Harnessing passion to communicate purpose and create differentiation

It’s not unusual for a startup to be passionate about their idea, and honestly, it’s essential. But in a field like education, passion is generally the rule, not the exception. So how do you honor passion while creating differentiation?

Working with Thrive Ed, a startup nonprofit focused on reinvigorating the outdated model of public education, we employed an inclusive process to:
• Gain insight to characterize this new brand
• Allow a variety of voices to contribute and be heard
• Build a shared conviction and brand experience

To do this, we spent time with the founder and her staff to explore the issues facing students, teachers, districts and the community at large. We talked about her vision and reviewed the initial strategic plan. We fielded a survey to involve engagement guides and the Thrive Ed board. And we conducted a competitive audit to understand the marketing environment.

This type of discovery process further clarifies the “why” of an organization, allowing a purpose-driven brand strategy to ring true to its stakeholders while creating a platform for crafting the external expression of the brand. It’s an inside-out process that recognizes that people don’t buy what you do, but why you do it – especially important for early-stage donor funding as well as capturing school district buy-in and engagements.

Insights and observations

Our discovery process confirmed the passions and convictions of the larger Thrive Ed team, and it uncovered key pillars of alignment for these critical stakeholders, including:

•A commitment to co-creating new models and learning experiences with students - to hearing their voices and harnessing their ideas.
•Equity and inclusiveness as a defining principle and tenet of the Thrive Ed team, approach and methods.
•A spirit of collaboration – engaging the broader community of educators, administrators, families, donors, businesses, and colleges and universities to re-think, re-tool and re-invest in new learning experiences.

But the competitive review revealed an incredibly crowded field of players all saying and seemingly doing the same things for a similar end. The language was academic, consistently employing the same buzzwords. Visuals were predicable. It made for a sea of sameness and a challenge to truly tell anyone a part.

Distilling the difference

We confirmed our insights with the Thrive Ed team, then got to work. Because individual stakeholders were animated and mission-driven themselves, we acknowledged the importance of a brand platform that would reflect their own passion. This brand purpose become a rallying cry for the organization, one they could proudly own and exclaim.

Embraced internally and leveraged externally, Thrive Ed’s brand purpose is a rallying cry for stakeholders and like-minded educators, businesses and community partners.

“Thrive Ed is on a mission to re-invent school.

To harness the power, imagination and insights of students, educators and the community. To recharge our education system to be equitable, inclusive, powerful and engaging for every learner. To invest students in their school experience so they are empowered and ready for their future – equipped to lead, solve problems, make change and contribute in meaningful ways.”

To guide the visual and verbal expression of the brand, we drew from our research and the ideals of the founders. We defined brand attributes to shape the essence and personality of the brand. Along with the brand purpose, they became a constant guide for conduct, decision-making and marketing for the organization.

Thrive Ed is:

Daring. Inventive. Action-oriented.
Just. Accountable. Sincere.

The Thrive Ed Logo

An abstract mortar board, repeated to create an arrow, symbolizes students ready to launch into their future. Gradated colors represent change and evolution.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story can make all the difference.

With deft guidance and creativity from designer Katherine Lamm and Shop Class Creative, Thrive Ed has the tools to communicate, guide and build their brand presence. Today, just a few short years from their brand launch, Thrive Ed is thriving – and well on their way to making an impact in the education and lives of our students.