Branding is about expressing your school’s message consistently, effectively, to all the right audiences, and through the all right channels. But what should that message be? Here’s how we find out.

Any major marketing effort, whether led by an internal team or outside consultants, needs to start by defining your message. Yet as organizations plan for marketing projects, we find they often don't think in enough detail about the best way to do so.

At Kelsh Wilson, we see message development as part art, part science, but even more fundamentally, as a process. That means it's a series of steps you take, from building an understanding of each of your audiences and their concerns to surveying the message landscape you inhabit—all the stories all your competitors are striving to tell.

At the heart of this process is an exploration involving people who know your organization well and believe in it. In our experience, they will be your source of inspiration. How do you discover the brilliant thoughts inside their heads and turn them into language that will persuade others? Here are four key steps:

ONE

Ask good, simple questions. Why do you believe in this school? What sets this organization apart from others? What makes you proud to be part of it? Questions like these are in plain English that anyone can understand and answer. They do not have multiple parts or qualifications. They don’t ask people to play marketing strategist. They do spark engaging conversations shaped with the right purpose.

TWO

Ask thoughtful follow-ups. You should know that no matter how good your questions are, most of the first answers you hear will be vague and predictable. It’s the people. It’s a feeling I had when I saw this place. Or worst, It’s hard to put in words. Simply transcribe these answers, and you will have vague, predictable messaging. Instead, ask people to explain what they mean. Request examples and anecdotes. Gently challenge them to tell you how what they are saying really differs from what advocates for another institution would say. Then wait patiently. People need time to think, and the shy ones may need the pressure of an awkward silence to fill.

THREE

Measure what you hear against what you expected to. What is coming through that’s most surprising, therefore most interesting and distinctive? Determining this requires some judgement. It’s also where experience getting to know many different organizations over a period of time can help. When people tell you that students at a school have the chance to explore multiple interests and are not typecast as jocks, drama kids, or science geeks, you know that this is a wonderful thing, but that it’s also common to every good independent school. On the other hand, when they tell you that the warmth of the community matters more than the school’s academic rigor, you pause and ask to hear more. (Nearly always, the quality of the academic experience ranks first in families’ thinking, with “softer” issues related to fit trailing behind.)

FOUR

Go further. The most distinctive strengths that you hear described with the greatest passion are likely to be the foundation of your key messages. But you’ll want to evaluate them against competing messages in circulation, with attention to any image issues or misperceptions you are looking to correct, and in connection with the enrollment or strategic goals you are working to advance. You will also want to take the time to do some creative writing. Your first notes might indicate the diversity of your educational community to be a key selling point. But the headline you go public with won’t say, “The Diversity of Our Educational Community.” It will say, “Meet the Whole World on One Campus.” Your rough notes might document an abundance of co-curricular options as a marketable strength, whereas the final phrasing might be, “Explore This Place of Possibilities.”