The Goddard School

BRAND ASSESSMENT

How might we effectively refresh the brand of a successful franchise company?

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

  • Evoke stakeholder perceptions of present Goddard Schools brand
  • Determine stakeholder opinions of new brand messaging and creative “touch and feel” of new brand components

KEY INSIGHTS

We identified several messaging strategies for attracting parents to Goddard Schools, and for helping them make the decision to apply. We also determined marketing methods franchisees can use to further differentiate the Goddard brand from competitors, including enhancements to the Goddard website.

HOW THE GODDARD SCHOOL USED THE INSIGHTS

Goddard Schools and its franchisees have adopted the new branding strategy as an expression of carefully studied consumer and franchisee preferences.

WHAT WE DID

Working with UPBrand Collaborative, we used interviews and focus groups to get a picture of key brand attributes as seen by a variety of stakeholders, including parents. These were compared with findings from an analysis of competitive brands, and tested through an online survey with Goddard franchisees.   We then conducted focus groups with consumers and franchisees to test different draft messaging and visual images in order to determine what stakeholders find most useful and effective.

“We’re confident that the effort we invested to learn about our competitive positioning and the most effective messaging and communications strategies we can use will pay off in the continued success of our schools.”

Goddard management team