The Wheeler School
The Wheeler School
Creating an engaging brand to differentiate a joyful, vibrant independent school community in a crowded landscape
Wheeler is well-respected for its academic rigor in the highly competitive Providence educational landscape, and has educated generations of students who have gone on to prove the value of the School’s experiential, if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-pursue-it approach.
The arrival of a new Head of School drove the need for an evolved brand that would better project the dynamic, creative, joyful experience of attending Wheeler—to increase visibility, interest, enrollment, and support.
Combining qualitative interviews, in-depth internal and external audits, and close collaboration with the new Head of School, we evolved a brand that was at once new—and also firmly grounded in the very relevant philosophy of the School’s founder, Mary Colman Wheeler.
The resulting mission, vision, messaging, and visual system has been realized in a full suite of admissions collateral, including a new viewbook and new Open House materials; a targeted print and digital advertising campaign, including Facebook and Instagram ads, and Google Ads; a newly revamped Wheeler magazine that builds a stronger connection to parents and Wheeler’s alumni; and a website built in WordPress that presents an experience that closely maps to one’s first-hand experience of Wheeler.
Objectives
- Project the evolving vision of a new, dynamic Head of School
- More accurately and compellingly position this innovative independent school within its existing—and broader—markets
- Distill and articulate what makes Wheeler special—and then get the word out
- Make a strong case for why Wheeler is “worth the investment” to counter increased competition for a shrinking pool of prospective students and families within the Providence area
- More specifically, increase applications for the Lower School
- Evolve the Wheeler brand to authentically “live” the innovation, rigor, joy, kindness, and opportunity of the School
Collaboration
- Engaged a broad swath of stakeholders to define, refine, and distill Wheeler’s differentiators
- Collaborated with the new Head of School to evolve the School’s mission and brand positioning, built on Mary Colman Wheeler’s founding vision: “To learn our powers and be answerable for their use”
- Crafted storylines that capture the essence of Wheeler and provide a palette of messages upon which all communicators can draw
- Elevated Wheeler’s unique “Aerie Approach”—if you can dream it, Wheeler can probably make it happen
- Integrated Wheeler’s school-within-a-school for students with learning differences
Scope
- Qualitative research
- Internal / external communication audits
- Brand strategy
- Mission, storyline, and messaging development
- Visual system
- Copywriting
- Print collateral
- Environmental graphics
- Print, digital, and on-air advertising
- User experience design
- Web design
A collaborative brand-building process
Our investigation included facilitating interactive, lively workshops with staff to learn about the Wheeler experience firsthand. Our conversations led to messaging that truly reflects what Wheeler is, does, and values.
Elevating the value of an “education of consequence”
We built out a messaging framework to share the value of Wheeler’s multidimensional learning experience. The high-level message focuses on Wheeler’s approach and the impact it has on the lives of students—and the difference those students go on to make in the world.
An uncommon education in a joyful environment
At Wheeler, we give each student the opportunity to learn by doing and collaborating, to explore new interests and grow in their passions, to build their self-awareness and confidence through leadership and service, and to develop the critical thinking and skills they need to be thoughtful, curious, and contributing citizens of the world.
A viewbook as engaging and creative as the community it represents
Wheeler’s new viewbook, through both its unique format and the visual system that informs it, evokes the energy, depth, and joy of a Wheeler education. Methods and materials were key here: pages trimmed at different heights and widths hide behind one another to be discovered, representing the interdisciplinary, integrated learning and creative experience that Wheeler provides. Headed by sections that lay out the philosophical underpinnings of Wheeler, each school then has its star turn.
The viewbook’s narrative and physical structure has been in successful use for several years now, with the addition of fresh photography and content.
A user-centric website extends a warm welcome
Wheeler’s website lives the brand through its depth of resources for prospective and current families, commitment to accessibility, and rich embrace of Wheeler’s energetic colorful aesthetic. The video header captures attention immediately upon load, the navigation is easy to parse, and the frequently updated content reflects Wheeler’s brand messaging at every click.
An alumni magazine that deepens relationships
Wheeler’s completely redesigned, eye-catching alumni magazine has been met with tremendous acclaim from the entire community, and keeps everyone informed on both campus goings-on and what’s happening in the lives of Wheeler alumni.
As the new Head of the 125-year-old independent Wheeler School, a top priority was to craft a vision and refreshed brand for the school that was relevant, distinctive, and, above all, authentic. I had help from Wheeler’s founder, Mary Colman Wheeler, whose belief that all students need to “learn their powers and be answerable for their use” proved a touchstone."
Alison Gaines Pell
Head of School
Building out the system
From philanthropic communications to open house promotional materials—including digital ads that led to record engagement and attendance—Wheeler’s vibrant visual system continues to embody the school’s key brand attributes.
This colorful brochure provides donors with multiple “ways in” to giving at Wheeler, helping to build a culture of philanthropy.
Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads for both the fall and spring open houses led to the largest attendance in memory, and a large banner successfully caught the eyes of prospective families walking and driving by.
Our ongoing partnership with Sametz Blackstone helped bring our new vision to life. Through their strategic thinking, writing, design, and development of print and digital materials, they distilled and articulated what was special and valuable about the School—and elevated our already strong position in the highly competitive Providence educational landscape.”
Alison Gaines Pell