Rayito de Sol
Shown here are just a few snapshots from a blank slate re-brand and, more critically, brand advocacy campaign for a national chain of Spanish Immersion Pre-K schools called Rayito De Sol.
Marketing language immersion to the parents of pre-K students often emphasizes the benefits of cultural exposure during a child’s formative years. It tends to allay the fears of parents that learning in a second language might delay their child’s native speaking abilities (it does initially but pays off later.)
In Rayito’s case, however, they were directly competing with larger and better financed chains that had a head start conveying this message. What’s more, in markets that were new to immersion learning, parents weren’t buying the cultural pitch. When we began working with Rayito, we quickly kiboshed selling culture and shifted their gears.
Our campaign focused, instead, on learning the Spanish language as a life skill. And a critically important one at that.
Brand advocacy leveraged inexpensive social tactics and short videos on Facebook and Instagram. We told a simple story of how learning Spanish early in life could pay off in the future.
We also had some fun pointing out how the Latino candidate for President at the time, Juan Castro, could not speak Spanish. Through these and other stories, Parents engaged with the mildly provocative work and soon voted with their feet by enrolling their toddlers by the hundreds. The reception to our work, in fact, was strongest in their toughest market, Chicago, where their largest schools were quickly filled with waiting lists.
Rayito’s new modern, bright and cheerful brand translated easily across a variety of online tools and curriculum materials. These included online registration apps and a comprehensive new site that was designed to be adapted across school locations in numerous states — each with their own ethos and educational requirements. All to deliver a “little ray of sunshine” to students and parents, which is the English translation of their name.
