what do you want your brand to be?
One of the questions we are often asked, is what is the difference between, Brand and Marketing? Closely followed by why as educationalists you need to bother with either.
In a nutshell, every school, every Academy, every business, in fact you could say every individual, already has a brand whether they know it or not because in short, your brand is no more or less than your reputation.
Jeff Bezoz, founder, chairman and CEO of Amazon, hit the nail on the head when he said,
“Brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room!”
From a school/academy perspective it is the way you are viewed within your local community, the way that current and potential students and parents, ‘feel’ about you and how you measure up to the exacting demands of our educational system i.e. Ofsted
A key question for all Academy Principals, Head Teachers and leaders is what do you want your local students, parents and community to know and feel about you?
“Brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room!”
Jeff Bezoz, founder, chairman and CEO of Amazon
What do you want your brand to be?
If you can be clear about that, then building your brand becomes about creating and sending intentional messages and signals to attract people and build a positive reputation.
Jeff Bezoz would say that,
“You earn your reputation by trying to do hard things well!”
If you already have an established brand then you already have a head start but developing the right language and communication for your specific community and demographic is important and key to building a strong a strong and positive school/academy brand reputation.
Hand in hand with brand goes marketing
Marketing is a function of your school/academy brand; it uses your key messages to convey and promote all you stand for. Good marketing uses the right messaging at the right time and speaks to the right people. Good marketing can produce great results not just by making your brand more noticeable but increasing your school numbers and attracting families that identify with what it is you stand for. Good marketing involves a consistent message across a range of media including:
- Printed Materials
- Visual branding
- Signage
- Advertising
- Copywriting
- Website messaging
- Social Media
We can help you achieve that consistency of message and help produce brand building marketing resources. Don’t hesitate to contact us.