Summer Reading Program
Boosting reading outcomes by removing enrollment barriers.
The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) launched its Summer Reading program to strong demand, but as staff navigated numerous spreadsheets, they struggled to keep up with the growing demand. The solution was to build a platform that made it easy for families to sign up and for PED to scale.
Client
State of New Mexico
Timeline
April 2024 – August 2025
SCOPE
Registration Platform & Statewide Awareness Campaign
Result
89% Increase in Student Registrations Year Over Year
17K+ registrations in 2025 (up from 9K), all managed through the new platform.
10MM+ impressions, 2.9MM video views, 21K clicks
PED gained real-time dashboards and reporting, replacing manual spreadsheets
Ready to build what's next?
The Situation
In 2024, PED launched Summer Reading with a goal of 6,000 students. A flood of sign-ups came in quickly, with many families signing up multiple children. Meanwhile, PED rushed to hire instructors and process background checks to try to keep pace. Staff managed everything by hand, juggling spreadsheets and duplicate entries. By the end of summer, over 9,000 students had enrolled, proving demand but exposing fragile infrastructure.
Once the program went live, the scale of the challenge quickly became clear. Families were registering in large numbers, often with multiple children. PED had to bring on instructors, many of whom were not licensed educators, and run background checks before they could be placed. Students were being assigned to sites across the state, and each new wave of registrations added to the strain. What began as a promotional push and a simple website rapidly grew into a logistical challenge of statewide proportions.
Behind the scenes, staff were doing everything by hand. Spreadsheets were stretched to the limit as names were moved around, students matched to instructors one at a time, and lists from individual schools were merged manually. Families registering multiple children had to re-enter the same information multiple times. With no centralized system, every task took longer, and the pressure mounted as interest in the program grew.
By the end of that first summer, PED had exceeded expectations, enrolling more than 9,000 students against its 6,000 goal. On paper, it was a success. But underneath the numbers, the fragility of the system was impossible to ignore. The program’s popularity had outpaced its infrastructure. If it was going to continue, let alone expand, it needed something beyond marketing. It needed technology strong enough to match its ambition.
The Solution
A custom bilingual platform supported by a statewide creative campaign. The tech streamlined everything from fast family sign-ups to school roster uploads and real-time tracking, while targeted messaging drove a surge in interest.
The Strategy
Our approach spanned two phases, across two summers:
2024
Launch a bilingual website and statewide campaign to drive awareness and sign-ups quickly. Ads ran across TikTok, YouTube, CTV, display, and OOH. The push worked but revealed data gaps and manual bottlenecks.
2025
Build for scale. A custom registration platform allowed multi-student profiles, pre-filled fields, automated notifications, and real-time dashboards. Schools could import rosters directly, and parents could download I-Station reading reports. Marketing spend shifted dynamically to under-enrolled sites, with refreshed creative to maintain momentum.
The resulting campaign was a comprehensive solution that combined marketing and technology into a single, cohesive effort.
Real-time data enabled PED to lead with confidence.
Staff had instant access to the data they needed, all without spreadsheets or manual tracking. That meant they had greater oversight of site-level rosters, student counts, and progress reports, helping them respond quickly and grow the program with control.
An intuitive platform that families could trust from the first click.
Right out the gates, parents didn’t have to chase down details or navigate clunky forms. The system guided them clearly from sign-up to site assignment, while building trust and making participation easy.
What We Delivered
Custom Tech Platform
A bilingual, mobile-friendly registration system designed for families and schools.
Seamless Family Experience
Multi-student profiles, pre-filled fields, simple sign-up flow, mobile-first design.
Operational Efficiency for PED
Real-time dashboards, site-level management tools, automated notifications, and direct school roster imports.
Integrated Reporting
Easy access to custom reports, student demographics, and I-Station data.
Marketing Reach
A statewide, bilingual campaign across TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, CTV, audio, display, and OOH.
Creative Strategy
Video-first, refreshed frequently, bilingual, targeted to parents and caregivers.
Real-World Results.
%
Increase in Student Registrations Year over Year
Students Registered for the Summer Reading Program
Clicks to Register for the Summer Reading Program
The campaign delivered measurable growth and momentum across every channel. In 2025, more than 17,000 students registered, nearly doubling the prior year’s total of 9,000 and signaling strong demand and effective outreach.
Digital reach scaled significantly, generating over 10 million impressions across platforms and ensuring statewide visibility. Engagement was equally strong, with 2.9 million video views and more than 21,000 clicks, demonstrating that audiences were not just seeing the message, but acting on it.
Channel performance highlighted the strength of the strategy. TikTok emerged as the top traffic driver, delivering a 0.62% click-through rate, while Pinterest exceeded benchmarks with a 0.43% CTR and an efficient cost per click, confirming the impact of platform-aligned creative.
Video formats proved especially effective. Connected TV achieved a 98% completion rate, signaling strong resonance with families and sustained attention. Programmatic display exceeded expectations, delivering 3.4 million impressions against an initial estimate of 2.5 million, further extending campaign reach.
Beyond digital, the campaign built real-world visibility and credibility. Out-of-home placements across libraries, schools, family restaurants, malls, recreation centers, and gyms statewide reinforced awareness in trusted community spaces, supporting sustained recognition and participation.
Why the Campaign Worked
The campaign was a success because every piece was carefully considered and connected. Families saw consistent bilingual messaging, resulting in a frictionless sign-up experience. The platform provided PED with real-time tools to manage enrollment, while adaptive media filled open sites, turning an early-stage pilot into a statewide system that doubled participation.
Year two proved the value of investing in systems built for scale. Intuitive tools made it easy for families to enroll, streamlined workflows helped schools stay organized, and real-time oversight gave PED the visibility to guide the program forward.
Key Insights
- Marketing and tech worked as one
- Scaling simplified the process rather than complicating it
- Real-time data made dollars more effective
- Thoughtful design built family trust
- Year one’s lessons created year two’s blueprint
Since the beginning, Real Time has been focused on caring for people: the people who work with us, our clients, and the end users of the solutions we deliver. People are our universe, and we build solutions that keep that top of mind.