Behind our new marketing campaign

With the development of our most recent marketing campaign, there is more than meets the eye.

Chances are, you’ve spotted our billboards around Tāmaki Makaurau, and for good reason. The girls on our billboards exude confidence and happiness amongst other St Cuthbert’s values, but it’s the unique and often unexpected journey behind each image that makes these billboards and other marketing images truly stand out from the rest.

Capturing the College message in a single shot takes hours, days and weeks of preparation and work. So, after revising the weather forecast and planning accordingly, one sunny Saturday morning, the communications team and our very talented photographer, Paul Ross Jones got to work, with the help of some simply amazing students.

Telling the tales

When planning the campaign, the first hurdle we come across is short-listing the stories to tell. Week in, week out our girls achieve amazing things, inside the classroom and outside, and deciding which ones to spotlight in the campaign was an impossible task!

From special groups of friends to unexpected hobbies and outstanding achievements, each of the photos in this campaign tell a special story, and to make those stories supersized for all to see, was a delight.

Tricks of the trade

Getting the perfect shot is no mean feat, but thankfully, our team of creatives had some clever tricks up their sleeves. If you’ve ever wondered how photographers achieve in motion shots of runners, we’ll let you into a little secret. All you need is a golf cart, our trusty property team and a tennis ball on a string for the girls to chase! The result – an in motion shot that perfectly captures the energy and excitement of our girls when they’re out on the playing fields.

Balancing act

One of our new images had a focus on balance, but not just in the physical sense. In the image on the billboard, one of our students is certainly displaying physical balance in the most impressive way. Whilst the focus is on this student, it’s the help that she is receiving from her peers that makes this shoot so special. The image portrays one student helping another, and this notion continues behind the scenes, too. The incredible balance that the student is holding, is only made possible by the help she receives from those around her, be it from family, friends, teachers or peers.

Friends for life

One of the most wonderful things about the new photoshoot is the special bond that we see form before our eyes. Girls who may not ordinarily spend much time together, quickly become close friends, laughing and joking with one another whilst on set. These authentic relationships are visible in the images that we captured, and what a joy they are to see! With no shortage of fun on the day, girls shared a sushi lunch, blew bubbles and played games together to fill the time between shoots. Deep into the afternoon when energy levels would ordinarily decrease, the girls brought some noise and kept the whole crew entertained with a selection of chants and songs. At the end of the day, we even heard the girls asking for a last-minute Saturday sleepover with their new friends. How lovely to see these friendships bloom before our eyes, captured forever and displayed as part of our exciting new marketing campaign. You’ll spot the new images on the front cover and throughout this magazine, with billboards popping up from January.