Local marketing company Click Rain Inc. gave their summer interns a special assignment: work with the SF School District to help resolve one of their biggest challenges - getting kids to school. The result is a marketing campaign launching this month.
For the Sioux Falls School District, chronic absenteeism continues to be a key issue they are working diligently to resolve. “Chronic absenteeism comes with a cost both now and in the future. When a student doesn’t come to school, they miss out on not only academic content but also on learning how to build a routine and to be resilient. Once students fall behind, it is that much harder to catch up,” says Dr. James, Nold, Assistant Superintendent.
The District has taken many steps to address school attendance issues, including adding attendance liaison positions at six schools in 2023. Earlier this spring, the District felt the need to bolster these efforts by adding marketing support, and reached out to local digital marketing agency Click Rain for help.
“When the School District called, we were excited about the opportunity to help with such an important project. At the same time, we were planning for our company’s summer internship programs, and felt this would be a great chance to tap into the young minds and great talents of our interns,” said James Krueger, Click Rain Inc. Partner.
Over the course of the summer, four interns from both Click Rain and Lemonly met with representatives from the Sioux Falls School District to understand the assignment and make marketing recommendations. The result of their work together is a multimedia campaign with the message “Show Up” that launched on August 22.
Casey Heitkamp, Associate Director of Creative at Click Rain, worked with the intern team to develop the concept. “With this campaign, we are asking Sioux Falls to show up - to help remove the barriers that keep kids from getting to school, and make a difference for the students who may not have the means or control over their situation,” Heitkamp said.
Joey Gellerman, summer intern at Click Rain and student at The University of South Dakota enjoyed working on the project. “Working on this campaign was an incredibly rewarding experience. Growing up and going to school in Sioux Falls my whole life, it was eye-opening to dive into the research and find out just how big of a problem this has been. This project taught me how impactful marketing can be for the community when it’s driven by purpose and data,” he said.
“Since I am not from Sioux Falls, kicking off my internship with this project has helped me learn about and feel connected to the community. The fact that we have the opportunity to make such a big difference this early on in our professional careers is not only remarkable, but incredibly inspiring, added Deirdre Nuebel, Lemonly Intern and graduate of The University of Cincinnati.
All of the company’s time on the project was donated. “We are very dedicated to making a difference in this community, and when we can donate our time and talent to make a difference, it is very gratifying. It makes the marketing work we do even more meaningful,” said Krueger.