What is a brand, reallllly?
Branding is a topic of conversation for me in and out of the workplace. Rebranding. Brand refresh. Company launch and new brand development. Product branding. You get the idea. Branding is everywhere you look. Many times in these conversations, I find myself getting philosophical on what a brand really is. It’s more than a logo. It’s more than a tagline. A true brand means something. A brand has qualities that create value and influence reputation (good or bad). From letterhead, to blogs, to a website, to photography, to THE MESSAGE, the brand is all of those things, and more. A BRAND PROVIDES AN EXPERIENCE OF THE LOGICAL AND EMOTIONAL BENEFITS YOU BRING. Straight up, branding is deep and branding is important.
So how can schools and education organizations create, maintain, or refresh a brand?
We know we want to be strategic about a branding process, and strategy is knowing 1) where you are, 2) where you want to go, and 3) how you’ll get there. So let’s view these as three prompting questions.
1: Where are we? Before we do anything with an existing brand or kick off work to develop a new brand, we need to understand how we’re currently perceived. How? Well, we ask. Ask stakeholders (parents, community, staff, educators, leaders, students, etc.) to describe your organization in three words. Group and theme those words to get a sense of how well the brand and public perception are aligned. This can be done through surveys, focus groups, town halls, and anecodtal feedback. Again, you HAVE to ask. And then audit. Audit how the brand is currently implemented. From the visuals to the words, consistency and alignment on materials is critical in developing a unified brand approach. Knowing where the breakdowns are now help prevent them in the future.
2: Where do we want to go? A brand is a promise. It’s about authenticity and relationships. Having a mission, vision, and core message at the center of the brand help define the identity of who you are as an organization. It also defines where you want to go. You went through the process of asking, don’t waste their time and yours by not listening. Let this be informed by the research, along with activities and workshops to craft and refine who you are and who you want to be. In some cases, this is just a refresh. Oftentimes, with new leadership and new direction, this can be a total rework of mission, vision, and belief statements. First the words, then the visuals. Together, these start to turn into concepts.
3: How will we get there? Whether it’s a district strategic plan, a PR campaign, or department professional development, we want to set measurable goals and hold ourselves accountable to those goals. Branding is no exception. Goals and the paths we’ll take to reach them are part of the brand. A brand needs a shelf life beyond the immediate and needs to oftentimes let go of the past to be part of the future. This can be done while honoring both legacy and history of an organization. This is where we move beyond concepts and define the visuals (logos, icons, photography) and words (messages) that encompass our brand.
There are a lot of components to effective branding, and this blog skims the surface. If you’re having a conversation about branding for your organization, it’s likely time to take a deeper look. Let’s chat.
Quick tip: Don’t hoard your brand. While control feels like a great way to make sure no one develops a rogue logo or material, instead, take the opportunity to empower brand advocates to use your brand effectively. Internally, make the standards, logos, templates, and color guide available, along with the training on how to use these materials. Externally, determine what you’re comfortable providing, and then make yourself avialable and accessible to answer questions and oversee the brand.
