October 2017

Your school, your community and your brand

Your school district has a brand – good, bad or somewhere in between.

Like all brands, your school district brand lives in the mind of the “customers” – students, parents, teachers, staff and non-parent patrons. In almost every case, your school district brand is a vital component of your community’s brand. In fact, the number one reason people choose a community is for the school district.

The people who live and work in your community have a specific impression of your brand. People in neighboring communities and people and businesses looking to relocate might have yet another impression of your brand.

All those impressions might be quite different from your personal impression – and quite different from the impression you wish to be making.

Confused yet? It gets worse.

Here’s the part that is very hard to deal with – the impression people have of your school district and your community might have its roots in what things were like decades ago. Once people form a brand impression, it’s very hard to change their opinion. It requires diligence and commitment to long-term communications.

But the rewards of building a great brand are staggering. Think Boulder, Seattle or even Overland Park, Kan. – all are great destinations people want to visit, want to live in or want their kids to attend school in.

So, what about your school district and your community?

Do people like living there? Visiting there? Is the school district an asset or a liability? Do companies want to do business there? What is it that makes your community unique, attractive and valuable?

As a superintendent, you need to play a critical role in shaping and nurturing you district’s brand and your community’s brand.

If you are a DIY-type, here are some research steps you can do to get started:

1. Begin from the inside and work out in order to build your district’s brand. Have conversations with your Board of Education, district administration, students and parents.
2. Next, talk with non-parent patrons. Host a town hall-style meeting to find out how these patrons view the district and the community.
3. The business community is an important group you don’t want to miss. Engage in conversations with your chamber of commerce, economic development council, and convention and visitors bureau. What are they telling people about the community?
4. Contact nearby districts and ask how they view their brand and how it is different from yours.

Once you know what your perceived brand is, then you need to understand what you want your brand to be. Host a “meeting of the minds” to begin the conversation on how the district and the community are creating a brand identity together. 

Are you interested in branding your district and your community?

If you want to collaborate with your community to build a strong brand that will benefit both organizations, call us to schedule our seminar, “Successfully Building Your Community Brand.”

We’ll come to your district/community for a working lunch and walk you through the right steps. All you need to provide are the key players who might wish to take part in the program. Oh, and lunch. We do get hungry.  

For more information, contact Rick Nobles at rick@patroninsight.com, (913) 484-0920 or visit our website. 

You're talking. What are your patrons hearing?

Professional communicators know the feeling well. 

You craft a precise message. Pinpoint the medium (or media) that is the ideal vehicle to get the word out. Disseminate it with crisp timing – and then wonder if anyone heard it.

Rarely do you get the kind of regular feedback that says whether your messages are spot on, or a bit off the mark, with what patrons are most interested in hearing about. The result: The school district keeps pushing out messages and hoping that they are resonating.

Patron Insight can help eliminate the mystery, with our Communications Audit. Utilizing a blend of one-on-one interviews, focus groups and research surveys, our Audit process helps pinpoint the following:

• What you think you are saying.
• What your patrons are hearing (what you are really saying). 
• What you should be saying – how your district can make a stronger connection through communications.

The process is very collaborative, and it has proven to be pleasantly eye-opening to those who have taken part so far. View a few case studies we’ve completed on our website. 

Want to get started on your own district’s Communications Audit, contact Rick Nobles at rick@patroninsight.com or (913) 484-0920.