St. Laurence High School
Challenge
St. Laurence, a storied Catholic high school on Chicago’s south side that happens to be John Geletka’s alma mater, had undergone some of the most transformative changes in its history. A new STEM curriculum, a proprietary leadership program, a shift from all-boys to co-ed and the hiring of a progressive faculty and top-tier coaches marked a clear new direction.
But the brand didn’t reflect the momentum. They needed a fresh identity, modern messaging and a marketing strategy that matched the energy of this new chapter.
Solution
It’s a new day at St. Laurence, but tradition still matters. Instead of replacing the school’s visual heritage, Geletka+ unified it. We brought together the St. Laurence monogram, the Viking mascot, and the academic seal under a single new emblem: the shield.
Rooted in the school’s Viking identity, the shield symbolizes both pride and protection, echoing the iconic line from the school fight song, Defend the Glory. This work gave St. Laurence a unified identity that honors its past while pushing confidently into the future.
Alongside the new brand, we developed messaging that speaks directly to today’s students and families, and built a paid media strategy tailored to enrollment cycles, decision timelines and geographic hotspots for enrollment. The result is a brand that lives in tradition, but looks ahead.
"Geletka+ helped us capture the spirit of St. Laurence in a way that honors our tradition while pushing us into the future. Their work has helped us reach more families and build real momentum for what comes next."
Joe Martinez Ed.D, President and CEO
Approach
St. Laurence was evolving in every way, and the brand needed to keep up. We worked with school leadership, faculty, students, and alumni to understand what made the community proud, and what it needed to move forward. From brand identity to messaging to a hyper-targeted paid media program, we helped build a system that honored tradition while fueling future growth.
Research and Discovery
Led primary research efforts including stakeholder interviews, student focus groups and competitive review
Brand Strategy
Facilitated collaborative brand workshops to align internal and external perspectives, to ensure the new brand platform honored tradition while embracing innovation
Identity Design
Designed a flexible identity system centered around the new shield mark
Messaging Development
Created a messaging strategy and storytelling tools to support admissions and marketing
Media Planning and Execution
Built a geo-targeted paid media program focused on high-intent zip codes and time-sensitive messaging windows
Ongoing Optimization
Refined creative and targeting based on platform analytics and enrollment timelines. Deployed campaigns across Google and Meta, with weekly analytics reviews to optimize performance
Impact
- Incoming enrollment reached its highest level in over 20 years
- Attracted a more diverse and dynamic student body across the south side and surrounding suburbs
- Strengthened school pride and internal alignment across faculty, staff, and students
- Built and launched a paid media program that adapts to enrollment cycles and drives ongoing awareness
- Messaging and media strategy tailored to neighborhoods, key decision timelines, and platform performance
- Expanded partnership from brand transformation into long-term enrollment marketing support
Credits
Iryna Tarnavska + Katie Sullivan + Doug Leinen + Jon Scarpelli + John Geletka + Jeremy Johnson + Caroline Swain + Austin Bond