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Filling lesson rosters by learning what actually made the phone ring.
A music school in Elkhart needed steady enrollment for kids, teens and adults. Radio, a station contest and Facebook call ads brought in inquiries, and an honest look at a slow summer showed exactly which formula to go back to.
- 192Calls from Facebook call ads, fall 2025
- 205Website inquiry forms in 2025
- 20Opt-ins from the station contest
- 01Problem
- 02Insight
- 03Idea
- 04Connected campaign
- 05Result
01 · The problem
The client
Elkhart School of Music: private lessons for kids, teens and adults in Elkhart, Indiana.
The problem
Enrollment came in waves, and students who stopped usually left within their first several months: summer break, sports schedules, "taking a break." The school needed a steady flow of new students and a reason for families to stay.
The goal
Keep lesson rosters full year-round, and know which marketing actually fills them.
02 · The insight
Parents don't shop for music lessons the way they shop for a product. They respond to a real student with a real instrument, a benefit they care about, and a reason to call now.
03 · The idea
Radio keeps the school’s name in front of Elkhart-area parents. A station contest turns listeners into a list. And the Facebook ads are built to make the phone ring, not to collect clicks.
04 · The connected campaign
Every piece hands off to the next.
- Amplify
Radio builds the name
Schedules on Federated Media stations keep the school in front of parents in Elkhart and the surrounding towns.
95.3 MNC · Froggy
- Nurture
A contest builds the list
A station scholarship contest asked entrants for permission to follow up and when they hoped to start lessons.
Station contest · opt-in · timing question
- Convert
Ads built to make the phone ring
Facebook ads set up to drive calls: a real student photo, a grades-and-focus benefit, and an enroll-by-date savings offer, plus an instant form for people who would rather not call.
Meta call ads · instant forms
- Be Found
The website catches the rest
A request-info form on the school’s site picks up the parents who look the school up before they reach out.
Request-info form
- Delight
Recitals keep families close
Holiday and summer concerts give students a stage and families a reason to stay enrolled.
Recitals · concert events
- Learn
A slow summer, explained
When summer inquiries dropped, the audit found why: one campaign was optimizing for page views, and the new creative had lost the student photo, the benefit and the deadline. The fall plan goes back to the formula that worked, with a weekly report.
Ad audit · weekly reporting
05 · The result
This is what "it worked" looks like.
- 192Calls from Facebook call ads, Oct 15 – Dec 30, 2025 (Meta-reported)
- 150Of those calls, from the single best ad: real student, grades benefit, enroll-by offer
- 34Instant-form leads in October 2025
- 205Website inquiry forms, Jan 18 – Nov 14, 2025
- 20Contest opt-ins, half hoping to start within 30 days or that fall
The lesson was the formula, not the channel. A real student, a benefit parents care about and a reason to call now beat a prettier graphic with no offer. Writing that down is what makes next fall better than last.
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