How Windsor Forest Colleges Group made 1.9 million impressions on local families with Sky AdSmart and billboards
“It was fantastic collaborating with Lamplight Media on the creation of a combined TV and OOH campaign for Windsor Forest Colleges Group. They approached the brief and budget with the agility required for the education sector and delivered creative that achieved real commercial results for our client. We would highly recommend their services to any media buyer looking for high gloss creative ideation and production at sensible budgets in the South East and London.”
Richard Rowley, Owner, Apple Orchard Media
A TV advert made with the college's own students, carried onto stations, bus shelters and buses.
Windsor Forest Colleges Group runs Slough & Langley College, Strode's College in Egham, Berkshire College of Agriculture (BCA) and Windsor College. In summer 2025 it wanted to reach local families with 15 to 17 year olds as they decided what to do after their GCSEs.
We designed the campaign creative & made the TV advert, working with the group's students to assist both cast and crew. It ran on Sky AdSmart from 7 August to 4 September 2025; alongside matching slogans on posters at stations, bus shelters, and adverts on local buses. In total, about 1.945 million impressions and 497,345 reach across tv and out of home.
The campaign at a glance:
Client: Windsor Forest Colleges Group (Slough & Langley College, Strode's College, BCA, and Windsor College)
Audience: families with 15 to 17 year olds in Berkshire, Slough, Windsor, Egham and Staines
Channels: Targeted TV (Sky AdSmart), rail, roadside, and bus shelter posters (JC Decaux), bus rears and streetliners (First Berkshire)
Our part: designing the campaign creative, with the same slogans used on billboards and in the TV advert
Media planning and buying: Apple Orchard Media
Results: 25,427 households reached and 1.945 million impressions.
Why Sky AdSmart and outdoor work well together
Sky AdSmart shows your advert only to the households you choose, by area and type of household. That means a college with a local catchment can buy TV without paying to reach the whole country.
For this campaign, 75,000 impressions were bought, aimed at families with 15 to 17 year olds in Berkshire, Slough, Windsor, Egham and Staines. Sky's report showed strong viewing from Thursday through the weekend, which it read as families watching together.
Outdoor reached the same people away from the sofa: at the stations on their way to college, at bus shelters near schools and on the buses around Slough. Our pages on TV advertising and billboard advertising explain how each channel works.
The secret sauce of this campaign was the tv advert and posters sharing the same imagery and branding to get the most cover and frequency out of the campaign creative.
How we made the TV advert
We produced the TV commercial and worked with WFCG students to make it. They crewed the camera department, props, lighting, and assistant director team. The cast came from the college drama department.
In its campaign report, Apple Orchard Media said bringing us in was “a great success in terms of delivering the TV commercial and working with the students”.
All adverts on UK TV have to be cleared by Clearcast before they air. We are approved Clearcast account holders and understand the intricacies of the clearance process.
Thinking about your first TV advert? Our buyer's guide to corporate video and photo covers what changes the cost of a shoot and what can go wrong.
Where the posters and bus adverts ran
The outdoor campaign ran in August and September 2025 across rail, roadside and buses, all in the same look as the tv advert. JC Decaux delivered the rail & road sites, and First Beeline ran the busses.
The sites:
48-sheet posters at Egham, Staines, Maidenhead and Langley stations, with smaller posters on the platforms
A roadside 48-sheet on Ledgers Road in Slough
Four bus shelter posters near Windsor Boys' School and Windsor Girls' School
20 bus rears and 10 streetliners on First Berkshire buses around Slough
The artwork spoke in a student's voice: “I'm ready to shape my future. Are you?” “I want an environment that actually inspires me” Every version pointed to the custom domain choose.college.
What did the campaign deliver?
In total, about 1.945 million impressions and 497,345 reach across tv and out of home.
Sky AdSmart results, 7 August to 4 September 2025:
71,452 impressions delivered, 95.3% of the 75,000 bought
25,427 households reached, 88.4% of the target audience
2.8 views per household on average
31% of impressions played between midday and 5.25pm, and the best day was Wednesday 27 August
54% of impressions ran in entertainment and 22% in sport programmes
Outdoor results, measured by Route:
Rail and roadside posters: 189,938 people reached, each about 3.3 times
Bus rears: 187,170 people reached, 64% of the 291,345 people in the area, about 4.9 times each
Streetliners: 94,810 people reached, 48% of the same area
Route is the industry's audience measurement for out of home advertising in Great Britain. An impact is one person seeing one advert once. We use Route to provide impact figures when designing media buying strategies.
What other advertisers can take from this campaign
Four things worth copying:
Target TV by household. Sky AdSmart let a regional college group buy TV that only played in the homes it cared about.
Use one look everywhere. The same imagery on TV, posters and buses meant each one reminded people of the others.
Go where your audience travels. Stations on their line, shelters near schools and buses on local routes.
Check the sites. Two inspections caught the problems and got them credited.
Planning TV or outdoor advertising for your college, school or local business? Book a free call and we'll talk you through what's possible on your budget. For another campaign we made the ads for, see how Kew Gardens beat their conversion targets by 98%.
FAQs about Sky AdSmart and outdoor advertising
What is Sky AdSmart?
Sky AdSmart is Sky's targeted TV advertising. Your advert plays only to the households that match the audience you choose, such as an area or a type of household, so you don't pay to reach the whole country.
Can a college advertise on TV?
Yes. With Sky AdSmart, a college can target families in its own catchment. Windsor Forest Colleges Group bought 75,000 impressions aimed at families with 15 to 17 year olds in five local areas.
Does a TV advert need Clearcast approval?
Yes, for all UK TV channels. Clearcast checks adverts against the advertising rules before they air. This campaign used Clearcast's express service, which helped keep everything on time.
What did Lamplight Media do on this campaign?
We designed the campaign creative and made the TV advert, working with the college group's students to produce the assets. Apple Orchard Media planned and bought the TV and outdoor media.
What is an impression, impact, and reach in outdoor advertising?
An impression is one view of the advert. An impact is one person seeing one advert once. Reach is the number of individual people seeing the advert. We use Route to provide impact figures when designing media buying strategies.
