CREATING A BEACON BRAND IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR

Client: Activate Learning

The Problem

How do you create a distinctive but truly motivating brand for a group of colleges that’s delivered across multiple locations and needs to appeal to a range of different learners and potential learners?

The behavioural solution

Show learners what they really want, not what they think they want

We built on lots of existing work on the Activate Learning brand, but supplemented our understanding with a thorough programme of traditional and behavioural research. We created a new proposition for the brand built on motivation theory, understanding that in order to be successful our learners need a purpose, a sense of autonomy and the feeling of gaining mastery of their subject. Our behavioral research told us that learners are looking for very different things at the stages along their journey, ranging from transformation – they want to do something amazing with their lives, to more practical concerns, like wanting to know that they’ll fit in. We needed a creative vehicle to tell all of these stories at the right times.

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Creativity informed by behavioural science

The creative task was twofold - to deliver the new proposition both explicitly and implicitly, but also to develop a set of recognisable brand assets that Activate Learning could own and that would help the brand to be top of mind with learners when considering where to study.

To deliver the new proposition we honed every element to show and tell learners how they benefit from joining Activate Learning. We used imagery of students who look active and empowered, demonstrating the skills they’ve learned. The graphics are dynamic and eye catching. We added a ‘nameplate’ device so you can see who the student is, and what they’re studying. All of this is done using selected brand assets - a distinctive triangular graphic (extrapolated from the logo), a selective colour palette and a unique tone of voice.

Results

The new brand launches in the 2021/2022 academic year.