• brand strategy
• brand video
• brand identity & brand standards
• admission campaigns
• magazine

Brand Strategy

Now entering our fifth year of partnership, we’ve repositioned one of America’s finest independent schools by accentuating its greatest strengths and most compelling reasons for a family to attend. While renowned for the unparalleled academic achievement of its students and their matriculation to some of the world’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning, VENN discovered that few prospective parents were aware that the performance and outcomes of its students place Columbus Academy amongst the most prestigious schools not just in the region, but in the country. VENN also learned that few parents understood that the Academy focuses not merely on academic achievement but also on the whole child—mind, body, and spirit—and is committed to developing happy, well-adjusted students within a diverse student body not found in most schools. VENN set out to develop a new visual identity, campaigns, and marketing and brand collateral that made it crystal clear that Academy is that rarest of educational institutions—one which pursues excellence joyfully.

Unlike the expected “three in a tree” approach of most independent school campaigns, which feature diverse children outside a school, our Ready to Thrive campaign turned this approach literally on its head to emphasize the single, most important issue for parents: their child and his or her success – academically, personally, and professionally. The campaign strips away everything else to feature provocatively cropped images of over two dozen students confronting the viewer and accompanied by a headline and body copy stating what, why, and how their child can be prepared to “take the world head on”. The white, Apple-like background subtly reinforces the premium and modern nature of the Academy brand, allowing the viewer to focus on the child’s future and the importance of excellence in education.

While once again addressing the importance of pre-K – 12th grade education on a child’s ability to succeed in the larger world, our second campaign inverted the approach of our first to showcase one of the Academy’s most differentiating features – its 231-acre campus. Comprised of outdoor learning spaces, state-of-the-art classrooms, performing and visual arts spaces, and athletic facilities, the campus is shot both as stills and arial videos. The imagery is a visual metaphor for life beyond school, while the headline, “Give your child the world” captures why an exemplary education is the greatest gift a parent can give their child, and how Columbus Academy can help make this desire a reality.

Over the course of six issues, VENN has partnered with the Academy’s communication team to reimagine what an alumni magazine can be. The objective was to evolve from what is too often a stuffy “newsletter” into a point of pride for recipients, who will be proud to feature it prominently on their coffee tables. The new design and form factor employ the brand hallmark of liberal whitespace on each cover and feature a single image that wraps around the back cover. Over time, the covers have featured single faces, a full body shot of a single person, and a group shot, all while maintaining an identifiably consistent brand look and feel without becoming stale. Inside four-color, full-bleed photography of its campus, students, families, faculty, staff, and alumni showcases the multifaceted and dynamic nature of the institution. Together, the magazine punches above its weight in both quality of content and the impact of its design.