Question

Topic: Strategy

School Rebranding

Posted by melaniecrlsn on 2/17/2012 at 12:39 PM ET 25 Points
I am a school board member of a school that is dwindling in numbers. We have collaborated together on a new business plan and part of it recommends rebranding and changing the name of the school....some do not agree with this. I am trying to obtain statistical data showing increase in enrollment with name change. I also need cost estimates. We are a small private school k-8 and preschool total of 48 student. I've seen costs up to $100,000 but that was for universities.
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  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 2/17/2012 at 12:56 PM Accepted
    In changing the name you do run the risk of losing the goodwill you have with the current name.

    Do you know for SURE the name is deterring applicants? Do you know that changing the name would have changed someone's decision to attend or not? Those are not answers easy to nail down. But you should have concrete data on your own situation before going any further.

    Is there a way to alter and keep the name but broaden it? For example, a school known forever as a junior college changed it's format and name, keeping the original but adding "community college". Some names despite limitations or connotations do well without name change. A local college kept the name "woman's college" but successfully got the word out they were not woman only. Think George Wallace University-- that now has over 27% black enrollment, despite Wallace's history as segregationist. You'll see back and forth. Once school changed its name to Barack Obama school and wants to change it back, because enrollment peaked and dipped. Another wants to change their school to the Prez's name.

    It will be very difficult to find relevant data on a simple search. While you may find a university that increased enrollment, you would have to identify other criteria that matches with your schools situation.
  • Posted by melaniecrlsn on 2/17/2012 at 1:29 PM Author
    The declining enrollment is some due to declining enrollment and also due to rumors that we are closing. I also believe that we have not gained enrollment due to lack of updated advertising since I have had people tell me they never heard of us. We currently do some radio advertisement on cheaper radio stations and fundraisers at local fairs. We had marketing advice on rebranding due to the current rumors that we are closing. She also advised this, because it opens us up to a larger group of potential parents "regionally" instead of "locally". The name somewhat parallels us to the local university.
    The business plan was not done by a professional group, we looked into the community to see what was working for other schools.
    We are currently working with a district counselor with leadership issues.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/17/2012 at 2:55 PM Accepted
    It's never just about a name change - it's about fixing the underlying problems and proving that your school is evolving. Spend your money fixing the problems first, verifying that they're fixed second, and then spreading the word through multiple channels lastly. Since your problems didn't suddenly happen, it'll likewise take time to convince people that the problems are things of the past.
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 2/18/2012 at 12:46 AM Accepted
    So nothing you've learned so far points to the problem being about the name, other than expanding your base a bit. My advice is to fix the rumors about closing first.
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