Over the course of the past week I have met with leaders of schools ranging from pre-school through higher education. In each of those sessions the topic of parent engagement has come up. Many schools and systems of schools are increasingly looking for ways of providing parents the chance to be a part of the organization. Some succeed and others struggle to do so.
I have long advocated that branding is the process of aligning an organization's internal culture with its external reputation. The process needs to involve stakeholders, and in the case of a school or school system, parents are a must. One can argue that parents of current students are the most important stakeholder group. I would also add, faculty, students and alumni, but for today's purposes, let us concentrate on parents.
Current student parents have made the decision to attend your school. On most days parents are asked about the school they send their sons or daughters to. Parents want to tell your story. In most situations parent feel good about their decision, but they do not know how to articulate the experience. Schools and systems that have undertaken a brand development initiative have the resource for parents to do so.
I call it a brand platform. The ones that we develop for our clients include a narrative which helps parents and other brand champions tell your story to others. Who in turn tell your story to others in an accurate, authentic, concise and consistent manner.Without a brand strategy, you leave it up to the story teller to come up with their own story. It may or may not be the story you hope they tell.
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