worldwide TEDEd Innovative Educator Awardees. Nicknox was a key partner with organizational leaders, guiding brand clarification, marketing strategy, donor messaging and crisis communications prior to and throughout the pandemic.

Enrollment Recruiting

Urban Discovery's marketing encompassed multiple annual enrollment campaigns. Nicknox guided overall campaign planning, media buying, message strategy and copywriting. Multi-channel digital campaigns with regional partnerships included ABC 10, Fox 5, San Diego Family Magazine and KPBS. Reach was expanded through segmented direct mail and Public Relations initiatives created to showcase the educational differentiation of free public charter as an option as well as the unique aspects of Urban Discovery's design thinking model and innovative approach.

Pandemic Communications Strategy

Communications within the education space has always been a mission critical element of brand and operational outcomes. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, thoughtful, intentional communications became not only vital, but a lifeline for administration, educators and students and their families. Urban Discovery was a bright light during this time - not only accomplishing a nearly seamless virtual pivot, but emerging as a bright light and model for educators, students and families.

Direct Marketing

As a free public TK - 12th grade charter school ideally situated within San Diego's downtown I.D.E.A. District, Urban Discover Schools has many unique benefits to offer families. Targeted digital and print direct marketing campaigns increased awareness of this unique educational model, based in design-thinking and leadership development. Each campaign responsively accommodated current enrollment trends, targeting student families within grades that had capacity to welcome new students.

Web Content Strategy

Urban Discovery faced some unique challenges when it came to developing a brand-centric digital presence with the needed content strategy to engage and retain visitors. Nicknox partnered with the executive team to present clearly articulated content architecture that effectively increased traffic and overall digital engagement. With long-time partner Cooper Interactive, Urban Discovery re-imagined a media-rich presence that connected web and social platforms with a compelling and unified message strategy.

Brand Framework

A foundational element for Urban Discovery's executive leadership team was an accurate, well-articulated vision framework. Leaning in to clarify the unique vision, mission, core values and approach served to illuminate the many brand differentiators that this educational option brought to downtown San Diego. On a cultural level, this equipped Urban Discovery's team to set expectations and increase buy-in for educators and families alike.

Competitive Advantage

Illuminating educational choice in today's culture of high-stress, time-pressed and resource-constrained families is no easy thing. Finding creative solutions that articulate the many advantages of Urban Discovery helped this inclusive, design-thinking, project-based educational option emerge as a beacon in tumultuous times. Developing an at-a-glance point of brand differentiation was just one of many ways we partnered to articulate brand voice in clear and compelling ways.

FUNDRAISING & DONOR DEVELOPMENT

As a free TK-12 public charger, Urban Discovery Schools maintained a nonprofit arm called The UDA Foundation. The mission of the foundation was to develop fundraising channels able to support some of the unique areas of investment that help UDS fulfill it's innovative design-thinking mission. The scope of these efforts encompassed individual fundraising campaigns for specific needs, an annual Gala and major donor campaigns.