JWB&CO_differentiate or die_low

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A boutique strategic

branding and marketing

company for educational

& business institutions.

COPYRIGHT JWB&CO 2013

JWB&CO DIFFERENTIATE OR DIE! HOW TO DISTANCE YOURSELF FROM THE COMPETITION | 09 2013 | 2

Differentiate or Die!How to Survive in a Competitive Habitat.



There are between 15,000 and 20,000 species of butterflies worldwide and they are all different.

Why? Survival!



[verb - action]

to recognize or ascertain what makes (someone or something) different:

(differentiate between) identify differences between (two or more things or people):

to make (someone or something) appear different or distinct:

Point: it is the ability of the viewer to be able to see what the differences are...to be able to identify the differences between two or more objects.

Differentiate: Oxford’s Dictionary says this:



The landscape within education is that most schools are primarily selling the same product...education. The second big problem is there are a lot of excellent schools to choose from = saturated market.

Key problems:

•selling same product

•choice/saturation

• too many motherhood statements

•mums cannot always spot differences

• they become confused

This make the selection of the right school very difficult. Who do I choose?

Problems for our viewer/audience/customer.



We must give our audience [the mums out there] a reason to believe...

by communicating your differentiating idea.



Believe what?What do we want to give them to believe? What differentiating idea?

To believe what the college/institution stands for. To believe what makes it different from the pack IN THE MINDS of the audience.

This idea must be 5 things:

1. Authentic - something which is being done or exists in the school already

2. Compelling - something they value, want and willing to pay for

3. Unique - sets them apart from the competition

4. Consistent - staying on message

5. Simple - one or two words, three max



Let’s go back to our definition and change them slightly:

to create a message, so that the viewer [mums] recognizes or ascertains what makes this school different from another:

or

to create a message so that the viewer [mums] can clearly identify differences between two or more schools:

but and this is the key the differential/the message must be important, wanted and valued in the mind of your audience.

Our/your job



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Before Current educational landscape...it’s blue.



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After The school that differentiated itself. Audience want orange.



It really is that simple, and it works, but it takes a lot of hard work, courage and a great leadership team to succeed.

Ok, a bit simplistic, but I hope you get the idea



1. Consider the landscape your school is competing in. Who - are the competitors

2. Know thy self

3. Simplicity is vital

4. Credibility / authenticity

5. Consistency

6. Try not to be all things to all people

How?



THE BATTLEFIELD IS IN THE MIND AND HOW YOU DIFFERENTIATE YOUR SCHOOL MUST BE VALUED BY YOUR AUDIENCE.

Before we go on, remember



Real life Examples to consider





You think of Volvo you think safety. Their differentiating idea is safety. Safety is something car drivers want, value and are willing to pay a bit more for. The idea is simple and authenticated by how Volvo make cars. That is they were safe cars before they became know as safe cars.

Points to consider:

•some car drivers will value safety

•authentic - they have the credentials to back up their claim

•simple

Safety





BMW, the ultimate driving machine. Their differentiating idea is about a superior driving machine. It appeals to those who value a car which is fast, handles exceptionally well, is a joy to drive and looks great. They will be willing to pay more to have one. It appeals to them. Again BMW have the credentials to back up their differentiating idea.

Drivability





Down down the prices are down.

Their differentiating idea is about money saving. Remember who they are competing with... The Fresh Food People. This is a clear difference from Safeway. Night and day. The customer knows what each one is on about and it makes their choice easy. They are appealing to those who are money savvy when it comes to buying food and groceries. Do these people want and value saving money, yes they do.

Money saving





A hard earned thirst needs a big cold beer and the best cold beer is Victoria Bitter. They are appealing to those who value a beer after a hard days work. Primarily they are positioning/angling their beer to communicate to tradies. Pie and sauce, dog and a ute, Vic Bitter and Hard Yakka. So they align themselves with similar brands like Hard Yakka to further cement their differentiating idea into the minds of their audience.

Points to consider:

•making a distinction between themselves and all other beer products

•we clearly know what VB stands for

•question in the mind of the viewer is it what I want or value?

•align with another brand communicating to the same audience

•specialising - will not appeal to everyone

Hardworking





Brighton Grammar

Simple idea - we teach boys. BGS has been teaching boys for over a 100 years and are darn good at it and their track record and ways of teaching are second to none. This appeals to mums of boys because they want a school that knows how to teach THEIR boy.

•simple, digestible and attainable idea

•not trying to be all things to all people

•specialising in teaching boys turned them into the market leader in boys education

•an idea which mums want and value - a school that respects and loves boyishness

•authentic

We teach boys





Fintona Girls’ School

The differentiating idea is a small school learning environment. Why would a mum value this? Because it means her daughter will not get lost. That she is known and respected. That teachers will know her name. That teachers can teach fewer students, therefore giving the student more personalised instruction....All the research pointed to the most prized reason why parents chose Fintona...it was because of its size.

•authentic

•came about from extensive research

•simple

•highly valued by mums as they do not want their daughter to just be a number

•competes in a highly competitive Kew girls’ school market

Small school/size - great things come from a small package



Push the snowball down the hill it will slowly get bigger and bigger



Build awareness - begin to tell your story. Begin to communicate to your audience that differentiating idea.

•visual must be appropriate for and sympathetic to the differentiating idea

•must reinforce the differentiating idea

•consistency - stay on message

•push the snowball down the hill - build momentum - first two years of roll out dial up the spending on marketing in order to get message out and build momentum

Now that you have your differentiating idea, what now?



You get noticed like the orange shirt. Your audience begins to take note and listen to what you are saying. You now have their attention and an opportunity to communicate your advantage and benefits as to why choose you over such and such.

Point to consider:

•virtuous circle -if you do this well you will have more students to select from giving you the ability to select the best studets. Better students means better results. Better results means better staff because eveyone wants to be associated with a winner. Better staff means students are taught better and do better and the circle continues on-and-on.

•helps with alumni and development - people want to be assoicated with a winner

Results of all your hard work



There are over 15,000 to 20,000 species of butterflies yet all are different in order to survive in a deadly habitat. Differentiating is the way any business or product, including education can survive in a highly competitive and saturated habitat.

Key points to remember:

1. Consider the landscape your school is competing in know who your competitors are

2. Know thy self

3. Simplicity is vital

4. Credibility / authenticity

5. Consistency

6. Try not to be all things to all people

and...

Conclusion



THE BATTLEFIELD IS IN THE MIND OF YOUR AUDIENCEAND HOW YOU DIFFERENTIATE YOUR SCHOOL MUST BE VALUED BY YOUR AUDIENCE.



Thank you for your time


A boutique strategic

branding and marketing

company for educational

& business institutions.

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JWB&CO_differentiate or die_low