179 signed letters of intent. Before the school was even approved.
That is what a real enrollment marketing system produced for Nexus Charter School, a startup charter with no campus and no track record yet. This page shows exactly what was built, and what Element5 Creative can build for your school.
He has sat on both sides of the enrollment desk.
Element5 Creative is led by Daniel Souza, a marketer whose background looks less like an ad agency and more like the world schools actually live in.
Fortune 500 discipline
Daniel ran marketing inside a Fortune 500 bank, an environment where every dollar is measured and every campaign answers to a board. Your budget gets that same rigor.
Educator, not just vendor
As an adjunct professor of communications at BYU, Daniel speaks the language of education from the inside. He explains everything in plain English, no jargon.
Admissions experience
Daniel worked as a higher ed admissions counselor. He knows what actually moves a family from curious to committed, because convincing families was his job.
Building an enrollment engine for a school that didn't exist yet.
Founder David Sabey needed families to commit with signed letters of intent while Nexus was still in its approval process. No building to tour, no test scores to point to. Here is the system Element5 built, in the order it happened.
A 14-page website, built from scratch
The school's digital front door: mission, academics, enrollment steps, and answers to the questions parents actually ask. Designed, written, and built by Element5, now live for families to explore.
Enrollment ad campaigns on Facebook
Ad concepts, copy variations, and both static and video ads, all pointed at one goal: signed letters of intent for the enrollment drive.
A complete parent communication platform
One system that keeps every interested family warm without adding work for school staff:
- Engagement scoring that shows which families open, click, and show real interest, versus casual signups
- Automated email and text message workflows
- A social media planner that keeps posting consistent
- Event promotion workflows for open houses and family nights
Enrollment tracking a board can read
Smart lists sort every applicant by grade level, by where they came from (Facebook, postcards, or other sources), and by how engaged they are. Leadership always knows exactly where enrollment stands.
179 signed letters of intent tracked, including 58 from the target 4th and 7th grade cohortsA video campaign built on one honest question
"What's not working in schools today?" Families answer on camera. The school gets market intelligence about what parents want, and a library of authentic testimonial content no ad agency could script.
A phase 2 plan that respects the budget
Right now, the strategy nurtures high-intent families into evangelists who bring their neighbors. Paid advertising is deliberately held in reserve for the post-approval launch, when it will matter most. No dollars spent before their moment.
A look at the finished work
Not mockups. These are real pieces from the Nexus campaign, live and in front of families right now.
You are the voice. Element5 is the engine.
Families want to hear from the leader of the school, not from an agency. So the roles are clear from day one.
The Voice
The school leader stays the face and voice families connect with.
- Speaks for the school's mission
- Records short videos and messages
- Knows the families and the community
The Engine
Everything after the record button gets pressed is handled.
- Editing and producing the content
- Distribution across email, text, and social
- Event promotion and social media
- Automation running behind the scenes
At Nexus, David records and Daniel does the rest. School leaders stay focused on running a school, not on learning marketing software.
Daniel has been amazing to work with. I love that he will just take my ideas and run with them, that I don't have to end up doing all the work. He's been a real partner for us.David SabeyFounder, Nexus Charter School
Every piece of the enrollment puzzle, under one roof.
Start with one service or bring Element5 in as your full marketing department. Everything is built to work together.
Enrollment Marketing
Facebook and Instagram ads, landing pages, and lead capture that turn community interest into applications and signed letters of intent.
Parent Communication Systems
Automated email and text sequences, event reminders, and follow-up that make sure no interested family ever falls through the cracks.
Website Design & SEO
A professional site that shows up when local families search, answers their questions, and makes the next step obvious.
AI-Powered Video Content
Promotional videos, testimonial campaigns, and social clips produced quickly and affordably, without a film crew budget.
CRM & Automation
One platform, set up and managed for you, that tracks every family from first click to first day of school.
Social Media Management
A content calendar, consistent posting, and engagement handled, so your school's story stays in front of the community.
Direct Mail Marketing
Postcards that put your school in the mailboxes of the neighborhoods you serve, with QR codes that connect print directly to your enrollment pipeline.
Brand Identity
One cohesive look across your website, ads, print materials, and campus, so families recognize your school everywhere they see it.
Teaching videos with no one on camera.
For rinnalla, a literacy app that helps parents guide their children's first steps in reading, Element5 develops complete lesson videos where every person on screen is AI-generated.
- A warm, realistic parent and child model each lesson, so families see exactly how to do it at home before they try
- Children's privacy stays fully protected: no real students, no faces to blur, no photo release forms
- English and Spanish versions produced from the same master, so every family gets the lesson in their language
- No film crews, no casting, no reshoots. New videos are scripted, produced, and delivered in days
For a school, this same approach turns lessons, announcements, and classroom stories into polished video, with student privacy intact from the start.
"I would love to just have you perpetually building videos for us."
Marci HousemanFounder & CEO of the rinnalla literacy app, and a 22-year veteran high school principalSample lesson: "Draw & Tell"
A 46-second AI-generated parent modeling video, with English subtitles
A partner, not a vendor.
Daniel Souza founded Element5 Creative in Tooele, Utah, after a career that ran through Fortune 500 bank marketing, university teaching, and higher ed admissions.
He works with a small number of clients at a time and does the work himself, combining modern AI tools with old-fashioned accountability. When you call, you get Daniel. When something needs fixing, Daniel fixes it.
For charter schools, that means a single trusted partner who understands enrollment deadlines, board reporting, and tight budgets, and who measures success the same way you do: seats filled and families engaged.
Let's talk about your enrollment goals.
A free 15-minute strategy call. No pitch deck, no pressure. Bring your enrollment numbers and your questions, and leave with at least one idea you can use whether we work together or not.
Schedule a Free Strategy Call