We have had the great pleasure of working with many heads, marketing teams and governors to help bring about visions of change by refreshing the school’s branding.
The reasons for doing so are varied but there are undoubtedly common themes.
Many of the following scenarios go undiagnosed as a need for branding work, which can cause lack of direction, frustration and wasted time and resource.
These are some of the reasons a school needs a rebrand:
The head has a vision
New leadership brings a new vision and fresh ideas so it’s right that the school’s brand should reflect this. Often there will be a significant shift in positioning or purpose for the school, but it’s also perfectly valid to rejuvenate the brand to signify a new chapter. A new brand helps the head to clarify their vision and drive their agenda forwards.
You’ve moved on
There comes a point where you realise that your brand does not reflect the school you are today. This may be because a head didn’t update the brand in the early years of their tenure, or because the constant flex and progress over a number of years mean it’s time your brand was brought up to speed.
The world has changed
Sometimes it’s a response to the changing landscape in which the school operates that drives change. Different audiences, political, social and economic factors can all play a role. In the current climate every school should be awake to the changing priorities of current and potential families and what it means for their school.
You need a new website
As the most critical communication tool for schools, the website rightly gets much scrutiny. When the decision is made to commit to a new one lots of questions start getting asked:
What makes our school different? How do we refresh the look and feel and keep a cohesive brand image? What’s the most important message we want to send to prospective families? – What often becomes apparent is that before you invest in a website you need to clearly define your brand.
You’ve got a problem
Occasionally schools identify a specific problem that the brand needs to answer. A falling roll, changing demographic, outdated perceptions of the school, a change in the competitive landscape, etc. Branding is a powerful tool to strategically position the school to overcome key challenges.
You look dated
It’s a classic but still a valid reason for an overhaul. And if your brand looks like it was conceived in a time when Netscape was the number one browser and TikTok was what your watch did, then it’s likely the school has changed greatly in that time too. Much more than just a beatification of your image is needed.
It’s often a combination of these factors that leads schools to rejuvenate their branding, but sadly many overlook the impact it can have, and that it is key to solving challenges that enable a school to move forward.
