Back in the day, institutions such as schools, preschools or daycares didn’t need to do much to attract clients. Since there were only a handful in each state, maybe just posters or a listing in a phonebook was enough. However, we live in an almost fully digital world right now with more education institutions popping up and consumers have more choices. Therefore, a lot of institutions, especially preschools, have to adapt to new norms and start building a memorable and reliable brand to attract their clients.
A proper brand image is crucial, not only to attract consumers but to ensure consumer retention. This basically means that once you’ve attracted consumers, you also need to make sure they stay for more. In other words, it’s consumer loyalty. Building customer loyalty in this day and age not only includes exceptional products or services but also having a reliable and memorable brand image from a proper branding strategy. Therefore, even for preschools, branding has become an important step. Let’s take a look at a few tips to build a memorable brand for your preschool:
1. Understanding Your Preschool’s Unique Selling Points
As with all branding strategies, the first tip is to identify and emphasise your preschool’s unique selling points (USPs). These are the characteristics that set your institution apart from the rest and appeal to parents seeking exceptional care and education for their children. Whether it’s a specialised curriculum, highly qualified staff, state-of-the-art facilities, or a unique approach to early childhood development, understanding and effectively communicating these USPs is the crucial first step towards building a distinctive brand.
Source: Freepik
To better understand how your USP can be unique to your brand, here are a few examples:
- Specialised language development programs.
- Exceptional teachers or instructors with low student-to-teacher ratio.
- Mindfulness for better emotional development.
- Enhanced break times and time for outside activities.
- Wider curriculum programs including music, dance and more for a holistic approach.
2. Defining Your Brand Identity
Once you’ve identified your unique selling points, it’s time to define your brand identity. This involves determining your preschool’s core values, mission, vision and personality. You can easily achieve consumer trust and loyalty when you’ve properly aligned your identity and image with your brand’s promises. Your brand identity should reflect not only what your preschool stands for but also what parents can expect for their children. Plus, it’s always good to be transparent with your target audience, especially when they are parents who are looking for the best institution for your child and this can be shown in your brand identity.
3. Creating a Memorable Visual Identity
What is often the first interaction parents and their children have with a preschool? More often than not, their first impression will be determined by the general visual identity of the institution. This is especially important for the child’s first impression since they also need to enjoy being in that space. A distinctive logo, colour scheme, and other visual elements can make a lasting impression and contribute significantly to brand recall, thus, making your brand memorable. When designing your visual identity, consider age-appropriate colours for children. Softer pastel colours may be more suitable for preschoolers, creating a warm and nurturing atmosphere, while bolder, brighter colours can be appealing for older children, sparking their curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. Better yet, finding a balance between light and bold can effectively boost a child’s active learning abilities. More importantly, remember to not make the colour scheme of your preschool neutral or monotonous. It’s a preschool, not a hospital!
Source: Freepik
A few examples of good colours to incorporate include soft blues and greens for a calming feel while balancing with more warms colours to stimulate creativity and energy. Too much of either may have an unwanted effect. This is where colour psychology comes in. For instance, if it’s too calming, kids may not pay attention or feel energised whereas too much of the latter would be overstimulating and overwhelming for most. On top of that, you can even incorporate playful shapes or illustrations in your preschool’s overall design and branding materials to make it more appealing to children.
4. Crafting a Brand Message that Appeals to Children
As mentioned earlier, it’s important that your branding as a preschool also appeals to children of that demographic. To truly connect with your target audience, it’s important to craft a brand message and voice that resonate with them. Use language and storytelling techniques that pique their curiosity and imagination. Whether through catchy slogans, playful narratives, relatable characters or fun illustrations, the goal is to create a brand message that makes learning fun and memorable for young minds.
5. Community Building and Engagement
On top of all this, engaging with parents is also as important since that shows your institution’s personality while being able to impress them. Engage with parents and the local community through various channels, including social media, community events, and collaborative projects. Organise activities or campaigns that foster a sense of belonging and demonstrate your commitment to the well-being of children in the area. This could include family fun days, educational workshops, or partnerships with local businesses.
Case Study: D-KIDS Preschool
Here’s one good example of a normal preschool turned memorable by us! D-KIDS Preschool, formerly known as Kinder Dino, was in dire need of a rebrand and we came prepared with the new and improved branding they needed. Thus, from a generic preschool, they’ve blossomed into a lively and vibrant educational institution for preschoolers. From the colours and logo design to all their brand collaterals, this rebrand has successfully embodied their values.
In a Nutshell
All in all, even a preschool needs good branding so that their institution can properly reflect its values and promises while being memorable and sticking in people’s minds. By discovering your USPs, determining your brand’s identity and visual identity while making sure that the right message is delivered and engagement is kept up, you too can have an institution that stays timeless and memorable. Plus, we’re always ready to help a brand in need. Just give us a call to schedule a brand health assessment by us!
Want to build a memorable brand? Schedule a FREE 1-hour consultation with us today!