Education

All educational institutions, in order to fulfill their core mission, must attract and retain the best students, faculty, and staff; define their positions in a crowded landscape; and build the case—and relationships—necessary to secure financial support.

Each school is a special place, a home to a unique community of educators, staff, students, alumni, and donors. And often, each has a point of view—specific areas of strength, focus, and value—which, if communicated effectively, can help to move people closer to the institution. But schools often under-communicate what could be differentiating, and assume that what is valued internally is also known beyond the campus.

Whether you’re a research university, an independent middle school, or a small college, brand-building communications can help to build interest, participation, commitment, loyalty, and support among a diverse set of constituents.

Not too long ago, the idea of attending to an educational institution’s brand was thought unnecessary and, often, inappropriately commercial. Today, while the need to communicate what a school means and what it promises—its brand—is more widely embraced, the challenge is to evolve a brand that is true to the institution, resonates with its constituents, and is a fit with the school’s resources and culture.

We work with educational institutions of different sizes and stripes—Harvard College, Harvard Medical School, MIT Sloan School of Management, Colgate University, Dana Hall School—to better define their place in the landscape, attract new students, engage alumni, reinforce desired attributes reshape misperceptions, build comprehension of specific programs, attract partners, make the case for financial support, and add value to the enterprise. We collaborate to evolve the underpinnings of an institution’s brand, develop the verbal and visual platform that informs print and digital communications, and then create targeted communication that both supports specific initiatives and works hard to build the brand and meaning of the school.