How to Take Your Public School Branding to the Next Level?

A public school is not barred from becoming the best school in the vicinity. From a school logo to the various programs, you add to the curriculum, everything plays a role in making the school the next best.

A public school is a brand itself that needs proper branding to reach as many people as possible. A public school is not any different from a private school, which is why it needs perfect branding to get new students every year.

If you’re wondering how to do public school branding, then this article is the right read for you. I have summed up everything that you will need to take your school brand to the top.

The Importance of School Branding

Before we head to learn how you can do the branding for your school, it’s important to first discuss why you need to do it.

School branding is not any different from consumer branding. When it comes to choosing a brand for a product, a customer makes a decision based on how you market your product. Similarly, when it comes to choosing a school, parents look at how you portray your school to the world.

People put so much thought into buying a pair of shoes, then why would they not think twice before choosing a school? To make sure that parents know everything about your school, you must let them know all about it.

Branding is the perfect way to catch anyone’s attention. Without school branding, your vision and mission will be lost in the chaos. If you are wondering how branding can help your school, then here is a gist of it for you.

Aids in Sending out the School Message

What is your school’s message? What do you want the parents to think when they think of enrolling their children in your school?

Just like every brand on the street, every school has a particular message that they send out to the world. Are you after innovation or traditional schooling? Do you believe in making children capable of handling difficult tasks? Do you like the idea of experimenting and letting children experiment for better learning?

All of these details are hidden inside your message. You can only convey this message with proper school branding; otherwise, it will not reach the right audience.

From your school’s logo design to your tagline, everything is aligned to that message. Make sure to write your message first that you want your audience to know about. Unless you’re clear about the school’s vision and mission, you won’t be able to take the next step.

Creates Your Unique Identity

In the beginning, not many people will be aware of your brand or the values that you cherish in your institute. School branding can help your brand to create a unique identity so that people are better able to trust you.

Everyone holds a different set of values and they look for a school for their children that aligns with that. By showcasing your values and personality through branding, you will make it easier for parents to make the right decision. Parents will be better able to assess your school’s values and see if they match with theirs.

Without an effective branding strategy, it will become very difficult for parents to assess your school and make the final call. Keep your end clear, so that others can make the right decision.

Helps You Stand Out from the Crowd

Whether it’s consumer branding or school branding, if you want to beat the competition, then good branding is the only way. Know that here a simple tagline might not do the work for you, you will need much more than that.

Your school must follow a different set of rules and values that make you different from the rest of the schools. The branding must only be directed to let these differences be clear to the parents.

You have to identify the areas where your school excels and that makes you different from the rest of the competition. At the end of the day, every school wants the best for the children, but it’s the direction that they take to help children achieve their goals.

So, what path are you following?

Allows Easy Communication with the Audience

Nobody knows what goes on in the school until you put a proper branding plan in place. The branding includes the use of your social media pages, websites, and so on where parents can get their answers.

From your mission to your tagline, everything speaks to your audience. Branding is the right way to let your message out, which eventually speaks to your audience about what you cherish in your school.

With branding, it’s much easier to let important things reach your relevant audience, so they are aware of everything. From the color of your logo design to your curriculum, everything plays a huge role in speaking to your audience.

Make sure to make the right decisions when it comes to selecting branding elements, so your audience is not confused.

Builds Trust between Audience & School

Educational branding is not any different from consumer branding and it’s a great tool to build trust in your audience. Those schools that offer excellent education always stand at the top of parents’ lists. Establishing your brand, so that people are aware of its presence is extremely necessary so they can move to the next step.

Creating a reputation in the market will require you to have strong affiliations so that parents can trust your educational system. Branding is not enough to build trust; you have to follow the procedure and get your school the affiliations that will make it the best.

You may find it interesting: Can a Logo Help Your Brand to Increase Customers’ Trust?

Essential Steps for Public School Branding

Wondering how you can establish your brand’s standing in the market or rebrand your school? It might sound difficult, but all it takes is consistent efforts.

Branding is all about consistency and unless you’re consistent, your brand will not receive the type of attention it requires.

Here are some tips for you that will help in branding your school in the market. Make sure to pay attention to the details and make child’s education your focus in your branding strategies.

Work on Building Brand Personality

Wondering what brand personality is?

Well, don’t every human have a personality? Similarly, brand personality is what makes your brand human in the eyes of your audience. It’s not simply created by letting people know of your values.

Everything that you through out in the public including the font and color choice tells people about your brand’s personality.

Building brand personality requires you to be consistent in your efforts so that your audience can firmly grasp the idea of it. Unless your brand has a defined personality, your audience will always be left confused.

People are often willing to stick to brands that resonate with their idea, so working on your brand personality is one way to get more customers in no time.

Don’t worry if you don’t know how to work on it. Here are some tips for you to get started on your school branding.

Use the Right Tone

As mentioned above, using the right tone for your brand is the key to get your customer’s attention.

Take the example of Interior Designers Institute. Their website is full of bright colors and a friendly typeface. Their core audience is young students and adults who love interior design and architecture. Since appealing to them won’t be possible with dull colors, they have chosen a color palette that will catch anyone’s attention in a minute. Apart from it, the website showcases a custom logo design that captures your potential customer’s attention. The whole point of getting a customized logo is to ensure that your brand looks unique.

One way to set the right tone is to get your custom logo. A customized logo is designed as per the brand’s mission and vision. It depicts what the brand values and directly communicates with the audience.

Important! Is Your Logo Design Good or Bad? Analyze the Logo Quality of Your Brand

Set Differentiator

What makes you different?

This seems like an easy question, but it’s the most difficult one to answer.

Although everyone says that they are different from the rest, but focusing on that point in your branding that makes you different makes it worth it.

Take the example of Camas School District. The school not only says they are different, but they also make it pretty clear in their branding strategies. They are inclined to reduce their carbon footprint that allows parents to assess their values in no time.

Not many schools and institutes are focusing on the environmental side, which makes this school the best in what they do.

Be Consistent

Like I said earlier, consistency is the key.

Once you have selected the branding elements including fonts, colors, and other visuals – you must stick with them.

All your print and web media should be consistent with your school branding details. Everything that you’re sending out for the public through any media channel represents your brand. If you’re inconsistent in your branding efforts, then it will leave your audience pretty confused.

Take the example of The University of Texas at Austin. This university has always stayed consistent with its burnt orange, white, and Longhorn bull design. No matter what marketing platforms they are working on, their branding elements always stay the same.

Make sure that you’re doing the same so your audience feels the familiarity every time they see anything related to your brand.

Show History

Every brand has a history even if it’s new in the market. Your institution is built on your beliefs and principles, right? There is very little chance for parents to opt for your institute if you do not have an excellent track record.

Your school branding is the perfect way to let your audience know about your beliefs and your promise for the children. The images, logo, font, colors, and other designs that you show on the marketing platform play a huge role in telling your audience about your history.

Take the example of Lakefield College School. If you just check their website’s homepage, you will instantly get the idea of what this institute is all about.

Showcasing your history in your marketing efforts directly speak with your audience and help them decide if they wish to grow with you!

Create a School Vision

What is your vision for your institute and the children?

Your vision cannot be about yourself only. It has to be aligned with your audience and their wants!

Take the example of Moore College of Art and Design. It’s the first women’s art college and they have clearly mentioned it in their message. The school is all about empowering women and making them capable of acing in the art industry.

It’s easier to set a vision when the brand has only one aim. Devising your school’s vision might be difficult, but all you have to think about is what you’re trying to offer to your audience. If that’s clear to you, then it’s a piece of cake for you to write a vision.

Encourage Diversity 

By allowing diversity in your institute, you will be able to attract more parents than usual. If you’re accepting children from different locations, then your branding needs to show this message clearly to the audience. 

Take the example of King’s College, UK. It’s one of the most prestigious and expensive universities that welcomes all students without any bias. It welcomes students from all cultures and backgrounds, which makes it unique and diverse.

Ensure Well-Defined Programs

To set your brand’s personality, it’s important that you clearly communicate about the programs that you’re offering at your institute.

Here is an example of Harvard Business School where you can easily scroll their programs on the website. They have created an excellent list that instantly catches anyone’s attention, so they can make better decisions. Make sure that your brand is clear about what it is offering.

Devise a Powerful Brand Story

What’s your story?

To be honest, storytelling is extremely important to make your audience take an interest in you. Social media is the best channel to let your story out.

Caltech is an institute that makes the best use of its social media platforms. They communicate and engage with their audience regularly. Their story is unique and engaging that can capture anyone’s mind.

Follow their example and lead your way with your story in your school branding.

Take Feedback

Now that you are done with creating a brand personality, now it’s time to work on the feedback. It’s always better to take advice from other people, than focusing on your perspective only.

You can let out a survey to check what parents, teachers, and communities expect from a school. The direction of every other person has changed and traditional teaching methods are becoming obsolete.

Your survey can include relevant questions that you think will help you in designing an effective curriculum and planning teaching methods for classrooms.

Everything is changing and feedback from your audience before you start working on your brand can turn out to be the best way to build your brand. It will not only help you to work on your branding, but will also ease your way to choosing the design elements for your school branding.

Take help from your future audience and meet their expectations without any hassle. It’s better to ask them than to experiment!

Get Inspiration from other Schools

There are thousands of educational institutes in the market. Taking inspiration from the other schools does not make you any less unique. If you’re starting out on finding your voice and your calling, then other schools can lead the way for you.

Taking design or branding inspiration from other schools will help you make the right decisions for your school. No matter if you’re working on a school logo or a tagline, a little help from others can lead you the way.

Beginnings can always be difficult, but creating a brand identity is not so simple. The leaders of the market are the best way to take help from when you’re stuck somewhere. Even after taking inspiration, you can stand out from the crowd because there will always be something that makes you different!

Another important read for you: Beware; These Designing Mistakes Can Jeopardize Your Brand

Final Thoughts

School branding seems tricky because it surely is!

No matter if you’re designing a simple school logo design or planning a website, it’s always difficult to make the right decision. One mistake can change your brand’s personality, which is why you need to take your time.

The above-mentioned examples of schools can help you in creating your brand’s identity and personality. Branding can take a huge chunk of your time, but it will always be worth it.

Make sure that you’re consistent with your branding; otherwise, all your efforts can go in vain. Take your time and make the right call that will help in making your brand appear stronger than ever!