In the past decade the revolution in education has produced some amazing change in our classrooms. It seems that although for decades schools were behind in technology integration and effective implementation in the last five years a critical mass of technology minded educators has been reached, and CHANGE IS HAPPENING. New “millennial” teachers combined with a growing group of veteran teachers who are changing their practice is shifting the educational landscape towards acceptance of new technologies and the idea that it is okay to try new things in our profession. Personally I think one of the most dangerous mindsets in education is, “...because that is how we have always done it.” Luckily for our students and their families we are seeing the retirement of that mentality for a more adventurous and growth based mentality. These changes in ideas and practices are spreading throughout our profession but what can we do to share this growth and change with the outside world? How can we effectively share that growth and change are happening in a responsible way? With all of these schools doing amazing things it is important for them to develop a method to effectively share their version of success. This process known as “Brand Development” allows schools to establish a sharable identity with the world. A school’s brand is much the same as a private company’s brand, think of the distinguishing characteristics of Coca-Cola, Apple, or Google. When you read those words very specific images, phrases, and concepts instantly pop into your head. Having your brand instantly recognized and associated with key positive ideas can be a powerful tool in a school’s arsenal. Now before you go out and design your school’s first functional website and require all teachers to have a instagram or twitter account it is important to develop an effective branding strategy across all platforms. According to Richard Hanna (2011) in the article “We’re all connected: The Power of the Social Media Ecosystem” an effective branding effort consists of a two step process of developing a unique message and then improving your owned, paid, and earned media presence around the message. the first aspect asks the school to identify the key characteristic or idea that distinguishes your school from your competitors. Once you identify that idea then you must be consistent in promoting that idea through your already existing media presence as well as expanding your presence into new fields. As a private school educator in a highly competitive market this idea of effective branding is especially important. St. John Vianney High School is a Catholic school in a city (Saint Louis) that is known for its large Catholic population and MANY options for Catholic education. In this market five major high schools compete for the male population of Saint Louis. In this market even the smallest edge could result in huge returns over the course of a student’s four year career. In the conference no school has as aggressively approached branding as Vianney. The branding effort started with identifying the key characteristics of the school and then relentlessly promoting those characteristics. Our new branding campaign (released August 2014) touts that Vianney educates “Men of Character & Accomplishment.” With this new brand a new website was designed, print media was modified and distributed on a regular basis, and the teachers were engaged in promoting this idea via their own media tools. The teachers of Vianney have latched onto social media as a key tool for their classrooms and the professional development. This gave the school the ability to share this message with more people than they would be able to do just by itself. The effective implementation of a school’s branding effort requires that it be based on a unique and sharable message. This message needs to be shared using all available media from owned media, to paid media, and earned media. As long as the media is consistent with the school’s overall mission and brand then a school can share all the great things they are doing for the 21st century students.
2 Comments
Ann Mausbach
2/3/2015 05:17:45 am
Brandon,
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Tim Bloomingdale
2/10/2015 11:52:53 am
Brandon,
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Brandon LewisMy name is Brandon Lewis and I am a high school history teacher in St. Louis Missouri. I practice the art of teaching at St. John Vianney High School. Archives
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