At the core of all School communication, whether it be the website, interaction with pupils and staff, the prospectus, recruitment advertising, uniform and any other outward vestige of school life is the School brand.

Branding isn't just a "nice logo" and corporate colours with a tickle round the edges every once in a while, it is much more about delivering a promise that has true meaning to the school and all of its constituents. A great brand in education will:

• Guarantee standards
• Create differentiation
• Build an emotional bond with stakeholders and
• Afford protection from competition

The more complicated the world gets, the more comforting the familiar will seem and the better it will get for well managed brands. Our branding team are passionate about creating brands for our clients; from conception to implementation across the brand communications mix. The components of the brand creation process are:

Stakeholder research

To deliver the brand promise the school needs to have a real understanding of; the needs and desires of those that count, the existing attitudes, beliefs and aspirations that are held about the school and how the school relates to it's wider context. We use targeted qualitative and quantitative research to get valuable insight into the views of all relevant stakeholders; parents of pupils (both prospective and existing), pupils themselves, staff and governors.

Creating a value proposition

With great information the process of creating a value proposition can start. Thorough analysis of the research findings will clearly define; the attributes of the school, and how they deliver benefit to the stakeholders, the strengths to be built upon and the weaknesses to be addressed and the advantages that can be exploited in a competitive situation. These will be shaped into a value proposition that in essence will encapsulate the key messages of the school brand.

Designing a visual identity

Bringing that school brand essence to life visually is the next part of the process; from determining the colour palette, typography, photography style, tone of voice and logo designs and their application across all school marketing materials from website to prospectus to letterhead and so on. We guide the school through the process from initial design to concept development to final design and artwork. Where necessary we will undertake any specific production.

Effective and dynamic brand management

Managing the school’s brand is an ongoing process that needs dedicated resource and clearly allocated responsibility. We will help by providing you with a brand handbook that sets out the steps to follow in a simple and clear fashion. We also recommend that research (either dedicated to branding or as part of the general school research programme) be used to measure adherence to the brand promise and monitor any changes in the needs of customers at regular intervals. We offer research solutions through our sister company, Research 4 Schools Limited.