“This campaign isn't just a win for CTE--it is a win for students, educators, our community, our partners--who will now see CTE in a whole new light.”
As Oregon’s largest school district, Portland Public Schools (PPS) is committed to preparing students for life beyond high school through dynamic, hands-on learning pathways. With Career & Technical Education (CTE) playing a critical role in that mission, PPS partnered with Rhodes Branding to challenge outdated perceptions through a compelling campaign: Have You CTE?
Storyline
In 2024, Portland Public Schools embarked on a mission to shift the narrative around Career & Technical Education. While CTE programs across PPS were thriving—with strong graduation rates and a range of real-world learning experiences—they often remained underrecognized, particularly among historically underserved student groups. In fact, 35% of the district’s CTE Student Advisory Council – comprised of students actively enrolled in a CTE program or class – reported being unaware of all the CTE opportunities available to them, and 24% said they needed more information about CTE when making class selections.
PPS partnered with Rhodes Branding to build a campaign that not only showcased the value of CTE, but reintroduced it to the community with energy, authenticity, and clarity. The result was Have You CTE?—a bold and integrated marketing campaign that officially launched during CTE Month in February 2025.
Grounded in a shared vision of access, opportunity, and relevance, the campaign development began with strategy and collaboration in Fall 2024. The Rhodes team spent six days in Portland filming in classrooms and interviewing students, teachers, alumni, and industry partners. The full production included a flagship video, four testimonial videos, multiple short-form video cutdowns, and over 120 professional photos.
Following production, our team built a comprehensive campaign across traditional and digital collateral, including mailers sent during spring registration, one-pagers for school counselors to support informed conversations with students, pathway-specific posters for each school, and branded information packets to facilitate partnership conversations with industry leaders. Collaborating with the PPS Communications Team, the integrated campaign launched district-wide in February 2025 to celebrate CTE Month. The campaign appeared across digital platforms, school communications, and community events, generating buzz and reinforcing PPS’s commitment to hands-on, future-ready learning.
