BEYOND THE LOGO: Building a brand
BANG, BANG, BANG …….. WHIZZZZ …………. FIZZZ…….. THUMP!
Oh hi! I didn't see you there! Come on in, grab that stool over there by the workbench and take a load off, I won't be a second, I just need to finish sanding off this awesome new brand I'm working on. Careful where you sit I've just given that identity a fresh coat of paint!
Now the formalities are out the way, welcome to my brand shed and class is in session. It's time to put all of that hard work that we put in on our first few blogs into practice!
Let’s pull out the tool box, put on your overalls and crack open a fresh tin of STANDOUT 1000, we are going to create an attractive brand!
So let's check the tool box…
Brand identity - Check
Brand heart - Check
Target Parents - Check
We are ready to start building and start standing out, but even the smallest of markets are crowded in the independent school sector. So the question becomes with so many schools looking to attract your parents, what will make your school brand more attractive than theirs?
The answer is your finish, afterall you came here with the plans, so now lets get your brand looking glorious!
STEP ONE - DO YOUR RESEARCH
Pick a look and feel that stands out from your other boring competitor schools, the chances are if you look like another school they will go with another school!
Take some time looking at your competitor websites, print pieces, social adverts. Screen grab them, put them all into one big document and start to pull together the similarities.
It might be things like the colour, language, type of photography.
Whatever it is, make sure you don't do the same, that would just be embarrassing!!
STEP TWO - PICK THE RIGHT MATERIALS
Make use of underused materials that can give you the edge in the market.
Look for unique but classic fonts, the internet is now full of incredible standout typefaces to pick from so don't feel restricted to the Traditional Times New Roman, or Gill Sans options.
Just look at google fonts as one example (1000’s of free fonts which are web friendly and ready to use!) - fonts.google.com
Or if you want to be even bolder purchase the license to a truly unique font crafted by a typographic ninja here - elements.envato.com/fonts
STEP THREE - SELECTING YOUR PAINT
Explore attractive but uncommon colour pairings, step away from the navy blues and dark reds of the traditional independent school market in favour of something fresh and exciting.
AI can now make this even easier for you, just visit colormind.io and click on the “generate” button.
You can even develop a colour palette from an image that you upload, wouldn't that be amazing! A colour palette based on the natural tones of your school building or the flowers found in your school grounds, not that stuffy old crest that you have to dust off each time you use it!
STEP FOUR - FINISHING TOUCHES
Perfect your tone of voice (we have talked about this already!).
Does it sound like just another school, or can you really hear your brand coming through calling to your parents?
If you can't take a minute to look back at these helpful steps written by a really attractive chap that I know.
STEP FIVE - HAVE FUN, MAKE OPTIONS
Rome wasn't built in a day and your brand won't be either.
Take your time to play with different combinations of the above until you find something you love, bring other people into the fun and bounce ideas off each other.
When you're happy you’ll want to make sure that you pop the key information into one simple document for your school community to use.
Now wipe the sweat off your brow, sit back and have a cuppa! You deserve it after a busy day in the brand shed!
If you want to explore anything mentioned in this blog in more detail, don’t hesitate to e-mail us!