For the pathfinders
Reclaim our reputation as educational pioneers
Established in 1584, Uppingham is a prestigious independent boarding school, counting Harrow, Eton and Beneden amongst its peers.
Uppingham has a rich history, with its fair share of firsts. Most notably, the school pioneered a holistic approach to education in Victorian times – an approach that is now adopted by all leading schools.
However, research conducted in 2016 confirmed what newly appointed Headmaster Dr Maloney already understood, Uppingham was in danger of being seen as out of step with leading, global institutions.
6/10 of our children’s future careers haven’t been invented yet.
We must do much more to address children’s needs beyond preparing them for life as we know it now
Dr Maloney wanted Uppingham to take the pioneering lead again by re-evaluating how to educate children for the ferociously-paced and unpredictable mid 21st Century.
Having used brand to accelerate and amplify change at Dr Maloney’s previous school, Bede’s, we were invited to help with the transformation of Uppingham.
We interviewed key stakeholders to interrogate third-party research, identify key strengths and understand the degree of cultural shift required to achieve Dr Maloney’s ambition.
Tribal, humans have always needed to belong.
However, to flourish today we need to belong to multiple communities
not just one potentially homogenising one.
Strategy
Based on the insight that the strength of Uppingham’s community was both its appeal and its Achille’s heel, we set about redefining the school community. Shifting the emphasis from inward-facing to future-facing.
Futurekind
Working with the leadership team we defined the school’s purpose, big idea and values.
Collaborative pioneers
Making sure the positioning built on the school’s heritage and strength of community whilst propelling them forward
Engagement
We helped all staff understand the importance of creating a coherent and compelling brand, and the significance of their role in building the school’s reputation.
These sessions also demonstrated the scale of the leadership team’s ambition and set the context for workshops that followed.
Trained the trainers
We trained senior leaders to facilitate workshops where colleagues were asked to use the new values to address specific and very real challenges.
Lived the values
All workshops took place well in advance of Department Heads having to prepare their plans for the next academic year, so they had plenty of time to embed the values, adopt ideas from the workshops, and adapt targets.
Staff were able to live with the values months before they helped us shape the identity.
Direction
With the brand positioning buttoned down we appointed Nomad as the lead creative agency, after a competitive pitch. They were the perfect fit but not the obvious choice – bold, consumer-centric and digital first.
Authentically ambitious
Fundamental to the creation of a transformational brand is buy-in. We held working sessions early in the identity development with key stakeholders to make sure the brand was both ambitious and authentic.
Cost-effective & cohesive
Whilst Nomad designed benchmarking applications & the guidelines, we worked with a plethora of other specialist agencies.
Providing guidance on skillsets, budgets, implementation planning and agency selection to bring the brand to life appropriately – championing strategy and standards.
Team effort
It can be all consuming for the client responsible for the brand programme, and a key part of our role is mentoring – motivating, helping our clients prioritise, plan and reach out to colleagues for support.
Real change
The re-brand programme has been an Uppingham team effort, led by the Marketing Director. Real change has been possible – from embracing digital and re-evaluating the Admissions process through to value-led mentoring programmes – because the whole leadership team were engaged from the offset.
Shifting reputation
As we move into the next stage, our focus shifts to the creation and implementation of the 5 year Marketing and Communications strategy, and brand guardianship to continue to drive internal change and build the school’s reputation as a leading global educational institution.
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