Archdiocese gives Catholic education a big-screen boost

Have local Catholic schools gone Hollywood?

From the United Artists IMAX in King of Prussia to the Regal Richland Crossing 12 in Quakertown to the AMC Franklin Mills 14, audiences are seeing a 30-second commercial spot touting the benefits of a Catholic education.

In all, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is running the short on 264 movie theater screens across the region 12 to 16 minutes before movie previews.

The $120,000 advertising buy is an expansion of the "Keeping Faith in Mind" marketing campaign the archdiocese launched during Catholic Schools Week in January to boost enrollment.

"Dioceses across the country are facing challenges," Donna Farrell, the archdiocese's director of communications, said yesterday. "We are no different," she said, adding that the archdiocese has a plan of action.

She said the archdiocese, which has used banner ads on SEPTA buses as well as print and radio ads, was looking for creative ways to get across its message that Catholic education stresses the values of faith, compassion and hope. She said this was the first time the archdiocese had turned to the movies.

"The research shows that this is where the audience is in the summer," Farrell said, "watching blockbusters."

She said the movie theater buy was in addition to the $500,000 the archdiocese spent to launch the marketing campaign earlier this year.

The commercials began airing in theaters July 6 and will continue through Aug. 30. In addition, the spot is running as a continuous loop on 187 Lobby Entertainment Network flat screens in theater lobbies.

The ads were created by Fleming & Van Metre Advertising in Plymouth Meeting, the firm that created all the ads for the archdiocese's marketing campaign.

Farrell said the 30-second spots only appear on screens showing movies rated G, PG or PG-13.

"That is something we would be very careful about," she said.

Farrell said the campaign was aimed at creating a greater awareness of the benefits of Catholic education over the long term.

"We're not expecting immediate enrollment results," she said.

In the last six years, enrollment at Catholic elementary schools across the archdiocese dropped from 78,921 students to 62,559. High school enrollment declined from 23,249 to 20,749 during the same period.

Farrell said the archdiocese had not made an enrollment forecast for September.

She said movie ads might be tried again at Christmas.

"There is some talk," Farrell said. "We'll have to wait and see what the feedback is on this."

See the ad via http://go.philly.com/faithinmindEndText