{"id":657,"date":"2015-10-01T15:00:26","date_gmt":"2015-10-01T20:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/?p=657"},"modified":"2015-11-09T08:00:18","modified_gmt":"2015-11-09T14:00:18","slug":"principles-of-branding-a-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/2015\/10\/01\/principles-of-branding-a-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Principles of Branding a School"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Ian Welch<\/em><\/p>\n

When talking about your school\u2019s brand, we are really addressing its visual identity and how it communicates to parents, students, and the community. A brand can tell people who you are, what you do, the quality of education you provide, even the reputation and impact you have in your community.<\/p>\n

The term \u2018brand\u2019 can make some people feel uncomfortable, since business-marketing principles don\u2019t always align with the mission of a Lutheran school. A Lutheran school isn\u2019t looking to create shareholder value or bring in vast amounts of revenue by harnessing a brand. Rather, branding is used to help a school understand and create a unified look and message that will, in turn, assist in communicating the school to parents and the community.<\/p>\n

The following is a list of the basic principles of a brand in the context of a Lutheran school with a few applications of each.<\/p>\n

Branding visually defines who you are.
\n<\/strong>It\u2019s not just about the logo. Branding is, \u201cwhen people look at us what are the key things we want them to see about us?\u201d Even the colors of your school will say something about you to a degree (Bottomley & Doyle. 2006).<\/p>\n

Photos are carefully chosen to post on your website, Flickr, or Instagram. Videos on YouTube can have bumpers that harness the school colors and logo, drawing a connection to your branded materials and media.<\/p>\n

The logo is something simple and memorable that people will recognize as they are communicating through social media, your website, or email.<\/p>\n

Branding clearly states your mission and values.
\n<\/strong>Branding forces a school to internally ask important questions, and then decide how to relate those answers in a clear and concise way to the community. What is our mission? What are the values we offer to our community? How do we articulate these things clearly? Does this make sense to a person who has never been to our school or is new to the area?[1]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

A simple tagline placed prominently on your website, Twitter, and Facebook pages will help parents understand a little about you and may even become a rallying cry for parents, teachers, and students.<\/p>\n

Branding helps to intentionally communicate your mission and values.
\n<\/strong>Whether you have a defined brand or not, those outside the school will already have a perception of who you are. It\u2019s a matter of whether that brand is perceived as relevant to them or not. By having a specific brand, you are being intentional about visually communicating who you are.<\/p>\n

Branding will help you to choose the most important information that your school should share on your website. Sometimes this will apply to Facebook and Twitter, but social media will mostly be used to connect your school to parents and the community\u2014generating awareness for the school and encouraging involvement of the parents.<\/p>\n

Branding is unique to you.
\n<\/strong>A designer will look at census data, demographic studies, your school\u2019s history, and other important documents. They will look at the other schools in the area and what would distinguish you from them visually, while still adhering to your school\u2019s mission and keeping that at the forefront of all decision making.<\/p>\n

Telling a compelling story of your school is another way to use branding. Brand identity, through the use of slogans, pictures, and videos, will tell the story of your school from the perspective of your students. These unique stories can be featured as profiles on your website and features on Facebook and Twitter.<\/p>\n

Your brand comes from what you already do.
\n<\/strong>Logos, mission statements, tag lines, and newsletters are simply ways of expressing who you are and the values you offer to the community and your parents. What you already do as a school establishes your brand. Every visual interaction you have with your community, from your logo, your website, or even social media must match what you do.<\/p>\n

The connections that a teacher makes with parents through emails, texting, and phone calls will also carry over to what they can do on Facebook, Twitter, or newsletter services like MailChimp. Branding will give all those areas a consistent and familiar look and communicate the same message across all platforms.<\/p>\n

Using sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram will give you the added benefit of being able to interact with anyone who mentions you by name, which will generate even more awareness for your school (Kim, Sung, & Kang. 2014).<\/p>\n

It can take quite a bit of time and effort to create and implement a brand for your school, but there are quite a few benefits in doing so. Not only will you have a consistent look across all your materials and online presence, but you will be implementing a focused and unified approach to how you communicate to your parents and community.<\/p>\n

Ian Welch is a graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and a full-time graphic designer. He is the Worship Coordinator at Risen Savior Lutheran Church in Chula Vista CA and assists Lutheran churches and schools in planning and creating logos, brands, and liturgical art.<\/em><\/p>\n

References
\nBottomley, P. & Doyle, J. (2006). The interactive effects of colors and products on perceptions of brand logo appropriateness. Marketing Theory<\/em>. March 2006 vol. 6 no. 1, pp. 63-83. [http:\/\/mtq.sagepub.com\/content\/6\/1\/63<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Kim, E, Sung, K., & Kang, H. (2014). Brand followers\u2019 retweeting behavior on twitter: How brand relationships affect brand electronic word-of-mouth. Computers in Human Behavior<\/em>. 37, pp. 18-25. [http:\/\/www.slideshare.net\/scotoss\/computers-in-human-behavior-2014-brand-wom-on-twitter]<\/p>\n

[1]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Lutheran elementary schools that are a ministry of a congregation will find great value in their church\u2019s mission, vision, and core values\u2014especially if the church already has an established brand.\u00a0 The WELS Commission on Congregational Counseling (CCC) helps congregations plan and develop these kinds of planning tools.<\/p>\n

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