Our Work: Manchester Proud

City branding to improve Manchester public schools

CLIENT: Manchester Proud

Manchester schools deserve better, and Manchester (MHT) Proud has made this its mission and top priority. Manchester Proud is a grassroots effort from leaders in the business and non-profit community across Manchester, New Hampshire. The goal is to help develop a strategic plan to enhance educational opportunities for all students across New Hampshire’s largest school district.

What We Did

  • City branding and logo design
  • Graphic design
  • Landing page campaign
  • Public relations and communications

City branding and logo design

Working with their volunteers, we developed a welcoming and friendly brand. We designed brand guidelines, banners, t-shirts, print collateral and other canvassing materials to raise exposure for this important, community-led effort. Manchester Proud’s new logo brings the city’s colloquial abbreviation (and corresponding airport code) MHT into the conversation as one more way to identify with the city.

Graphic design

Cookson was tasked with designing the following materials:
  • T-shirts
  • Stickers
  • Banners
  • Flyers
  • Signage
  • Landing pages
  • Beanies
  • Annual report
  • Brochures
  • Posters

Landing page campaign

We developed an RSVP landing page campaign for members of the community to attend the initiative’s largest event – the unveiling of the strategic plan built by Manchester Proud’s champions by way of the school district. A subdomain was used (RSVP.manchesterproud.org) to collect data on the number of residents that would be attending. The domain was featured on all marketing efforts leading up to the February 20, 2020 meeting date.

One month campaign

400
Visitors
150
Conversions
10 %
Conversion rate

Public relations and communications

Working with the Manchester Proud leadership, we developed a PR strategy that was inclusive and transparent and made every effort to reach all communities across the city. We developed statements and releases as the effort progressed and carefully monitored social media and worked to correct inaccuracies and misconceptions as they came up.

The collective expertise of the Cookson Communications team is exceptional. Right from the start, they demonstrated a deep understanding of our mission and values. Their design team is fresh and intuitive, and their writers are effective, powerful storytellers. They are responsive, professional, and dedicated to helping us make this initiative a success.