Stay Strong, On-brand and Aspirational
With all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, everyone in the world is searching for stability in their lives … especially parents. By late spring, educational institutions moved past communications with their communities regarding the crisis and began sharing the ways students were receiving remote instruction successfully and safely. With plans to re-open in the fall, how should schools tell their story moving forward?
Lean on your brand.
The strongest consumer brands have a promise the organization can rely on. Even in the most challenging times, that promise delivers value to the market and increases customer loyalty. Independent day and boarding schools as well as colleges and universities can count on their brands, too. Revisit your brand guide and, most importantly, your promise. Communicate how that promise is being fulfilled, and your brand will help you get through this.
Evaluate relevance.
Educational brands are complex—largely due to the vast constituencies they serve. All brands have distinguishing characteristics like tone, voice and personality that help engage specific market segments when communicating value. Consult your institution’s brand messaging platform and avoid appearing to be insensitive by sharing only the messages that are relevant to your market at this time.
At the onset of distance learning, Landon School, an all-boys day school in Bethesda, Maryland, reevaluated its core messages for relevancy. Slight adjustments to messaging can build awareness around program strengths without seeming opportunistic in the market. Landon’s brand remained true to its promise—whether boys were learning on campus or at home—and its messaging reaffirmed the school’s value internally and externally.
Located just outside of Boston, The Meadowbrook School of Weston used its existing brand framework to guide the actions of leadership during the transition to remote learning. For administration, revisiting brand messages instilled confidence in communicating the school’s decisions and initiatives moving forward.
Develop new expressions.
Despite being forced apart physically, people in school communities have undoubtedly come closer together. Create expressions of your brand that capture the creativity and resiliency of your community’s on- and off-campus experiences. Brand expressions reinforce your value and build positive perceptions and consumer confidence.
Students at The Academy of the Holy Cross, an all-girls Catholic school near Washington D.C., are empowered. Inviting girls of every kind to join the momentum and add their unique talents to this community remains the brand-building message for prospects—regardless of where students are learning.
Saddle River Day School brought “today” to life for thousands of New York City area families through their social media campaign. The school had to be creative in delivering on its promise to families, but SRDS conveyed its value by showing the market that “today” is still important when it comes to their children’s education.
Chase the aspirational.
Positioning your school for who it’s striving to become, not just who it is today, is fundamental to educational branding. Creosote believes education is and always should be evolving in order to deliver what’s required for future students’ success.
The solutions we develop are inextricably guided by strategic plans, fundraising initiatives and the vision of school leaders, but the impact of COVID-19 and recent Black Lives Matter protests call to mind the immense importance of education. Schools must aspire to fill an even greater—and much needed—role in society. Brands too are dynamic. Use yours to chase what will make the greatest difference in your community.
We’ve all proven our ability to adapt, pivot and reinvigorate during this unprecedented time, but how you tell your story in the coming months will undermine your brand or galvanize it.
Your brand’s greatest asset is its people and now is the time to lean in—into the brand your people have helped to build.
Written by Emily Hajjar, Creative Director and Brand Strategist at Creosote Affects
Creosote Affects helps schools, colleges and universities nationwide find their brand voice in highly competitive markets. We are a comprehensive branding firm—executing research, strategy and creative.