Step into your favorite local Starbucks and what do you notice? Are you confused? Do you know where the line is? Do they serve the venti mocha-choca-latte that you want? Are you confident that you will order said venti and then receive what you ordered? You should be, because Starbucks has an incredibly consistent brand. You feel comfortable going there on a trip to Denver because you are 99% guaranteed to get what you want. You might also get a smile, ‘hello’, the chance to use a moderately clean bathroom and free wifi to give them a positive review, ‘Like’ it or tweet how happy you are now that you have your mocha. Sounds nice, and it is. But our school doesn’t serve mochas, so what do we have? And how can a brand like Starbucks, for example, work for a school? Let’s define what a Brand really is…
Brand is not a logo, a tagline, or an advertising campaign. It's a multidimensional platform that can be your greatest differentiator and competitive edge, if built correctly. It represents both a rational and emotional connection to your various stakeholders and the consumer that ultimately decides to purchase and engage with you. (1)
Change a few words to make is school/education specific and we get…
Brand is not a logo, a tagline, or an advertising campaign. It's a multidimensional platform that can be your greatest differentiator and competitive edge, if built correctly. It represents both a rational and emotional connection to your various community members and the students and parents that ultimately decides to engage in learning with you.
Each school has a brand and it is something that didn’t happen by accident. We all have a school vision, strategic plan, student, staff and parent expectations that help define our brand. All of these core beliefs are present with us on a daily basis and they help guide the way we teach, the way our students learn, the way our parents manage the drop-off line all the way down to how we dress. The values are probably even known by the general community.
A school’s positive brand can alleviate parent fears during kindergarten registration, acquire highly qualified teachers when openings arise and increase community support. If your school is known for pushing the envelope with technology usage, the school can either actively pursue its brand image as a tech school, or let community members define it’s brand. If your school has a one-acre garden and they grow their own school lunches, it’s an organic foodie school. If your school has 100% bike riders, you’re a green school. You get the idea. A schools brand consistency will help deliver a clear message to parents, teachers, students and the community. “We are here to support these young learners as they move into the future.”
As a teacher at this institution, we are also responsible for delivering this consistent brand message. A smile in the morning as we open the doors, morning meetings, laughter, skipping in the halls, waving good-bye to parents at carline all help teachers deliver the consistent message each school is trying to deliver. Imagine you’re at your local school, let’s call it Pleasant Ave Elementary (fake). Your teacher is Mr. Jones and he is a great example of the brand PAE is trying to deliver. Friendly, caring, highly invested in how each child learns. But today at drop off, he opens the door and has a gruff look, doesn’t make eye contact and is looking a bit shabby. Parents and probably other staff members are going to ask, “Everything ok? You feeling alright?” They ask this because they care, but also because this doesn’t make sense. It’s not a brand consistent appearance, and it can be unnerving. When the GAP changed it’s logo, people freaked out and GAP changed it back because the consumers (parents and children in our case) found it so different from the original log that it was inconsistent with the brand. If today was a school tour with 20 new families all hoping to see just how great PAE really is (they’ve heard about it’s reputation, or brand, through the community), odds are any new families would see Mr. Jones and wonder what was up, especially since all the other teacher appeared well dressed, present and jovial. Ultimately, our personal brand is with us whether we want it or not, and we can choose to cultivate our brand in a positive way or allow it to be cultivated for us.
Some thoughts about teachers and their brand…
1. Keep your message simple. A clear statement of purpose, vision statement, or even a smile can help share who you are and what you’re about as a professional. “I’m here to help your child do things great today.”
2. How do you communicate? Are you a daily emailer? Tweet much? Bi-weekly newsletter? Stick with something that works, but make sure there is a purpose. I tweet because I want parents who can’t get into the classroom to be able to have a conversation with their student about what is happening on a daily basis.
3. Build your own brand as a professional teacher. Like it or not, our brand (or reputation) is out there and we get to choose to cultivate it and grow, or let others do this work.
4. Truly great brands don’t go about announcing themselves, nor should teachers or schools. If the amount of energy expended while developing a brand as a teacher or school is greater than the energy expended to directly help children, we are failing.
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1. Shawn Parr. "5 Smart Steps To Building Your Brand The Right Way - Fast Company." 2013. 22 Jan. 2014 <http://www.fastcompany.com/3018334/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/5-smart-steps-to-building-your-brand-the-right-way>
Mike-
ReplyDeleteProps for taking the Twitter convo to your blog. I appreciated getting to read your thoughts in more than 140 characters. A couple minor quibbles: in number four, I'd argue that any energy that is taking away from you creating the best environment that you can for your kids and spent promoting yourself needs to be rethought. Second, and more importantly, in your brand definition for education you talk about if a brand is built correctly it gives you a competitive edge. Who are you as a teacher or a school competing against? Do we need winners and losers in education?
Thanks for making me think!
Hi-
ReplyDelete140 characters was getting constrictive... #4- Yes, energy taken away from student growth is a bad thing. Can't deny that at all. Many of the small things we do as teachers add value to our brand, though, and some of these things are rather subconscious, or even planned into the day. They are in no way meant to be promoting, just being a good person. For instance, smiling, communicating appropriately, dressing appropriate for the school/grade level/day (spirit day? Wear the colors!).
Re Brand definition, you make a good point. Why do we need competition in education? Perhaps we don't, at least not when it comes to learning goals. But I do want the best, most excited teachers at my school so I can work with them and share their ideas. If that means (thinking like an admin here) I need to cultivate my brand in a way that solidifies my school as a great place for kids and teachers, then I'd compete to get the best teachers.
More thinking....
Take care.