The Institute of Education
The challenge
Established 50 years ago, ‘the Institute’ is one of the largest private schools in Ireland. It’s a family run business with strong origins as a grind school; traditionally it was known as the place where ambitious students would go to achieve top Leaving Certificate exam results. In recent years, the Institute has evolved to offer a full curriculum social and education experience for 4th, 5th and 6th year students, providing flexible learning solutions that focus on helping them achieve their highest potential. In 2018, as the school approached its 50th anniversary it sought to re-establish its position as the market leader.
The work
A deep-dive market research project uncovered rich seams of information about The Institute of Education and changing attitudes to education in Ireland. It was very apparent that the Institute has a strong USP, which we could harness and nurture. The core values of great teaching, innovation, and high standards were constant, but retaining perceived value and a dominant market position required repositioning of the brand to reflect the changing market and evolving business context. Using brand as a key driver, we defined a brand strategy, supported by a creative strategy and a new narrative to redefine the Institute story and engage at a deeper level, both internally with staff and externally with students, prospective students and their parents.
The newly defined brand story repositioned the Institute as a full-time school and was supported by a product story of short-term, tactical messaging to drive numbers for ongoing short courses and grind classes.
The impact
2019/20 saw the full roll-out of the new identity and brand positioning for the Institute. While strategic and tactical repositioning is ongoing, the Institute has already seen an increase across enrolment of students into both part-time courses and the full-time school.
The proof
“As a second-generation family business, it was essential for us to work with people who understand the value of a legacy business whilst also creating a fit-for-purpose brand for new generations of parents and students. The legacy of our origins and the original brand marque were very important to us and Designbank recognised and respected this, working with us to ensure the heritage of the school was appropriately represented.
The Institute of Education is a modern, efficient and highly effective learning environment and Designbank helped us to represent this across every touchpoint. In an ever-changing environment, we have firmly established the Institute as a perpetual benchmark for quality in education”.
- Peter Kearns, Director, The Institute of Education
Block D, Iveagh Court
Harcourt Street
Dublin 2, Ireland
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